010 F-4 Phantom Volume 1: US Navy/USMC

1-965010

Volume 1 covers US Navy and USMC fighters with hundreds of color side views, top downs, nose art, and insignia. Also includes black and white photos. (Vol. 2 covers USAF and Export versions -- see book number 965013).

In 1953, McDonnell tasked one of his engineer teams with modernizing the F3H Demon. In July 1959, the F4H-1 was officially christened Phantom II as a tribute to the McDonnell FH-1, the first American jet plane designed in 1953 and intended for carrier-borne from the outset.

Designed originally as a carrier-borne interceptor armed only with missiles, its beginnings were so promising that the USAF adopted it as a tactical fighter ands was quickly followed by an impressive number of other air forces around the world which explains why certain examples are still in service today.