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F-4 Phantom news

Pags said:
I don't think USN Phantoms ever had an internal gun.
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True, although many USMC squadrons and some Navy squadrons tinkered with the external Mk4 gun pod. Dunno if the Marines ever used them in VN…pretty sure the Navy didn't. I've seen pics of Marine Phantoms carrying four of the suckers...
 
I carried the worthless Mk4 gun pod on the F-4 a couple of times, in the RAG and maybe later in my squadron. Of the two or three times i carried it, I think I only was able to fire a total of 5 rounds. On one flight, no rounds fired. It also had a tendency to jam after the first round was fired. Never carried one in the fleet though, fortunately.
 
Yeah, no guns on Navy F-4's, but man that was one slick looking aircraft. I was not a jet guy, but I have always considered the Phantom a far cooler fighter than either the Tomcat or the Eagle.
 
I think a Air Force D got a kill with a center line pod. But it was an abortion. RAT powered, jammed (as CAT mentioned), and swayed like anything else mounted on a hard point.
 
jmcquate said:
I think a Air Force D got a kill with a center line pod. But it was an abortion. RAT powered, jammed (as CAT mentioned), and swayed like anything else mounted on a hard point.
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Actually there were 4 kills for F-4C's and 6.5 for F-4D's (one shared kill with an F-105) with gun pods in Vietnam. Here is an official USAF history with the details of the aircraft and weapons on page 157 (PDF). That is actually more kills than the vaunted 'last gunfighter' had with guns. So I guess it was better sometimes than shaking your fist at a MiG or giving them the finger.
 
The Phinal Phantom Phlight out of Holloman

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https://www.facebook.com/aircraftprofileprints/posts/813675058770556
 
I'm sure many on hear have read it, but "Into The Mouth Of The Cat" is a great read. Pretty great descriptions of FACin' A and integrated CSAR Ops in there. Also great tribute to an american hero in Lance Saijan. Got me all motivated during TACP/FAC(A) school.
 
I have fond memories of watching VF201 / 202/ VMFA 112 F4's from the fence on Jefferson at NAS Dallas in the early 80's. Plus all the other cool stuff of the day. Drove my mom nuts taking me out there all the time.
 
While googling, I ran across something called the F-4X Peace Jack. A design for a Mach 3+ Phantom courtesy of 5,000 gallons of H2O carried for water injection - but was never built. Anybody of the fast movers want to speculate if the water injection really would get the Rhino up to Mach 3?

Postscript: Good catch on the water. Looks like a typo - perhaps 500 gallons or 5,000 pounds vice 5,000 gallons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_variants
http://www.f-4.nl/f4_29.html

F-4X.jpg
 
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