U.S. Navy Reserve McDonnell F-4N Phantom II of Fighter Squadron 301 (VF-301) "Devil's Desciples" in flight over the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-61), circa in 1977
Production line for the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. A total of 5,195 Phnatoms were produced from 1958 up to 1981, which makes it the most produced American Supersonic aircraft.
May 10, 1966, LT JG Greg Scwalber and his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) Bill Wood were launched from USS Roosevelt (CVA-42) and once airborne they discovered that their F-4B (BuNo. 152327)belonging to VF-14 Tophatters was flying with outboard wings folded.
They immediately understood that the locking mechanism was not properly set before launch. They quickly dumped all external stores, dropped the flaps and after declaring an emergency they diverted to the nearest airport that was Navy airfield in Cuba.
After 59 miles of flight Scwalber and Wood were able to made a successful arrested landing at a speed of 170-180 knots.
53 years ago, MiG-21MFs flown by elite Russian pilots was ambushed by Israeli Mirage-IIIs & F-4s near the Egyptian city of Suez (July 30, 1970). 5 MiGs were downed for no Israeli losses.
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