Gee Whiz!
Top Gun
In 1988, piloted by men younger than the aircraft, the F-4 Phantom competed in its 7th and final William Tell meet. Flying three F-4 aircraft, each bearing the red stars denoting MiG aircraft kills, the Oregon Air National Guard's 142nd Fighter Interceptor Group (FIG) won "Top Gun" in the F-4 category. The Oregon team compiled the meet's only perfect score on the AIM-7 Sparrow radar-guided missile profile. They also tied an F-15 Eagle team for 2nd place in the air superiority profile. Overall, the 25-year-old F-4C aircraft flown by the 142nd FIG beat out two F-15 Eagle teams and one CF-18 team from Canada, finishing 7th in the 12-team competition.
Show Me
The last F-4 Phantom aircraft flown by the Missouri Air National Guard was the same fighter that shot down two MiG-21 aircraft over North Vietnam and the same aircraft that flew the Phantom line's 10-millionth hour in January 1990. Today, it is gutted and mounted on a pedestal as a permanent exhibit in front of the Missouri Air National Guard's entrance near Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.
Dust Off the Helmet
The pilot who flew the first flight of the F-4 Phantom in 1958 flew in the back seat of the test flight of the last U.S.-built Phantom about 21 years later. Bob Little, who was the chief test pilot for McDonnell Aircraft in 1958, had moved into the company's marketing department in 1960. But he dusted off the gold football-type helmet he'd worn on that first flight to help test Phantom No. 5,057 in 1979. Little was the company's corporate vice president of engineering and marketing at the time.
Don't Get Spooked
The official Phantom mascot wears a high slouch hat, a flowing black cape and oversized basketball sneakers. Phantom Man started as a design for a shoulder patch for U.S. military squadrons, but quickly became the "Spook" that traveled with the F-4 Phantom around the world. It has been seen in a huge variety of places in a wide variety of formats -- everything from surreptitious paintings inside the security fences of Eastern Bloc nations to the design on a deck of playing cards. In addition to being featured on F-4 aircraft, Phantom Man has appeared on numerous service patches, awards, publications, signage, apparel and souvenirs. He has carried a variety of weapons, including pearl-handled pistols for aerial gun-fighting competitions, and worn a variety of costumes depending on which nation he represents. In England, for example, he swaps his slouch hat for a bowler and pipe.
By Any Other Name
Many of those who worked with the F-4 Phantom II thought the aircraft was unattractive. That triggered a variety of nicknames, such as: Double Ugly, Rhino, Flying Anvil, Big Iron Sled and the Louisville Slugger. The aircraft also became known as "the world's leading distributor of MiG parts" in tribute to its record of downing 280 MiG aircraft. During the Vietnam War, the Phantom shot down its first MiG-17 on June 17, 1965, and its last MiG-21 on Jan. 12, 1973.
Check It Out
The F-4 Phantom was built in some 20 models when you include each nation's unique configurations. In general, it had nine fighter versions and three reconaissance versions. The RF-4C Phantom aircraft flew reconaissance in Operation Desert Storm.
Not Over Yet
In addition to approximately 800 F-4 Phantom aircraft still flying in active service for other nations, the United States is still flying nearly 100 QF-4 Phantoms as drones. As the Phantom marks its 40th birthday on March 20, 2000, there are 12 QF-4 aircraft stationed with the Navy at Pt. Mugu, CA, and about 70 QF-4 serving the Air Force at Tyndal Air Force Base in Florida and Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.