The F-4 Phantom II is a well-known American all-weather supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber, developed by the McDonnell Aircraft company during the 1950s. In the upcoming update 1.91, pilots in War Thunder may look forward to having the chance to sit behind the virtual controls of one of the most recognizable and no less powerful jet aircraft of the 20th century!
Briefly: A 1950s American jet interceptor and fighter-bomber, capable of carrying an enormous payload, while also being able to reach speeds in excess of Mach 2!
F-4C Phantom II, jet fighter, USA, VI rank.
Pros
- Top speed over Mach 2
- Perfect climb
- Deadliest and heaviest payload in the game for fighter aircraft
Cons
- Lack of offensive cannons or MGs
In the early 1950s, McDonnell Aircraft began work on a revised design of their F3H Demon naval fighter, in an effort to expand upon its capabilities and improve performance in general. By September 1953, the design was submitted for Navy consideration. Showing interest in the project, the U.S. Navy ordered the construction of a mock-up and expressed interest in potentially procuring the type.
By 1955 however, the U.S. Navy changed the requirements for the aircraft substantially. Instead of a multipurpose aircraft, the new design was now supposed to act as a two-seat, long-range, all-weather fleet interceptor. Having revised the design, orders were issued for the construction of two XF4H-1 prototypes as well as an additional five pre-production F4H-1s. Following comparative testing against other machines in service with the Navy at the time, the F4H proved itself as highly capable aircraft and was thus ordered into full-scale production as the F-4. The name ‘Phantom II’ was given to the aircraft at McDonnell’s 20th anniversary celebration in July 1959.
Some time after the Navy procured the F-4, other branches of the U.S. military also became interested in the aircraft. A result, the USAF also introduced a special “army” version of the F-4 into service during the mid 1960s under the designation F-4C.
The F-4 Phantom II would become one of the most produced and widely used American combat aircraft of the second half of the 20th century. With over 5,100 machines being built, the F-4 Phantom II saw service with several operators around the globe and remained in service until the 1990s, while some still serve to this day. Phantom II is widely known as a symbol of the US campaign in Vietnam, in particular.
In War Thunder, the F-4C Phantom II will be the first aircraft coming to the game, capable of surpassing speeds twice that of sound. This new American top tier aircraft, coming soon to War Thunder with update 1.91, will also be among, if not the most heavily armed machine of its class in the game thanks to the sheer number and variety of its weapon loadouts!
One of the first things that made the F-4 Phantom II stand out from contemporary, and indeed upcoming aircraft designs, was its outstanding flight performance. Namely, the F-4C could reach a maximum top speed of 1460 mph (2350 km/h, Mach 2.1) at an altitude of 37,000ft (11,300 m), while still managing to get up to a more than respectable speed of 845 mph (1360 km/h, Mach 1.1) at sea level. The ‘Phantom’ is able to reach such mind-boggling high speeds mainly thanks to its two General Electric J79-GE-15 turbojets
As such, the ‘Phantom’ will become one of the first aircraft in War Thunder capable of reaching and surpassing Mach 2 speeds. While this ability will certainly allow pilots to explore, develop and take advantage of new tactics and strategies for aerial combat, it’s also worth noting that the F-4C can only reach such high speeds at high altitudes, and more importantly, only with little to no ordnance on board.
Fun Fact: Starting with its introduction and throughout its service life, the F-4 ‘Phantom II’ set a number of world speed records, including one for absolute altitude of 30.040 meters.
Speaking of onboard ordnance, there is a double dose of news for WT pilots. First, there is no pre-built directional offensive armament at all, no cannons, no machine guns. Second, the Phantom II carries the greatest payload of different types of armament amongst all fighter aircraft in the game! Just listen to this: up to 228 Mighty Mouse rockets, or 48 Zuni rockets, or bombs available in sets 12x750 lb, 18x500 lb, 18x250 lb or 8x1000 lb! 3 gunpods with rapid-fire 20mm Vulcan cannons are also available for nailing down light targets or helicopters, and of course missiles - AGM-12B and much more devastating AGM-12C Bullpup for ground targets, and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles for anything that flies.
The tactics are obvious - use your speed to reach any target, use your mounted weapon to kill any target, do not engage with a target you are not prepared for. And of course - have fun with this perfect lightning-fast jet fighter!
Previous development blog:
Comments (590)
I hope that the plane gets a HORRENDOUSLY high SP cost in in RBGF, or at least that its heavier payloads do, or top tier will become even more broken than it currently is.
I hope its not. That is only going to make it a bit less fun but not game breaking. Rep cost "nerfs" are just useless and pointless
ur an idiot... you think this is the way to balance things? just balance them and dont make people lose so much money... good grief
So, despite the RAF having the worst jet aircraft tree in the game, and being the least competitive nation at top tier, you add the Japanese Derivative of the SEPECAT Jaguar without the Jaguar, and now add the F-4 Phantom II, of which the U.K. was the largest export user and used them for 30 years, only for the US. Thanks for my obsolete jet being added and the worst and smallest helicopter tree in the game...
In the current allied vs allied mm, the f6 is easily competitive with its counters. Seeing as the swifts will likely be 9.0 or below, they will be very competitive around their br. Until the EEL is added, you can enjoy the phantom, mig and the swifts. You make it sound like the WT locks in your chosen starter/main nation, and doesn't allow you to play others.
Xtanol, See, all nations should be playable ie balanced. The fact of the mirrored MM only proves that this is not the case. After the Javelin, a true slap to the face, people still keep believing that Gaijin doesn`t hate the Brits. What started as a meme is being proven true, time and time again. Seahawk, hispano derivatives being better than hispanos, T2 being added before the plane it was derived from.. People that want to play UK, for whatever reason are punished for it. BTW, Swift will be <9.0...
Where's UK's English-Electric Lightning at, Gaijin?
Too good for the game
*blbobobobo, Well T2 is too good for the game, for the entire patch. Alongside the F100. These broke the MM. Brits are not COMPETITIVE though for years. Also, T2 in game without Jaguar being even close to being added. At this point, i do believe the US will get a harrier and the UK will get a prototype as a premium at some point. At higher BR.
OMG !!! So cool. So hype.
F-4 Phantom, no offensive armament: we will unlock the missiles research only by being shot down, Lol!
There are 20mm Vulcan gunpods
Everyone always speaks about Britain, but have people forgotten about other nations in the game? We don't need the American and Soviet line to be expanded, we need the other nation's lines to be able to compete with everyone else. There are several BR gaps to be filled and you have the appropriate vehicles, we need to add helicopters and naval to ALL nations, and with supersonic jets you're already going into mach 2 even though some trees can't reach mach 1 travelling horizontally! Well done...
German Aircraft ?