PHANTOM
FGR2 - XV470 - now on display at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus
Sporting a single AIM-7 Sparrow missile after completing a live weapons training exercise off the Welsh coast, note the leading edge droop flaps on the wing
TYPE
all-weather multi-role fighter aircraft, all-we 23423u201x ather multisensor reconnaissance, originally a carrier-based interceptor
MANUFACTURER
McDonnell Douglas - also licensed to Mitsubishi for Japan
ENGINES
two General Electric J79 single shaft turbojets with afterburner, 17,000lb to 17,900lb (7,711kg to 8,120kg) thrust depending on type, or two Rolls-Royce Spey 202/203 two-shaft augmented turbofans 20,515lb (9,305kg) thrust in F-4K
DIMENSIONS
span : 38'5"(11.7m)
length(K) : 57'7"(17.55m)
height : 16'3"(4.96m)
wing area : 530sqft(49.2m²)
WEIGHTS
empty(K) : 31,000lb(14,060kg)
maximum loaded : 58,000lb(26,308kg)
PERFORMANCE
max speed(Spey) at sea level : 920mph(1,480km/h)
at altitude : 1,386mph(2,230km/h)
ceiling : 60,000+ft(19,685m)
range on internal fuel : 1,750miles(2,816km)
ferry range : 2,300miles(3,700km)
FIRST FLIGHT
F4-A : 27th May 1958
service delivery : Feb 1960
F-4K : 27th June 1966
AVIONICS
32" Westinghouse nose radar, Hughes APQ-120 or APQ-99
IR detector pod under nose
autopilot, CNI package, radar altimeter, air-data computer, INS
Northrop Tiseo
Pave series laser designators, Pave Tack, Flir
ALQ-119 jammer pod
WEAPONS
Wasp tandem launch pods, Wasp folding missiles
BL.755 cluster bombs
GBU-14 Cruciform Wing Weapon
Durandal anti-airfield weapon
GBU-16B/B 1,000lb Paveway II smart bomb
AGM-78 ARM anti-radar missile
TAL cluster bomb
AIM-9L Sidewinder AAM
M61 20mm gun
BAe Sky Flash AAM
AGM-65D Maverick
AIM-7 Sparrow AAM
Mk.82 Snakeye retarded bomb
AGM-88A Harm (Wild Weasel)
AGM-12 Bullpup ASM
GE 30mm Gepod gun
Mk.82 GP 500lb bomb
Mk.83 GP 1,000lb bomb
Mk.84 GP 2,000lb bomb
AGM-45 Shrike
AIM-120A Amraam
NOTES
Phenomenally successful aircraft still in use today throughout the world, though RAF usage ceased in 1993. Strongly built to withstand carrier deck landings, the Phantom has gone through many configurations over the years. RAF versions, all but the F-4Js bought to fill a gap after the Falklands war, were fitted with powerful Spey engines, though the disturbance this caused to the fabulous original design actually made our version slower. In use with the USAF as a Wild Weasel, teamed with an F-16, these aircraft proved very successful at radar suppression during the Gulf War, and had an excellent record in the Vietnam conflict.
FGR2 - XV470 - No.56 Sqn, RAF Wattisham
Both canopies open soon after landing at RAF Valley, the braking parachute just discarded, note the air intake flap open at the rear indicating the Spey engine version.
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