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#1734

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1958· interceptor, fighter-bomber

🎖️ military 2× jet ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. McDonnell F-4B Phantom II of VF-111 in flight, in 1973: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  2. 2. F-4E Phantom II Turkish Air Force 50th Flight Year Livery: Batuhan Alkaya· CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 3. F-4E Phantom out of RAAF Amberly at Pearce ADEX March 1971: Kurt Finger· CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. 4. F-4 Phantom II Collings Foundation: Jacobst at English Wikipedia· Public domain
  5. 5. McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II with "Spook" image (3622219586): Jerry Gunner from Lincoln, UK· CC BY 2.0
  6. 6. McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II, Spain - Air Force AN1337858: Mike Freer - Touchdown-aviation· GFDL 1.2
  7. 7. Turkish Air Force F4E Phantom II MOD 45157794: SAC Helen Farrer RAF Mobile News Team· OGL v1.0
  8. 8. McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - 01: Oleg Yunakov· CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. 9. McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - 02: Oleg Yunakov· CC BY-SA 4.0
  10. 10. McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - 03: Oleg Yunakov· CC BY-SA 4.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, photo 1 of 10
1/10 U.S. Navy· Public domain

what is it?

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. It entered service with the Navy in 1961, then was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and within a few years became a major part of their air arms. In total, 5,195 Phantoms were built from 1958 to 1981, making it the most-produced American supersonic military aircraft in history and a signature combat aircraft of the Cold War.

How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 11.7 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 2,370 km/htop speed
  • range 2,800 kmwithout refuelling
  • size 28 tmax take-off weight
  • built 5,195made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 68 years ago, in 1958.
  • Top speed is 18.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.9 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 11.7 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 5 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • Range of 2,800 km: 16× Amsterdam to Brussels.
  • Can fly 2.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
1958-05-27
introduced
1959
retired
1986
status
still flying
number built
5,195
role
interceptor, fighter-bomber
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
McDonnell Douglas, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
engines
2× General Electric J79-GE-17A / General Electric J79
crew
2
length
19.2 m
wingspan
11.7 m
height
5 m
max take-off weight
28 t
top speed
2,370 km/h
cruise speed
940 km/h
range
2,800 km
ceiling
18,288 m
wings
low wing
landing gear
retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q151432, Wikipedia: McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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