The footage features USAF F-4 and RF-4 Phantom IIs flying extremely low with J79 noise (along with some spectacular sonic booms) and no background music
The Noise You Hear is the Sound of Freedom!
The video in this post from the Sierra Hotel may be the best F-4 Phantom footage ever filmed.
The video shows USAF F-4 and RF-4 Phantom IIs flying very low, with no background music and J79 noise (along with some amazing sonic booms).
The mighty Phantom could exceed Mach 2 thanks to the General Electric J79 turbojet engine, which produced a maximum of 17,000 pounds of thrust when the afterburner was operating.
One of the most adaptable fighters ever constructed was the McDonnell two-place, twinjet, all-weather F-4 Phantom II, which is currently retired. More Western air forces deployed it as their first-line aircraft than any other. The F-4 became the fastest, highest-flying, and longest-range fighter in the U.S. Navy only 31 months after its maiden flight. Starting to fly on May 27, 1958, it went into operation in 1961.
On July 3, 1959, at a ceremony commemorating the company’s 20th anniversary at the McDonnell plant in St. Louis, Missouri, the aircraft was given the name Phantom II. Until the company’s 40th anniversary, it continued to be produced. The number “II” was no longer used by that point; it was only named Phantom.
16 speed, altitude, and time-to-climb records were set by the F-4. Its prototype reached a record altitude of 98,556 feet (30,000 meters) in 1959. On a 15-mile circuit in 1961, an F-4 achieved the world speed record with a speed of 1,604 mph (2581 kph). By 1985, McDonnell had produced 5,068 Phantom IIs, whereas Mitsubishi, located in Japan, had produced 127.
Improvements to engines, radar, avionics, and weapons were among the modifications. For aerial reconnaissance, the RF variants were outfitted with cameras and surveillance gear. Weapons included missiles and cannons.
F-4s operated with the air forces of 11 different countries in addition to the United States and saw action in both Operation Desert Storm and the Vietnam War. The Phantom II was flown by the Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels, two U.S. military flight demonstration teams, between 1969 and 1973.
Photo by U.S. Air Force
Video credit: F4Flys F4Flys@gmail.com