lum
■3800 © BY
RFVELL IN<
On
May
24,
1973 during a rollout ceremony at the
McDonnellDouglas
Plant in St. Louis, Missouri, the first
of the newest generation of German fighters was officially
handed over to the Luftwaffe. The aircraft was a Mc
DonnellDouglas
F4F
Phantom, latest in the series of
Phantoms
produced at the
St»
Louis plant, (The
F4G,
K9
L and M had all been in production several years. The
F4F
had been under development for some time, hence
the
fact
of its being produced later.) The
F4F
embodies
all of the technological advances and lessons learned
through the
18
years of Phantom development,
from
pro
totype mockup in 1955 through the 1973 introduction of
the
F4F
version.
The major difference between this latest Phantom
and all the others is the recent
introduction
of "slats" to
the wing leading edges. The "slats" are extended when
the aircraft is pulled into a tight turn or pulled up
sharply.
They prevent the separation of air flow over the wings
and result
ie
a tremendously improved turning ability for
the
airplane,
something that was shown to be needed in
combat
with MiGs of all types in Vietnam.
The
F4F
Phantom II, as originally ordered for the
Luftwaffe, was a
singleseat
aircraft based on the F-4E,
but having the Sparrow missiles and their associated radar
and "black
boxes"
eliminated. Without the Sparrows
PRINTED
IN
GERMANY BY
REVELL
PLASTICS GmbH.»
BÜWDE
there was no need for
an
R.I.O.
(Radar Intercept Officer)
in the back seat, as the Sidewinder
heatseeking missiles
can be aimed and fired by the pilot
alone»
Bet during the
course of developing the
F4F
the decision was made to
keep the rear seat and controls. Although the Sparrows
are deleted, McDonnellDouglas says that the capability
for their installation is retained along with the mountings
for the necessary equipment
Also retained on the
F4F
is the potent
ground
attack
capability of the
Phantom
series comprising a
centerfine
and four
enderwing
store
stations.
On these hard points
it is possible to hang either external fuel tanks (except on
inboard pylons) or a broad variety of offensive stores.
Certain of the component parts of this latest Phantom are
being made or are scheduled to be made in
Germany.
They
include the canopies, outer wing panels, rear fuselage, fin,
rudder,
stabilators,
ailerons,
landing gear doors, engine
access doors and spoilers.
So successful have the modifications and
improve
ments to this aircraft been, that the U.S.A.F. has adopted
most of the features for retrofit on all
U.S.A.F.
F4E
Phantoms. This will bring the
F4E
up to
F4F
standards.
.
And apart from some equipment differences, they will be
nearly identical to their German cousins.
