Introduction
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom is a two seat, twin engine supersonic interceptor/fighter/bomber that was adapted by USN, USMC and USAF. The F-4 is a large fighter type aircraft with maximum speed of Mach 2.2 that can carry 18,000 lbs of bombs (World War II/Korea B-29, the biggest of it’s day, could carry 20,000 lbs.)
The aircraft crew had a single pilot who sat in the front seat and the RIO (Radio Intercept Officer) sat in the rear seat. There were 5,195 F-4 Phantoms of all models built at a cost of $2.4 million (1965 $$).
The first flight of an F-4 was 27 May 1958. The last active U.S. military F-4 was retired in 1996.
The F-4, in 1959 set 13 different performance records including an absolute speed record and an absolute altitude record.