During 1954 to 1957, the McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Company designed the Phantom II, perhaps the most well-known and beloved American jet fighter of the post-World War II era. The Phantom II came from a long line of St. Louis built naval fighters which included the FH-1 Phantom, the F2 Banshee, the F3D Skyknight and the F3H Demon. First envisioned as an attack aircraft armed with 20mm cannons, the Phantom II's design was changed into a gun-less, all-weather interceptor fitted with the most advanced radar system and air-to-air missiles of the day. The F-4 prototype first flew on May 27,1958. It soon demonstrated unprecedented performance and was ordered into production for use in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

The first production version, the F-4A, had tandem seats for the pilot and radar intercept officer (RIO) and was armed with four AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles. Production of the Phantom II began in volume with the F-4B, a variant featuring raised cockpits, an enlarged canopy and a larger nose cone for additional radar equipment. Eventually, the F-4A and F-4B established more world records for speed, rate of climb and altitude than any other aircraft in history. In a 1961 competition the F-4B out-performed all contemporary U.S. Air Force fighters by a wide margin. In March 1962, the Air Force adopted the F-4C for use in 16 of its 23 Tactical Air Command wings.

The F-4 has seen combat all over the world but most notably in Vietnam, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. In Vietnam the F-4 proved itself as the definitive multi-role fighter. The Phantom replaced the Republic F-105 as a tactical bomber, interdicted North Vietnamese Army supply lines night and day and fought against North Vietnamese MiGs. Additionally, specially adapted Phantoms were used on photo-reconnaissance missions and or in the Wild Weasel role, hunting enemy surface-to-missile (SAM) units and anti-aircraft guns. During Desert Storm, the F-4 served as the Air Force's primary air defense suppression aircraft, nearly 30 years after it first entered service!

During its long career, the F-4 Phantom has been used in every conceivable role: fighter, interceptor, fighter/bomber, electronic counter measures, reconnaissance, tanker and target drone. The F-4 is the only aircraft to be flown by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy's Blue Angels at the same time. When production of the F-4 ended in 1979, 5,195 Phantoms had been built in 17 major variants. The F-4C Phantom on display at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum is on loan to the Frontiers of Flight Museum from the National Museum of the USAF. The aircraft is a combat veteran and carries the same colors it wore on May 20,1967 when Lt. Bob Titus and 1st Lt. Milan Zimer shot down a MiG-21 over Vietnam.

ENGINE		2 General Electric J-79-GE-15 turbojets 17,000 lbs. of thrust each
ARMAMENT		Up to 16,000 lbs. of air-to-air missiles, nuclear or conventional bombs, rockets, air-to-ground missiles or gun pods
WING SPAN		38 feet, 5 inches
LENGTH		58 feet, 2 inches
HEIGHT		16 feet, 6 inches
MAX TAKEOFF WEIGHT		54,600 pounds
CREW		2
MANUFACTURED BY		McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft
TOTAL BUILT		5,195
TOTAL EXISTING		Unknown
FIRST BUILT		1958
MUSEUM'S AIRCRAFT BUILT		1964
ON DISPLAY AT		Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Addison Airport (KADS), Dallas, Texas
MAXIMUM SPEED		1,400 m.p.h.
RANGE W/EXTERNAL TANKS		1,750 miles
SERVICE CEILING		59,600 feet