My mother is a former USMC mechanic. This was one of the planes she maintained throughout the 80's. There is a reoccurring joke in our family of how she can remove an engine from an F4, tear it apart, and put it back together, and back in the plane, but she can't change the oil in her own car.

The many things the f-4 phantom II did on the screens. .bombing .dogfighting. .Carpet bombing .slaying dragons .and trying to destroy a yellow camaro (or volkswagon beetle sometimes) Truly a multi tasking machine

Flew the Phantom from 1967 until 1977 - logged over 2800 hrs. - three combat tours - used all the systems on the jet including the MB H-7. Oh by the way I went to pilot school with Don Schultz who you can see lower right at 1:48.

1:14 For those wondering. In that Anime, it features the JSDF’s Phantoms obliterating dragons, and bombing the Imperial Senate building of a fantasy empire

The F-4 is my favorite aircraft. In my stories it’s literal copy is not only named following the F-4 “Phantom” pattern (the F-5 “Ghost”, F-6 “Shadow” and F-7 “Yokai”) but is quite literally an F-4 redesigned VERY slightly to be capable of space flight and combat. I adore this plane and I’m a bit sad that there aren’t many films dedicated to the F-4, but I’ll take what I can get.

*Brutal beauty!* As a kid I saw the Blue Angels and the Phantom was the 1st airplane model kit I built... to me the most aesthetically appealing plane of the Cold War.

I was an F4-E mechanic for four years in Germany. Great plane. I leaned so much working on the phantom and I was sad to see them leave as we received the F 16 in 1982. I was stationed in Germany for four and a half years. Transitioned to communications and saw the F4-G Wild Weasels in Saudi Arabia. Two of them I worked on when they were E models. Still think it was one of the best aircraft of the time.

On a personal note; the local Air National Guard flew RF4C recon Phantoms for a number of years. When landing the aircraft made a wonderful howl (I was told it had to do with the compressor in the engine). You could always tell a Phantom at low altitude by that sound. My father retired as a Major General and before his retirement the Air Guard team took him up in an RF4C to go supersonic.

A 1974documentary film titled "Threshold" about the Blue Angels flying the F-4J Phantom was released. It got limited theatrical release. The in cabin and under wing footage was fantastic. It was released in VHS years later, but a far as I know was never released in DVD.

The F-4 was easily my favorite fighter growing up. I always loved the contrasting dihedral and anhedral surfaces! Thanks, Johnny! 😁 And thanks for the pointers to the Iranian and Turkish movies! 👍

We did get to see a reconnaissance Phantom in a still well-regarded SF film, 1971's 'Andromeda Strain', taking FLIR images of the point of contact. Later on, another RF-4 and its pilot meet a remarkably grisly end.....

When my dad (USAF, retired in 1969) got stationed at Eglin AFB, Florida in late 1966, we moved to a house in nearby Niceville, FL. Lo and behold we happened to live right under the path the US military aircraft landing at Eglin flying low overhead. This was my introduction to the F4 Phantoms, the most common aircraft we'd see literally hundreds of time daily when beginning their final approach to Eglin. Was very noisy at first, but we got used to it. And the elementary school I had to enroll in was Edge Elementary a few miles away, which also happened to be where these aircraft flew over making their final approaches to Eglin. Yes, it was very noisy there too, but again we got used to it (my 5th grade teacher happened to be a USAF veteran who worked on the T6 Texan aircraft, I think he loved that aircraft more than his wife). That teacher allowed us students to bring our plastic model aircraft collections and have them hanged from the ceiling of the classroom for decorations. Fun and unforgettable days of our childhood!!

The movie Iron Eagle II (1988) features a lot of F-4E's playing as Russian MiGs. The "Lateral instability" wasn't an inherent design flaw, it was caused by the vertical stabilizer in the original design being too tall for carrier operations. Shortening the vertical stabilizer to fit the F=4 witihin carrier size limits was what caused the instability and necessitated the angling of the wings and tail.

I flew the F4E USAF, from 1975 to 1979. I saw the Angels fly it at Lakehurst when I was 14 and swore I would fly it too. Spook I am I'll still fly it against you in your choice, old man I am. Any day.

I crewed the F4 Phantom for 17 years. It's my all time favorite military aircraft. Love Spooky.

Just a small note, the F-4 didn't leave USAF service fully until 2016. QF-4s not only operated as aerial targets but they flew manned training sorties as well. The F-4s featured in the movie "Sully" that you included in this video are actually from that USAF unit, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron and they assisted in the filming of that sequence.

Love the F-4 Phantom, thanks for covering it!

My dad is a Vietnam veteran and spent a lot of time at the big base at Danang. He has a lot of stories but he has always said that seeing, hearing, and feeling the F4 Phantoms take off and hitting afterburner was one of the most awesome displays of power he ever saw. Even compared to hearing the B-52s over head and then feeling the rumble as their bombs hit the ground, rolling thunder.

A guide at a museum I visited, a former USAF ground crewman who serviced F4s, said it was "Proof that with enough thrust aerodynamics don't mean shit."

There's a Navy F4 on display just off of I-12E nearby Satsuma, Louisiana. The landowner was a Phantom pilot during Vietnam and bought his old ride after he retired. All things considered, it appears to be in really good condition.

While stationed @Kadena ABF back in 76, I got to have my name on an F4-D model as Crew Chief, I forget the tail number plus its been 47yrs. The F4 is the last of the "true mechanics" airplane, the pilots always had more the a few writes for you to phix when they landed.

Always loved hte F-4. Probably because of the upswept wings and down sweeping tail plane. Made it look unique.

The F-4, I grew up with this, saw it plenty of times overhead in lots of places, you know loud places lol, so thanks Johnny, nice one indeed.

My first full-time job, 1979-1980, was working at Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg, Florida {USA}. We would occasionally see F-4 Phantoms flying over Tampa Bay, headed toward MacDill Air Force Base in nearby Tampa, Florida. They were easy to spot due to their smoke trails.

One of the more fascinating stories about this plane is the fact that it only exists because it's predecessor the F3H Demon was a single engined underpowered mess. The engine the F3H was originally designed for didn't work so McDonnell had to settle for a weaker engine as it was the only one that would fit at the time. Knowing this was unsatisfactory to the Navy the designers went back to the drawing board and redesign the Demon to be powered by larger twin engines. This "super demon" eventually got it's own designation as the F-4 Phantom II.

"The Great Santini" always gave a friend of mine a bittersweet smile. He was an Airforce brat and too many themes of that flick hit too close to home for him.

In addition to the US films shown here, the Phantom also had a couple of minor roles in "Flight of the Intruder" and "We Were Soldiers".

My Step dad was a former USAF Mechanic maintained the F16 and said that the F4 had terrible Aerodynamics and it proved that if you put enough thrust to a brick it can fly

I remember the first time I ever saw a Phantom. It’s on display at a national guard base, which I visited for the first time when I was 13. I believe it’s an F-4D. I had never seen a fighter jet so imposing and aggressive, and I have been attached to them ever since.

the F-4s are probably my most favorite 3rd generation jet fighter, and one of my top 5 favorite fighters with how it looks, flies and its service

Although I spent the majority of my Air Force career working on Tornado’s, due to my secondary duty on the visiting aircraft flight on my station I ended up cross training on German RF-4E’s and F-4F’s, U.S. RF-4C’s and F-4G’s as well as our own FGR.2’s (F-4M).

Glad you included the “Threads” clip, I wasn’t aware it was an F4, thought it might be a Harrier since it was located in Sheffield, but it makes sense since the air base is American, so I’m guessing now that all the scenes of planes taking off are F4’s. Threads is the best of all the nuclear war films in terms of civilian losses and is definitely a warning to our time. Much better than The Day After or On the Beach IMHO.

Its also briefly used in The Clash - Rock the Casbah music video

Blitzwing as a phantom was an incredible idea

My grandfather set one of those records in testing for US Navy. I remember him telling me stories about how fast it was but couldn't turn for crap lol

The F-4 Phantom II is one of my favourites i've seen one fly over a memorial site in Australia it had the RAAF's roundel on it. It's awesome to know the RAAF used F-4 E Phantom II.

My father was in the air force for 25 years. He was SR NCO and his squadron would load the F-4s with bombs and missiles. We were stationed at Homestead AFB where there 2 F-4s that had Mig kills. One had 2 and the other had 3.. When the F-4 service was starting to wind down, another F-4 with with Mig kills was lost. The F-4 at Homestead was ordered to be retired and sent to the Air Force Academy. The F-4s were replaced by F-16s around 86-87.

The F-4 Phantom was also featured in the anime Area 88. But the role was minimal as the show focus primarily focused on the A-7 Corsair, the F-14 Tomcat, the British Harrier jet, the French Mirage fighter jet, and the F-5 Tiger. It would be nice to see an American film highlighting the F-4 just as Hollywood did on the F-14 Tomcat (Top Gun), F-16 Falcon (Iron Eagle), and the F-18 Hornet (Independence Day, Top Gun Maverick).

Good vid Jonny as always

Tom Cruise should make a Top Gun prequel featuring this jet and how his dad saved Viper's ass over Vietnam.

Very iconic bit of kit!

I was a Marine F4 S mechanic from 83-87. It was one badass aircraft.

Great work man, love this jet

Great video as always Johnny

I flew the F-4B with the Marines and flew it in Vietnam. It was a flying truck and you could hang any amount of ordinance on it and it still lept off the runway. It was every kid's dream to push the throttles full forward to afterburner and feel the power! It was a big cockpit compared to many at the time and was well laid out. Unfortunately, the canopy was a blended one that merged with the fuselage and rear vis was terrible. The Mig-21 was not any great plane but the tactics were mostly ground-guided radar attacks from the rear. They would do hit and run and they did not go into a dogfight if they could avoid it. It was a real pleasure to fly and always brought me and my RIO home. It was like driving a Ferrari and I knew that if I had to get away there wasn't an enemy plane in Vietnam that could catch me. I dropped all kinds of bombs but my favorite was the Snake eye that had fins that opened so they would not be below the plane when they exploded. We ran into many Marine units pinned down begging for help and it was a great feeling to help them out with a load of snake eyes or napalm. Down low it was as stable as driving a truck on the freeway. It will go down in aviation history as a real war bird.

How they have never made a film about Operation Bolo is beyond me..

Well the Phantom definatelly on my list of favourite American aircraft. One of those were you would hate to have been on the business end of it. Robin Olds who planned the famous Operation Bolo flew the Phantom. He got four kills but made sure he did not get his fifth as he would have been sent back home. I watched a video a couple of days ago which was an interview with a Royal Navy pilot who flew Phantoms. He mentioned that if they had still been flown by the Navy during the Falklands War the Argentinian jets would have been intercepted long before they got to the islands which would have very much shortened the war. Also the Argentinian troops on the islands would have had to have faced Phantoms carrying a full bomb load. And if the Phantom was flying so would the Buccaneer as well. And at Red Flag the USAF defenders never got anywhere near the Buccaneer. Apparently the reason the Royal Air Force used the Roll-Royce engine was be that it was maximised for flying below 30,000 ft as its main role was ground attack.

As an old Carrier brownshoe, I think the Phantom was, and still is, the coolest looking airplane I ever saw. The earsplitting sound of them doing touch and goes on the Big E back in the day is a very fond memory.

My introduction to the F-4 was actually in Wild America. Very short scene, but was enough to really get me hooked on the plane.

WOW!!!! I didn't know all this. I have only seen the first 25 minutes of the movie "Attack on H3" at the moment. It's surprisingly engaging, attractive and concise! No long, cheese, sugary scenes, made just to create a parallel super boring love story unrelated to the facts...to fast jets (I.E. the horrendous 2001 Pearl Harbor movie!)! It's just fantastic to see all those beautiful F-4s and Mig-21s with a very good quality of image!! Thank you for uploading all these info sir!!

One of my favorite jets, so beautiful

The Falcon missile was a terrible handicap

I wasn’t a military guy besides what I see in movies but now bc of your vids I’ve been checking out the movies you mention. Another great one!!

Love the F4 as a kid and as i read a lot of US AUS Vietnam memoirs still do Nice to see a clip of Danger Close in there

Well done, Sir. Rock solid piece.

That BF Vietnam footage gave me flashbacks. Ah, good times.

Thank you for this great video

I'm just glad that in the Transformer bumblebee movie that Blitzwing becoming an American icon aircraft is very impressive.

Love your stuff bro thanks for the video!

Such an underatted channel. You deserve more views and likes

Sidewinder missile name is the best ever.

Most don’t know but the F-4 Phantom was featured on an episode of Mannix in the 70s. I remember it like it was yesterday. /So cool!

Another great video Johnny! Especially since it about my all time favorite aircraft. Love those PHABULOUS PHANTOMS!

Very insightful video and thanks a lot for mentioning the F-4’s use in Japanese Tv and movies! The F-4 is a jet that can be found in even the most obscure Japanese shows like Izenborg or Mirrorman. I myself prefer the F-86 and F-104 over the bulky looking F-4, but it’s still an aircraft with a tasteful design

You also see f4s briefly in The Clash video “ Rock the Kasbah” 😝

One description of the F4's appearance is, "Stepped on than kicked in the ass". Alluding to the dihedral bends in the wings and the appearance of the tails horizontal stabilizers. Another great video by you.

Not first but one of my favorite jets so keep it up johnny! :)

Could you make one about the F-5 Tiger? I think it's a jet that has made several notable appearances in media particularly as the black MiG-28 in Top Gun

Nice use of "Danger Close" mate. 🇦🇺👍

Great video!!

I don't know much about military aircraft, but the F-4 phantom II is by far my favorite. Partly because it works well and because there's a Russian song dedicated to it, but mostly because it just looks amazing.

That was right about time. I've just finished my watchlist and wondered about some interesting titles :)

F4 Phantom was the very reason why i love iron eagle 2 movie, more than the iconic f16.

You should cover up the F14 next! I would love to see it and keep up the great work Johnson!

Another big disadvantage the Phantom had was it's exhaust; in certain weather conditions it could be seen a long way off.

GATE is my favorite depiction of the F-4

Huge favourite the F-4 Phantom II. Here in Australia we had them as an interim whilst waiting for the F-1 11 to be completed. Many in the RAAF (as an aircraft engineer I worked with a few RAAFies in my 30+ years) wished we kept the Phantoms. They were returned to the US. All were "E" models without the manoeuvring slats. The British Phantom's were redesigned quite extensively to fit the RR Spey turbofan engines and despite being more powerful were noticeably slower in top speed. They did however burn less fuel.

The F-4 was also operated by the German Air Force during the Cold War period as well, where it gained one of my favorite nicknames for it; "die Eisenschwein", or "the Iron Pig"

We call F4 phantom II ''Baba'' which means 'Father' in Turkiye. Turkish Air Force still operate these jets. Respect for ''Baba''. Thanks for video.

"To Take up Serpents" episode of 'The Lieutenant" is on you-tube. It features the F-4. I need to give "Bumblebee" another look since it's on Paramount +.

I always felt the F-4E was the fighter plane that most looked like a war machine. Spent a few years as an F-4 Crew Chief. The one's flown during my time as Osan AB, Korea had the shark teeth on them. Fond memories.

Nice compilation. Area 88 is an anime that includes F-4 Phantom action in every episode. It should be definitely in the list ;)

1:15 1:18 F4 Phantom: GOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

The anime Area 88 had a lot of goode use of the F-4, so I recommend checking that out

The best aircraft from late '50's one could design with a slide rule. LOL. I also heard they were complex to work on. I almost got a ride in one in '74, but got married instead. Thanks.

Gotta love putting in some growling sidewinder clips

I will always love the F-4. It is the meanest looking plane we ever fielded, and the original Joint Strike Fighter, seeing service with the Air Force, Navy, and Marines. It was an excellent platform that could have been updated with even greater potential, as Israel nearly did before deciding to retire them.

I remember when the F4 Phantom was at Seymour Johnson AFB assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing. I had cousin who husband was an electronic technician at the base .He done some work repairing the F4 simulator. He invited me over to try it out. I have never seen so many instruments in my life. I enjoyed trying it out. Wish I could could have tried the B52 simulator since the bombers were still there.

If it isn't mentioned somewhere, the biggest failing was tactics. They had to be in close and get vis ID of a bandit. That heavily affected aim 7 missiles reliability.

My favorite fighter due to living at Bitburg AFB for 5 years. 36th TFW rules!!!!!

Old planes sexy as hell - Phantom, Tornado, Tiger.. Such a beauties! Also F-14 and 'newer' like F-16 (even tho F-16 had first flight same year as Panavia Tornado 1974, but F-16 has been updated to this day). Tomcat made its first flight next year after first man set his foot on moon.

I’m watching a video about the F-4 while sitting next to an RF-4E

F4 has always been my favorite USAF jet. The Corsair favorite propeller driven.

Excellent choice....

F-4 Phantom II; the world’s greatest distributor of MiG parts

A honorable mention would be the late Robert Conrad movie where he played a USMC F-4 instructor pilot but was grounded due to health condition and went to command a ROTC unit at a school he attended. I believe the name is Hard Knocks.

If there's going to be a Top Gun Prequel, then the F-4 Phantom II will be the star of that movie as it was one of the first aircraft to be assessed for its underwhelming performance in Vietnam and founding of Top Gun in 1969...

In Germany, we often called it Ölofen or Luftverdeidigungsdiesel because of the smoke stream it often led out 😅

One of my favourite planes.

I like the Phantom, and it is just very recognizable, as it’s profile is very distinct from like a mile away.