Fighter Jets | F-4 Phantom The F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range, supersonic fighter-bomber developed by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 and by the mid 1960s, became a major part of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps air wings. The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds of weapons on nine external hard points including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs, but originally without an internal cannon. Later models incorporated a M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for in-flight performance, including an absolute speed record, and an absolute altitude record. During the Vietnam War, the F-4 was used extensively as the principal Air Superiority fighter. It served as a first line fighter of more Western air forces than any other jet. For the whole story with all images, see Fighter Jets | a 7 Image Story.
