My late father flew the F-4 Phantom for the USAF in Vietnam. Many times he flew into enemy territory over North Vietnam. His F-4 returned him back to his base safely each time. I am living proof as I was born in the late 1970's. Thank you for posting this.

I am 72 my older brother was 9 years older. When he got out of the air force in 65 he was hired onto the F4 project in St Louis. He took me to see em one day. Ill never forget the rows of brand new F4 lined up on the ramp. Years ago - who knows how many ive lost track of time - PBS had a show where all the musicians where ex military mostly vietnam pilots. Its was an awesome show. They had guys telling their stories then perform their songs. One pilot had named his F4 Sugar Babe and told of bombing runs on the Ho Chi Minh trail at night. He was hit by ground fire, the the shook violently and he headed for the gulf in hope of rescue. The plane kept flying hiwever and he made it to Da Nang where he found most of the tail missing! Amazing story and aircraft.

I was on catapult crew on Saratoga in the 70’s, loved F-4’s coming up for launch at night both afterburners kicked in and catapult sending them off deck, just beautiful seeing them go off deck.

I was an F-4 Plane Capt. in the Marines and always will love these amazing birds!

My all-time favorite American designed jet fighter. I'm 60 and they've been flying longer than I've been on this Earth! 👏

Hellenic Air Force !!! 338 ARIS Squadron Proud to serve !!! Thanks for sharing !

My cousin flew 110 missions in the F4C in Vietnam in 1967 without ever touching foot in Vietnam itself. He flew out of Thailand. He was shot down twice but was able to land back in Thailand, once barely over the border. The missles would fly right next to him as he was dodging them. He won a veterans tour of Vietnam many years later and was able to finally see what he was flying over all those many years ago. I prayed hard for his safety every night that he was there flying his missions.

I was an Avionics Technician at George AFB in the late '80s servicing the F-4E. I was awarded an incentive flight in one. It was absolutely the best ride of my life. The sound of the J-79s is unmistakable. While watching this video I could actually smell the JP-4 fumes.

I was in the Marines in Vietnam in 1968 and spent part of my tour on top of Hill 327 overlooking Danang and Danang air base !! The F-4’s were my favorite jets and they flew around the clock. They were excellent combat close air support aircraft also. Thanks. Semper Fi, 1966-1970 🇺🇸🫡🙏🏻

Ground crew mechanic here, 339 Aias squadron, 1989 - 1991 ! Phantom still giving me goosebumps !

My dad was a RAAF pilot flying for the USAF at Shaw airforce base and clocked up over 1000hrs in them. As a kid all I remember was the amazing sound they produced.

My dad piloted them for the U.S. Navy. He flew bombing missions over Vietnam in the F-4. He then went on to fly F-14s until 1980. At some point shortly before he retired from the Navy while stationed at China Lake NWC in Ridgecrest, CA, he was tasked with sitting in the F-4 while it was being flown remotely by someone on the ground, during the F-4 missile target drone conversion development. His job was to take the stick if anything went wrong with the remote control systems. Once during a flight the stick suddenly and without warning went full aft and pulled approximately 9 Gs without him being prepared for it. He had neck problems after that. He retired in 1985 and went to work as a civilian engineer at Michelson Lab at China Lake. He was project manager for the Sparrow and Sidewinder missile programs there.

I grew up around the F-4. My dad was an electronics tech rep for McDonnell in the 60’s and early 70’s. He was McDonnell’s rep when the F-4K was delivered to the Royal Navy at RNAS Yeovilton. We lived there for three years while dad was assigned to the RN. He was part of the team that broke the record for trans-Atlantic flight in the Daily Mail Air Race from the Empire State Bldg in NYC to the Post Office tower in London. Super exciting for me as an 11 year old! Loved the F-4!

I was a weapons mechanic at an alert facility in Galena AK. Nothing is more impressive than an actual alert scramble. This bird has the one thing new jets don't, it just looks mean.

Was stationed at Ramstein Germany in 75-77 as crew chief on F-4Es, and I miss being around them and feeling the ground shake when those J-79s rev, up.

Used to watch these take off at full afterburner on the USS Coral Sea! Lots of fire and lots of noise!

I was an Avionics Technician at DaNang in 1969-70. We had two squadron of F4E's and one squadron of F4d's. The E's were really new birds at that time and had the 20MM cannon in the nose. The F4 was a very versatile airplane and could be confirgured several ways. It was a tough airplane.

Please preserve some of these iconic aircraft in flying condition. . .they are my all time favourite aircraft.

I worked on the F-4's camera systems at Korat Royal Thai AFB and Udorn Royal Thai AFB 1968-1971. We had a film developing system in a step-van made into a darkroom at the end of the runway. We would download cameras on the recovery pad, process the film in portable processors and deliver it to Operations before the pilots were out of their flight suits.

Big, strong, powerful, and a multi-purpose aircraft. It's one of the best all-round fighter bombers. I know modern aircraft look amazing. But for me, the Phantom will always be number 1.

I was a crew chief on the RF-4C stationed at Shaw AFB, SC 1974-1979. My aircraft was 72 149. My pal, Catfish Flower crewed 72 152 beside my aircraft. Ours was the newest on the flight line. All the others there were 60 models. I didn't know if there were any F-4 still flying. I would love to see these in person. Thank you for this video. It brings back a lot of memories.

I was fortunate enough to fly the F-4E as a young Lt in the USAF from 1975 to 1977, near the beginning of my 40+ year flying career. Loved every minute of it, and the Phantom's still my favorite aircraft. No fighter ever looked more the part- mean and all business (although their are lots of worthy contenders). Certainly, more modern fighters are vastly more capable, but wow what an iconic aircraft it was.

We used to go to the viewing area just outside of Lambert Field to watch the new McDonell Dougles F-4's take flight for the first time, on their way we thought, to Nam back in the 60's. The Phantom is what I always think of/envision when I hear "jet fighter".

I always loved how the wingtip dihedrals tilted up were in opposition to the elevators downward pitch. Such a beautiful design.

I’m a Viet Nam Vet , great aircraft. My best friend in those days was F-4 crew chief . You never heard them coming !

Watched these guys land on the south end of the runway at Scott AFB 50-55 years ago. They smoked like a chimney and howled like a wolf! Loved watching them. Beautiful design.

I was stationed at Wheelus Air Base, Tripoli, Libya in 1968-1969. This ended when the ignominious Col. Muammar Gaddafi staged his coup d'etat . Wheelus was the home of the 7272nd Fighter Training Squadron. F-100s and F-4s would come down from Europe for weapons training in the desert. I was living in the BOQ. Early every morning those aircraft would rattle the windows and shake the beds as they took off for a few house of training. I thought both of the aircraft were awe inspiring. The F-100 was sleek and beautiful. The F-4 was a beast. The base/wing commander was then-colonel Chappie James, a legendary fighter pilot and best bud of Vietnam ace Robin Olds. They became know as "Black man and Robin." Chappie faced down Gaddafi, both wearing pistols on their hips, at the main entrance to Wheelus. Asked later what would have happened if Gaddafi had reached for his pistol. Chappie replied: "It never would have cleared its holster." Chappie later rose to 4-star rank.

Worked with these amazing planes for four years in Germany. Great planes, fast and agile and they look bad ass.

Used to see these fly over our home in southeastern KY 🇺🇸 when I was a kid! We always ran outside or to a window to see them. LEGEND. AWESOME. PHANTOMS PHOREVER! Thank you Dafydd for sharing the videos of these and other aircraft!

I flew F-4's in the 80's. Magnificent bird.

Was a RF-4C Av Nav Phantom Phixer back in the mid-70's. I can still smell this video!!!

Great looking beauty, always loved the phantom

11 yrs as an Electronic Warfare Officer. A lot with the 52nd TFW in Germany were the most fun years of my life. I tell young airmen that I would have given a million dollars for those experiences, but honestly I wouldn’t take a million dollars to do it again. Great war bird!

I spent my Navy time on Carriers in the late 60s ans 70s. Although modern jets are probably more capable than the F-4, these planes were beasts. Launches with ABs were nothing less than hell on fire. Loved the sound they made when coming in for a carrier landing. Nothing like it.

I was an Air Traffic Controller working at Danang RAPCON (Radar Approach Control), 1975th Communication Squadron in 1971. Because the RAPCON facility was located between the parallel runways 17 and 35. I enjoyed standing to look at F-4 taking and landing. Thank you for posting this VDO.

one of the most greatest jets in the world

Much respect from an old AC130 driver.

I was on an oiler in the sixties. The greatest show on earth was night flight ops when the carrier was alongside taking on fuel and launching Phantoms.

My late great Dad was a USAF C-121 navigator. One day while stationed in the DC area circa 1966 or so before doing three tours overseas in 67-70, an F-4 pilot buddy offered him a check ride. According to family legend as told over the years by Mom, "almost as soon as he landed, your father called me on the phone and unleashed 5 straight minutes non-stop of happily excited cuss words I'd never heard him use before or since."

I was a crew chief on fighters in the USAF from Aug. 1974-Aug. 1980. After basic and tech school I was sent to Holloman AFB in Jan. of 1975 and started learning how to be a crew chief on the F-4D Phantom jets at Holloman AFB Alamogordo NM. I was assigned to the 8th TFS. The Black Sheep. Before I left in Sept. of 1976 I had been promoted to Senior Airman in May of 1976 and was honored as the crew chief of the month of May. I went up on May 21 in F-4D 725 and we did 1.2 mach. at 34k feet. About 920 MPH. I was then sent to Osan AB S Korea where I crewed F-4E models from Sept. 2 1976-Aug. 30, 1977. I was awarded the USAF Commendation Medal for the year I served at Osan. The photo you see is me the day I went up. I lived out a little boys dream at that moment as I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was 7 years old. unfortunately bad eyesight at the age of 12 prevented me from being a fighter pilot. I have some pretty cool memories of my time in the USAF that also include the A-7D Corsair that I crewed from 1977-1980 with the Flying Tigers and the F-15 Eagle.

We lived at Shaw AFB in the 70’s and in the evenings we would go to the end of the runway with our lawn chairs and watch the RF4C’s take off in tandem, afterburners lit what an awesome sight….

My dad flew the first F4H1 for McDonnell. Lost his life in 1959 during project "Top Flight". He had previously obtained an altitude over 96,000 ft. and saw the curvature of the earth.

I was a member of the 50th TFW, 496th maintenance squadron for four years. Loved those planes.

Stationed in Germany 1970 to 72, Army at a Nike Hercules air defense base. Got buzzed by a German Air Force F4 twice, didn't know he was coming until he got right over us and went vertical. What a sight and sound. GREAT aircraft.

Being an Air Force Brat , I remember being on bases that had F-4s squads. The last base my father was stationed at, Homestead AFB, we had an F-4 that had 4 or was it 3 Mig Kills on it and 2 with with 2 kills on it. That plane was retired and ordered to the Air Force Academy after another F-4 with 3 was lost in a training accident. In 86, the F-4 started to be replace with F-16s. Still remember how loud they were and the smoke trails they left behind. Best 3rd Gen fighter ever made in my book. It could do everything.

Saw them flying 50 feet off desert floor in '73 Yom Kippur war with Egypt and Syria. Fear invoking, beautiful thundering agile beasts.

I remember being at the FBO in Fresno California when they were launching those F-4 phantoms. So unbelievably loud, the building and windows were shaking. The sound of pure awesomeness, power. I will never forget.

PHEW! Gave me goose bumps watching this!! Remember them fondly as I was stationed at Elmendorf in the early 70s. Woke me up in the barracks when they hit the afterburner, ha!! Best alarm clock in the world!! Man, miss those days!! !

Those P&W J79 have such an awesome whine.

I was stationed at Danang in 1969, I watched F-4's all day long.

I loved being a ground crew member on the PHANTOM IN THE 4533RD TFSQ and later THE 4485 TEST SQ at EGLIN AFB, FL 1969/1973.

The Phantom just plain looks like a bad-ass war machine, and it belonged to us.

They flew in and out of our remote Base, during my 13-months in Korea, back in 1970 (following the capture of the USS Pueblo by North Korea).

Love the size, A/C system during Taxi, and sound of the F-4...one of a kind

The F-4 Phantom, one hell of an airplane. I was stationed at NAS Miramar from 1973-1975 VF-121 which had all F-4's

The most beautiful jetfighter ever built.

This is purely beautiful and awesome footage of this legend that still flies strong on the F-4E Phantom II 😎😊

Grew up on and near Seymour Johnson AFB, home of the 4th TFW. F-4s would rock your world!

The Phantom and BAC Lightning are, IMO, the two best looking jet fighters ever built. Glad to see these are still in service!

I was an Army scout pilot in Nam with two striking memories of the F-4. At a field up near the Cambodian border we stopped flight ops so that an F-4 could make a pass to photograph the airfield. The pilot made a lazy pass down the length of the runway, and we went back to doing what we did. But after his pass the pilot asked the tower for a low approach and this time, he came over at about 100' on afterburner. When you aren't expecting it that is really a scary surprise. There was some discussion about unnecessary risk, but i heard that no one phoned it in, and funny thing no one got the tail number. The second time was a clear night at Vung Tau. It was all Army except for the occasional Navy or AF. I was walking on the crosswind one night when an F-4 taxied onto the active, so I stopped to watch. He lit both burners and made a max performance takeoff. I just stood there watching it climb until the flames went out and I lost his lights in that million-star sky. I remember thinking that I would have given a lot for to have made that climb just one time. Those were the only F-4s I saw in that vacation year, but I will never forget them. Tactical flying was dangerous over there, very dangerous for those flying north but even the tac air guys drew fire and an F-4 pr F-100 gets slow enough and low enough to be hit by the same rifle and 12.7mm fire as the Army pilots. I know, I watched an F-100 do a precision drop of on a target I marked for him. The target did its best to spoil his aim. He commented on the tracers, but he put his bombs right on the target.

Now it really is a “ phantom “ ! What a great name for a beast of a jet!

The phantom, Buccaneer, Jaguar and Harrier were my favorite strike aircraft in the early 70’s. Was a bit annoyed when the Tornado came along but it grew on me too!

I loved phantoms . We lived in a flyover area in southern Scotland. The noise was window rattling. The Buccaneers were even louder.

I still think the F4 Phanton is the most badass-looking fighter of all time. All-business and mean-looking beast of an aircraft.

I remember seeing them used as target drones in the late 80's through early 2000's and getting choked up. Two of my best friends fathers were decorated pilots in Vietnam flying these rockets. No longer with us. The birds or their pilots. 😔

I'm 77 and still think of the F-4 Phantom as my all time favorite jet, despite a high school friend of mine perishing in one over Vietnam. This jet has more class in its droopy nose, fat body and swept down horizontal stabs than most other jets have ever earned with modern styling and technology, aside from perhaps the F-22 Raptor!

By far my most favorite aircraft of all times....and probably the loudest ones I've been around. I used to watch them fly in and out of Cannon AFB while growing up there. They and the F-111's

The Nebraska Air Guard flew RF-4C's for years. I loved listening to them take off! You could hear them from miles away! They are my favorite Jet fighter of all time!

36th TFW Bitburg early 70's. This is why I have tinnitus... Love those babies though!

A true lengend. This and the f14 are my fav planes of all time.

I was F4. radar tech. 69-73 (5yrs) USAF. Ubon Thailand and England. Loved to hear the AB roar on the flight line! I'm 75.Thanks for the post. Phantoms phor ever!!

Worked as a USAF Crew Chief on F-4D models at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, UK ! Amazing duty station, amazing aircraft and I had the time of my life !

I will never forget the first MCAS El Toro air show our dad took us to in 1966 and the experience of seeing F4s taking off, flying and landing along with all the other aircraft types. Fast forward many years later when my brother in law was an F4 Wild Weasel pilot in the Air Force, and he invited us to visit him at Victorville AFB and sit in the cockpit of his F4 on the flight line. I miss hearing the distinctive sound of those F4s up above.

I was a weapons loader on this aircraft. She could carry everything in the air force inventory. Got bad knees due to spending half my time during a load on my knees. Love that, Bird.

My first base, Homestead AFB, had F4D's when I arrived. They were already in the process of upgrading to F16's. These jets have a very distinctive sound that is memorable.

Love them F-4’s. I worked on the last of the F-4’s two years before the manufacturing line shut down. I worked on the upper center fuselage section in 1978 at McDonnell Douglas in St.Louis. Years later I worked on the Flight Line and worked on the F-15 for the rest of my career we went on several road trips and when we was in Korea after they bought F-15’s I seen F-4’s there and they looked excellent they take very good care of their aircraft.

Made in St. Louis , me too F4 production at Mc Donnell Douglas helped raise and provide a good living for 50,000 StLouis families in the 60s and 70s.

Twin J79's. The ground shook, dogs barked, babies cried.

Back in the late 70’s I worked on RF-4C’s at Zweibrucken AB, Germany. Lots of great memories!

I read a book by a Vietnam war pilot who said on takeoff, he would pull the stick all the way back in his lap, and and hold it there until the nose rose up to 10 degrees and keep it there until the plane lifted off. Not surprisingly, it looks like they are also doing that here. Notice the elevators all the way up here and then lowered a bit to keep it at 10 degress nose-up. Nice 4K! Thanks for sharing.

My dad took me to see these Roar at Homestead A.F.B. when I was growing up. I could never take my eyes off of them. They were so powerful And Swift !

Love that bird, I used to work on the J79 engines in the Navy, keep em Flying 🎉

Was a Crewchief on C and E models for 10 years, labor intense aircraft but brings back good memories.

One of my all time favorite planes along with the P38 Lightning.

There is still a privately owned and currently flying f-4 in chesterfield Missouri

The F-4 smoking, thundering hog. One bad ass plane!

Such a glorius airplane. I lived the dream of seeing a couple dozen new F4's parked on the tarmac at RAF Alconbury, England in the early 1960's. Little did i know that many of those sparlkling new jets would fly in Vietnam. Pilots like Robin Olds took the took control of many of those very same aircraft and established air dominance over Vietnam during that war in the late 60's and early 70's. The employees of Mcdonnell Douglas, the builders of the F4 Phantom must be so proud of the success of this air dominance fighter/interceptor!

My son and daughter were both in 1287 sqn air cadets at RAF Wattisham when the Phantoms were there.

Oooh, i don't know why, i can't put my finger on it... but i just LOVED the Phantoms. I lived in Dorset for some years, i can remember them doing stall tests, guess from the Yeovilton Naval base. SO AWESOME. Great images Dafydd.

In 1976 a group of three flew over my house to celebrate the Bi-Centennial. We rarely ever saw any military aircraft fly over. The one flying in the center had an American flag attached to its tail fin. It was an awesome sight to see.

I was a crew chief on a F4-D when I was serving in the USAF 1971-1975. Hollman AFB, NM. Great fighter jet liked working on them.

When Dad was stationed in Misawa Japan in the late 60's I used to sit in our back yard and watch F-4s and F-111s land all day. I seem to remember many referring to the F-4 as The Iron Pig back then.

I was an Air Traffic Controller assigned to Spangdahlem Airbase 1982-1985. We flew the F4G (Wild Weasel). You couldn't miss that "sound of freedom" when they took off!

Used to work on Marine F-4J's (VMFA-333), and even did 7 months on the Nimitz's first cruise with them. Best time of my life 🙂

In the early 70's I worked at RAF Alconbury's. Loved watching these coming and going! Awesome is the word I'm looking for!

I was in the 3rd TFW PACAF for four years. I worked on F4E's, RF4D's and F4G's among many other aircraft. I was always quite fond of the F4's!

On a jolly to Leuchars, I saw a pairs take-off. Beautiful plane.

My son and I absolutely love the F4 just love it. Thank you so much for doing this one.

Had the rare opportunity to ride backseat in one about 40+ years ago, a life changing experience, that has not faded with time. Absolute proof that given enough thrust, even a brick can fly.

We saw one of these amazing planes yesterday at the South Wales Aviation Museum - I, my wife, and my 8-year-old plane mad son got to sit in it, and marvelled at the sheer size of the beast! The one on display is painted black, and no longer has its engines installed, however one of them is on display next to it - a monster powerplant! Great to see a couple flying here!