The Aircraft
One of the most produced aircraft in the world, the Phantom II is still being operated by some Air Forces (through upgrades) even though the design dates back to the 1950s. The Phantom II is only one of the few aircraft that was operated by three US services (Air Force, Navy and Marines) at the same time. In the end, over 5000 Phantom IIs left the production lines with 1387 produced in the F-4E variant.
The F-4E is the only variant (the F was basically an export version of the E) in the long line that carried a built-in gun. Before its introduction, the view was that the gun was obselete with the advent of heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles. During the Vietnam conflict however, most air-to-air engagements were close ranged, which negated the effectiveness of missiles, and brought back the importance of the gun and the concept of dogfighting. The F-4E served with the USAF from 1967 to the early 1990s, when it was replaced by the F-15 and F-16.
The F-4E can be differentiated from other variants by it’s longer tapered nose with a gun housing that extends underneath the radome.
