This book tells the fascinating story of this truly unique aircraft's design and development as an icon of American airpower, and relives its glorious record in the Vietnam War, various Arab-Israeli conflicts, the Cold War, and Operation Desert Storm.

Conceived in 1953 in a chickenwire-covered cubicle known as the advanced design cage at McDonnell Aircraft, the F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber was produced for 25 years, serving a full workload in Vietnam for the Navy, Marines, and Air Force, and surviving through the 1990s in the air arms of eleven nations. While most case studies of modern aircraft focus on the many ways the military-industrial complex goes wrong, this trenchant, invigorating study looks deeper at how those who built the complex intended it to work. Step by step the reader discovers how the relationships among parts, systems, procedures, economies, and missions were shaped by relationships among people - scientists, engineers, testers, program managers, subcontractors, military strategists, pilots and corporate leaders. Drawing on exhaustive research, including interviews with key players, the author makes a major advance in the burgeoning body of literature on technology management by showing how McDonnell worked through the problems of technical integration that plagued defense engineering in the 1960s and 1970s and led to programs full of "complexity". It is as much a study of how aircraft manufacturers and military officers went about their business as it is a life-and-times history of an important aircraft.

The 'Phabulous' Phantom first took to the air on 27 May 1958 and has been in service around the world for many decades. The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Turkey have all operated this powerful aircraft. The Phantom starred in both the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, and in its service career has flown every traditional military mission. With many F-4 variants in service (from FG.1s to 'Wild Weasels'), and some 25 scale model kits currently available, the possibilities for modelling this subject are endless. There are few guides currently available to the F-4 modeller: this book seeks to redress the imbalance, providing an in-depth and step-by-step approach to modelling this plane across a variety of scales, types, and national schemes.

This newly revised and expanded edition is the complete story of the world's best-loved and greatest fighter, ever-the F-4 Phantom. Tasked with a host of different missions, the Phantom served many countries and took part in conflicts stretching from the Vietnam War through the Gulf War. This book's authoritative text provides the reader with in-depth analysis of this important cold war warrior. It is packed with two-page color artworks, cutaways, technical drawings and a staggering array of photos. Every variant, every operator and every weapon carried by the Phantom are described.

Features: 128 pages Chr(45) full colour throughout; Details of the Phantoms flown by the Armed Forces of Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey, Australia, Israel, Spain, South Korea, Egypt and Iran; Individual nation airframe anomalies and weaponry; Colour side-views by David Howley; Modelling Export Versions in popular scales; A guide to available kits, decals and accessories; Scale plans by David Howley.

The American manufactured F-4 Phantom II was used by the Israelis in air-to-ground missions, as an attack aircraft, and air-to-air missions as a fighter. Despite performing both roles with equal success the Israeli reliance on the Mirage III and Nesher delta fighters meant that the F-4 was used most regularly in its air-to-ground role. The kill total of the Israeli F-4 community was, consequently, a modest 116.5; significantly lower than that of other Israeli aircraft types in service between 1969 and 1982. A handful of aces were, nevertheless, created and, using first hand accounts, this unique book tells their stories. Many F-4 pilots had previously flown the Mirage III but most of the navigators were either inexperienced flying school graduates or had been transferred from transport aircraft. As Shlomo Aloni explores in this detailed volume, the decision to create such teams may have appeared an odd one and it certainly led to a number of interesting experiences. However, it proved, ultimately, to be so successful that the Israeli air force planned to have more two-seat combat aircraft than single-seat fighters in the coming years. The F-4 experience was, therefore, crucial to moulding the future of the Israeli air force.