The F-4 Phantom was at the forefront of US air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and saw extensive action during the Vietnam War as the principal air superiority fighter for both the US Navy and Air Force, as well as in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles. The F-4J, K and M also played key roles with the RAF and Royal Navy in the same period. Former RAF Phantom navigator Ian Black gives the F-4 the Haynes Manual treatment.
Former RAF fighter pilot and navigator Ian Black offers a level of insight into the legendary Phantom that only someone who has flown the F-4 can bring. With 800 hours in his log book flying the FGR2 and F-4J (UK), Ian often took a camera with him on sorties and his stunning colour photographs grace the pages of the Haynes F-4 Phantom Manual.
Ian recounts the life story of the Phantom and describes the F-4's extensive combat experience in Vietnam and the Middle East wars, including its swan-song in Gulf War 1. He lifts the Phantom's aluminium skin to examine the titanium skeleton beneath and the F-4's complex anatomy; McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Manual
From the pilot's seat
and he offers readers a rare glimpse into the restoration to flight of an original F4H-1 'Sageburner' - the eleventh pre-production Phantom - at Murrieta in California.
At the height of the Cold War in the 1980s Ian was a navigator with 19 (F) Squadron, flying low-level air defence sorties over NATO's West German front line with WARPAC. He places the reader firmly inside the cockpit of the Phantom and describes in graphic terms just what it was like to fly the F-4 on Battle Flight and QRA sorties, including intercepting giant Soviet Tu-142 'Bears' when they intruded into NATO airspace.
If you want to experience the 'Mighty Toom' in close-up, then the Haynes F-4 Phantom Manual is required reading.
- A unique insight into operating and maintaining the Phantom.
- Includes flying the Phantom from the pilots' and navigators' viewpoints.
- Includes stunning air-to-air photography of the Phantom in service.
- Includes comprehensive step-by-step coverage of maintenance and servicing.
- With a rare glimpse of the restoration to flight of an original
Author: Former RAF Phantom navigator Ian Black retrained as a pilot and flew the Lightning and Tornado. He is now an A340 Airbus captain with Virgin Atlantic. An accomplished aviation author and photographer, he lives in Switzerland and the UK.
