F-4 Phantom II McDonnell Douglas Model Airplane

An Excellent, Museum Quality F-4 Phantom II McDonnell Douglas Model Airplane Will Greatly Valued By Enthusiasts and Model Collectors

Our F-4 Phantom II McDonnell Douglas model airplane is delicately handcrafted and made of the finest grade materials which underwent stages of meticulous and careful sanding, carving and modeling to its original form. Painstakingly and passionately worked by our master craftsmen on the F-4 Phantom II McDonnell Douglas model airplane's details, ensuring exactness and precision based on the original airplane.

Our museum-quality McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II model plane is truly unique and not constructed from kits. The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II model plane comes with a sturdy, durable base with a chrome steel support mounting rod or you can have our variable pitch wall mount accessory, allowing your to be displayed either hanging on the wall or the ceiling for an added effect. This top-quality McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II model plane will surely be appreciated by anyone who receives this elegant desktop display as a gift.

The F-4 Phantom II was a two-place, twinjet and all-weather aircraft. The plane was one of the most verstile fighter ever built. Its first flight took place on May 27, 1958. It was named Phantom II on July 3, 1959, during a ceremony held at the McDonnell plant in St. Louis, Mo., to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary. It remained in production until the company's 40th anniversary. By then, the numeral "II" had been discontinued; it had become the only Phantom. It entered service in 1961.

The Phantom II originally was developed for US Navy fleet defense. In 1965 the first USAF Phantom IIs were sent to Vietnam. Early versions lacked any gun armament. Coupled with the unreliability of the air-to-air missiles (AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder) of the time, this major drawback resulted in the aircraft loss after they ran out of missiles. During the course of the Vietnam War, its contemporaries, the MiG-19 and MiG-21, inflicted heavy losses on the F-4s when the American aircraft were ambushed after returning from bombing assignments. This prompted the USAF to introduce an M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon in the nose of the aircraft, below the radome (although no Navy or Marine Phantoms ever had an integral gun). This later version was the mainstay of the USAF Phantom II forces. The last Phantoms in USAF service were retired in December 2004 with the deactivation of the 20th Fighter Squadron, the Silver Lobos. The last Phantoms in Marine Corps service were F-4S models of VMFA-112 and were retired in 1992 when VMFA-112 transitioned to the F/A-18A.

By the end of production in 1985, McDonnell had built 5,068 Phantom IIs and Mitsubishi, in Japan, had built 127. Many are still in service. Now and then, plans are announced to upgrade the F-4 with new engines and electronics. The RF-4 is a recce version of the F-4 fighter with a camera nose. Currently retired F-4s are being converted into QF-4 target drones.