McDonald-Douglas F-4 Phantom

     First flown in May 1958, the Phantom II originally was developed for U.S. Navy fleet defense and entered service in 1961. The USAF evaluated it (as the F-110A "Spectre") for close air support, interdiction, and counter-air operations and, in 1962, approved a USAF version. The USAF's Phantom II, designated F-4C, made its first flight on May 27, 1963. Production deliveries began in November 1963. In its air-to-ground role the F-4 can carry twice the normal bomb load of a WW II B-17.
      In 1965 the first USAF Phantom IIs were sent to Southeast Asia. The Phantom was so widely used in Vietnam that it came to represent its aerial combat efforts.  USAF F-4s also fly reconnais-
sance and "Wild Weasel" anti-aircraft missile suppression missions. Phantom II production ended in 1979 after over 5,000 had been built--more than 2,800 for the USAF, about 1,200 for the Navy and Marine Corps, and the rest for friendly foreign nations.