The Era Of The F-4 Phantom Is Coming To A Close

A U.S. Air Force F-4 flies with the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron over White Sands Missile Range. Wikipedia

Popular Mechanics: Like a Ghost, the Iconic F-4 Phantom is Slowly Fading Away

The formidable fighter jet was the F-35 of its day.

* The F-4 Phantom, introduced in the 1960s, is slowly disappearing from air forces worldwide.
* The old jet was as versatile as the F-35, capable of both air to air and air to ground missions.
* The F-35 is even operated by most of the countries that originally flew the F-4--that is, everyone except for Iran and Turkey.

The era of the F-4 Phantom, once one of the most popular fighter jets of the postwar age, is coming to a close. The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, first introduced in the 1960s, is slowly fading away as it's being replaced in many air forces by the F-35.

The F-4 Phantom II first flew in 1958. The sequel to the otherwise obscure FH Phantom, the F-4 was originally designed as an attack fighter, a fighter jet capable of duking it out air-to-air with other fighters, but also capable of dropping bombs on target on the ground. The F-4 was large, with two J-79 engines and a crew of two, and proved adaptable to a variety of tasks. The airplane's crooked nose, serrated wing, and large air intakes were emblematic of Western air power during the Cold War.

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WNU Editor: This fighter jet has had a long history.