McDonnell F-4 Phantom II cockpit layouts, instrument panels and flight instruments

Introduction

The McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II was produced to meet the US Navy requirement for a supersonic fighter. It is a supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter bomber with two J79-GE-8s engines and a crew of two (pilot and radar operator/navigator seated in tandem). The internal fuel capacity was larger than that of any other Navy fighter jet in the 1960s. The primary armament consisted of four Sparrow 3 missiles that are partially submerged in the underside of the fuselage and four sidewinders on wing racks (source: Flight Magazine, July 1960). The wings could be folded for easy airplane storage on a carrier and a drag chute and an arresting hook reduced landing roll distances on land and aircraft carriers. The production version for the Navy and the Marines was designated F-4B in September 1962 and also included a reconnaissance version, the RF-4B.

Different F-4 versions

Different F-4 versions as shown in a mid-1960s McDonnell promotional flyer for French Government officials and press (source: Daniel Lehmann's Ad Astra Antiquariat).

Evolution of the F-4 Phantom

Evolution of the McDonnell F-4 Phantom (source: McDonnell press release presentation, 1976; Daniel Lehmann's Ad Astra Antiquariat).

After extensive testing of the Navy F-4B in 1961, the USAF decided upon the F-4 Phantom to become its main tactical fighter aircraft. This led to the development of the USAF F-4C Phantom, later followed by modified F-4D and F-4E versions. The latter version included an M61 20 mm Vulcan Gattling gun as secondary armament in addition to the missiles. The verious versions all played a significant role in air support during the Vietnam war, often supporting F-105 Thunderchief bombing raids. The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation merged with Douglas Aircraft Company Incorporated on April 28, 1967, to form the McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

Different F-4 versions on cover page promotional brochure

USAF, Navy and Marines F-4 versions as shown in a mid-1960s McDonnell promotional flyer for Government officials and press (source: Daniel Lehmann's Ad Astra Antiquariat).

The F-4E Phantom was also exported to Turkey, Iran and Israel, to Germany for the West-German Luftwaffe (designated F-4F) and used by the British RAF (F-4M Phantom FGR Mk. 2) and the Royal Navy (F-4K Phantom). Later versions for the Navy and Marines were the F-4J, which, after upgrades and other modifications, became the F-4S. Reconaissance versions were the RF-4B for the Navy and RF-4C, RF-4E for the USAF.

For an extensive overview of all F-4 Phantom models, visit Joe Baugher's web site at http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/f4.html.

Cockpit configurations, instrument panels and contractor scale models

The links below lead to pages where the cockpit layouts of various F-4 versions are displayed, as well as their flight instruments and instrument panels

Navy McDonnell F-4H-1 / F-4B and F-4N cockpit layout and instruments
USAF McDonnell F-4C, F-4D and F-4E Phantom II cockpit layout and instrument panel configurations
German Air Force (GAF) F-4F cockpit layout and instrument panels
RAF McDonnell F-4M Phantom FGR Mk.2 cockpit layout and instruments
McDonnell F-4J and F-4S cockpit layout and instruments
Information about, and images of Topping, Inc., Precise Models Inc., Matthys Verkuyl and Raise-Up Rotterdam scale miniatures, including contractor F-4 Phantom models, are given on my promotional contractor aircraft scale models web page. If you are interested in vintage contractor scale models, please visit this site.

F-4 Phantom images

The gallery below contains some pictures of F-4 Phantom aircrafts. Click on the thumbnails to get a larger versions of these images. Some of these pictures were used for aircraft recognition purposes by the RAF. The colour pictures of the German and Turkish F-4 Phantoms appear courtesy to Mr. Ad Jan Aldevogt (adjan@altevogt.nl), who has an extensive archive of civil and military aircraft photos, including pictures taken in Eastern Block countries.

F-4M Phantom in flight	USAF F-4E	British F-4M
USAF F-4E Phantom and F-5 Tiger	German F-4F	German F-4F
Turkish F-4E	Turkish F-4E	Turkish F-4E

F-4 Phantom mobile nose section for events

Joe from St. Louis or Bethalto, Illinois, has beautifully restored an F-4E Phantom cockpit section. This section has been mounted on a mobile platform and it is possible to have this F-4E Phantom cockpit on display for birthday parties, corporate events, school activities or otherwise. Joe's web site is www.littlepilots.com and you can contact him at littlepilots@charter.net.

F-4 Phantom Patches

There are many patches that were stitched by F-4 Phantom pilots on their gear. These included patches indicating certain squadron, for when a certain number of mission were completed or for hours flown, but also, for instance, to remember the 40^th year of the F-4 Phantoms existence and for other events. Below are examples of a few of these patches

2-hundred missions patch F-4 Phantom Night Owl missions in Vietnam

Original patch marking two hundred Night Owl (Night Interdiction Missions) of an F-4 Phantom pilot over Vietnam (and Laos, Cambodia). Spook is displayed here in an Ace of Spades - representing the bringer of death. Image courtesy of Pierre.

Visit Program to McDonnell Aircraft Co., Swissair vice-president, 1974

The World Headquarters of the McDonnell Aircraft Company was often visited by important potential customers to be informed about McDonnell's products. The program of these visits, and the names of the persons who would be present at these meetings, were published on small black-and-white brochures. An example of such a brochure - for the visit of Mr. Konrad Lindenmanns, who was vice-president of Swissair in 1974 - to McDonnell Aircraft Company's World Headquarters in St. Louis (USA) is shown below.

McDonnell Aircraft Company visit program to Swissair, 1974

McDonnell Aircraft Company visit program to Swissair, 10 September 1974 (Source: Daniel Lehmann's Antiquariat Ad Astra, Switzerland).

At this particular visit McAir was introduced, the F-15 Eagle Program was presented, an F-15 simulator tour was made, the final assembly line and prologue room were visited and and Electronics Vital III presentation was given after a one-hour lunch.

Literature, flight and maintenance manuals

Danny Coremans from DACO Publications released an new book titled Uncovering the US Navy Q/F-4B/J/N/S Phantom in 2009. This book contains hundreds of colour pictures of the inside and outside of the different Navy Phantom II aircraft, showing technical details of fuselage, cockpit, engine, weapons systems, avionics, etc., and also contains scale drawings of the various F-4 Phantom aircraft types and their cockpits that are valuable for scale model projects.

Cover page of D. Coremans (2009). Uncovering the US Navy Q/F-4B/J/N/S Phantom. DACO Publications, Belgium.

I can recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Navy Phantoms. Sample pages from the book and ordering information are shown DACO's Navy F-4 Phantom book page. Please do check it out...

I would like to have more information about the connections of the flight instruments, mainly to be able to use them for flight simulation purposes. The operation and pin connections are described in the following manuals, but perhaps also in other F-4 manuals, or of other aircraft from the same period, such as the F-111:

TO 1F-4C-2-11 MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS -- INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS
TO 1F-4C-2-17 MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS -- AVIONICS NAVIGATION
TO 1F-4C-2-22 MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS -- SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
TO 1F-4C-2-30 MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS -- ELECTRONIC INTEGRATION and
TO 1F-4C-2-33

If you have any of these manuals available or can prepare copies of selected pages, please contact me at aviation@watergeek.eu.

Below is a list of original and digital aviation books, flight and technical manuals that served to provide information shown on the different web pages.

Chief of Naval Operations (1967). NATOPS Flight Manual NAVY Model RF-4B Aircraft. NAVAIR 01-245FDC-1.
Chief of Naval Operations (1973). NATOPS Flight Manual NAVY Model F-4J Aircraft. NAVAIR 01-245FDD-1. 586 p.
Chief of Naval Operations (1975).NATOPS Pocket Checklist F-4J Aircraft. NAVAIR 01-245FDD-18.
Chief of Naval Operations (1975).NATOPS Flight Manual NAVY Model F-4B and F-4N Aircraft. NAVAIR 01-245FDC-1. Changed 15 February 1978. 590 p.
Chief of Naval Operations (1975).NATOPS Flight Manual NAVY Model F-4J and F-4S Aircraft. NAVAIR 01-245FDD-1. Change 7, 1 May 1985. 733 p.

Air Force (1966). F/RF-4 Flight Crew Air Refueling Procedures with KC-97L and KV-135, Supplement VIII. T.O. 1-1C-1-8, Change 6, 1 December 1969. 43 p.
Air Force (1970). Flight Manual, USAF Series F-4C and F-4D Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4C-1-1, Change 2, 13 March 1971. 368 p.
Air Force (1973). Flight Manual, USAF Series F-4C, F-4D and F-4E Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4C-1. Changed 14 August 1973. 370 p.
Air Force (1971). Flight Manual, USAF Series RF-4C Aircraft. T.O. 1F-(R)4C-1. Change 1, 7 December 1971. 260 p.
Air Force (1979). Flight Manual, USAF Series F-4C and F-4D Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4C-1. Changed 15 February 1979. 534 p.
Air Force (1970). Maintenance Instructions, Aircraft General, USAF Series F-4C, F-4D and RF-4C Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4C-2-1. Change 3 - 15 April 1971. 362 p.
Air Force (1 June 1967). Maintenance Instructions, Electrical Systems USAF Series F-4C, F-4D, F-4E and RF-4C Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4C-2-13. Change 4 - July 1968. 502 p.

Air Force (1 October 1966). Maintenance Instructions, Armament Systems USAF Series F-4C, F-4D and RF-4C Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4C-2-18. Change 15 - January 1967. 540 p.
Air Force (early 1964?). Illustrated parts breakdown for the Air Force Model F-4C Aircraft. Volume IV. Instruments, Electric and Electronic Systems. TO-1F-4C-4-4. 298 p.
Air Force (1965).Flight Manual USAF Series RF-4C Aircraft. 15 July 1965 issue, TO 1F-4(R)C-1. 318 p.
Air Force (1972, Change 1, 1 September 1971).Flight Manual USAF Series RF-4C Aircraft. TO 1F-4(R)C-1, . 260 p.
Air Force (15 October 1971, Change 37, 15 May 1980). Technical Manual. Illustrated parts breakdown. USAF Series F-4E Aircraft. Volume I: Airframe. TO-1F-4E-4-1. 350 p.
Air Force (15 October 1971, Change 38, 15 May 1980). Technical Manual. Illustrated parts breakdown. USAF Series F-4E Aircraft. Volume II: Mechanics, controls, and ejection seats. TO-1F-4E-4-2. 212 p.

Navair 01-245FDD-1 F-4J and F-4S flight manual

Air Force (15 October 1971, Change 11, 15 May 1980). Technical Manual. Illustrated parts breakdown. USAF Series F-4E Aircraft. Volume IV: Instruments, electric, and electronic systems. TO-1F-4E-4-4. 496 p.
Air Force (15 October 1971, Change 31, 15 May 1980). Illustrated parts breakdown. Technical Manual. USAF Series F-4E Aircraft. Volume V: Fuel system, power plant, and related systems. TO-1F-4E-4-5. 126 p.
Secretary of the Air Force (15 October 1971, Change 32, 15 May 1980). Illustrated parts breakdown. Technical Manual. USAF Series F-4E Aircraft. Volume VI: Aerospace ground equipment and armament. TO-1F-4E-4-6. 252 p.
Air Force (1965?). Non-nuclear Aircrew Weapons Delivery Manual, USAF Series F-4C, F-4D and F-4E Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4C-34-1-1.
Air Force (1975). Flight Manual, USAF Series F-4E Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4E-1. Changed 26 February 1976. 720 p.

Navair 01-245fdb-2-3.1 J79-GE-8 power plant manual

Air Force (1975). Flight Manual, GAF (German Air Force) Series F-4F Aircraft. T.O. 1F-4F-1. Changed 15 July 1976. 494 p. Source eFlightManuals.
Bundesministers der Verteidigung, Führungsstab der Luftwaffe (1977). Technisches Handbuch - Bebildeter Teilekatalog (illustrated parts catalogue). Zusatzanlagen und Pneuhydraulikanlage (utility and pneudraulic systems GAF F-4F Phantom). Luftfahrtzeug F-4F. Materialamt der Luftwaffe GAF T.O. 1F-4F-4-4. 546 pages. Source: Tim Barnhart.
Bundesministers der Verteidigung, Führungsstab der Luftwaffe (1977). Technisches Handbuch - Bebildeter Teilekatalog (illustrated parts catalogue). Instrumente, Elektrische und Elektronische Anlagen (instruments, electric and electronic systems, GAF F-4F Phantom). Luftfahrtzeug F-4F. Materialamt der Luftwaffe GAF T.O. 1F-4F-4-5. 548 pages. Source: Tim Barnhart.

International F-4E technical description, Report MDC-A2300

Direction of the Commander of the Naval Air Systems Command, 1966. Maintenance Instructions Manual (Organization and Intermediate) Navy Models F-4B, F-4J, and RF-4B Aircraft Power Plant. Navair 01-245FDB-2-3.1.
Direction of the Commander of the Naval Air Systems Command, 1967. Maintenance Instructions Manual (Organization and Intermediate) Navy Models F-4B, F-4J, and RF-4B Aircraft Power Plant. Power plant build-up instructions with illustrated parts breakdown. Navair 01-245FDB-2-3.5.
R.F. Dorr (1984). McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Osprey Publishing Ltd. UK. 200 p.
B. Gunston (1977). F-4 Phantom. Charles Scribner's Sons Publ. NY, USA. 112 p.

F-4D Inertial Navigation and Weapons Release Computer Systems, 1969

Litton Industries, Inc. Guidance and Control Systems Division (1969). F-4D Inertial Navigation and Weapons Release Computer Systems, Aircrew Handbook Tactical Support Operations, First Revision.
McDonnell Aircraft (1963). Fact sheet McDonnell F-4B Phantom II For U.S. Navy. Public Relations, Saint Louis 66, MO. Pershing 1-2121.
McDonnell Aircraft (1963). Fact sheet McDonnell RF-4B Phantom II For U.S. Marine Corps. Public Relations, Saint Louis 66, MO. Pershing 1-2121.

F-4E & G Interoperability loading/off-loading procedures, 1984

McDonnell Aircraft (1963). Fact sheet McDonnell F-4C Phantom II For U.S. Air Force. Public Relations, Saint Louis 66, MO. Pershing 1-2121.
McDonnell Aircraft (1963). Fact sheet McDonnell F-4C Phantom II For U.S. Air Force. Public Relations, Saint Louis 66, MO. Pershing 1-2121.
McDonnell Aircraft Company (1973). International F-4E Technical Description. Report MDC A2300, Rev. 1 September 1973 A. McDonnell Douglas Corp., Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Source: Daniel Lehmann's Antiquariat Ad Astra, Switzerland.

F-4E Crew chief's handbook P.S. 861, 1974

McDonnell Aircraft Company (1970). Plane captain's handbook F-4B & F-4J. P.S. 110. McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Box 516, Saint Louis, MO. 104 p. Source: G. Herft.
McDonnell Aircraft Company (1974). F-4E Crew Chief's Handbook. P.S. 861. McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Box 516, Saint Louis, MO. 104 p. Source: G. Herft.
McDonnell Product Support Division (1966). F-4 Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50.0 General Information, Sections O. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
McDonnell Product Support Division (1967). F-4D Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50D Volumes 1,2,3 & 4. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Revised 1 March 1967. Source: S. Eisner.

F-4C, F-4D and F-4E aircrew weapons delivery checklist, 1973

McDonnell Product Support Division (1967). F-4D Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50D Volume 5. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Source: S. Eisner.
McDonnell Product Support Division (1968). F-4E Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50E Volume 1,2,3 & 4. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Source: S. Eisner.
McDonnell Douglas Product Support Division (1970). (GY)RF-4E Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50RE(GY) Volume 1: Electrical - Mechanical. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Source: S. Eisner.

F-4 TDDR-50.0 Trouble Shooting manual, Section 0

McDonnell Douglas Product Support Division (1970). (GY)RF-4E Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50RE(GY) Volume 2: Electronic - Reconnaissance. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Source: S. Eisner.
McDonnell Douglas Product Support Division (1974). (JA)RF-4E Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50RE(JA) Volume 1 & 2. Supplement to TDDR-50RE. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Source: Steve Eisner.

NAVAIR 01-245FDD-18 NATOPS Pocket Checlist F-4J Aircraft

McDonnell Product Support Division (1968). F-4E Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50E Volumes 1,2,3 & 4. Electrical and mechanical. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Revised 1 December 1971. Source: Steve Eisner.
McDonnell Product Support Division (1968). F-4E Aircraft TDDR-50 Series Trouble Shooting Manuals. TDDR-50E Volume 5. Electronic. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. Revised 1 December 1971. Source: Steve Eisner.
Procurement Exectutive, Ministry of Defence (1969). Phantom FG Mk1 Aircrew Manual AP101B-0901-15A (AL14).

G.G. O'Rourke (1969). The F-4 Phantom II. Acro Publishing Incorporation. NY, USA. 64 p.
R.C. Stern (1987). F-4 Phantom. Warbirds Illustrated No. 46. Arms and Armour Press, UK. 72 p.

The following texts on CD (Adobe PDF files or HTML):

Air Force and Bureau of Aeronautics (1948). Pilot's Handbook for Navy Model F2H-1 Airplanes. AN 01-245FBA-1. Flight Manuals on CD issue.
Air Force and Bureau of Aeronautics (1948).Pilot's Handbook for Navy Model FH-1 Airplanes. AN 01-245FA-1. Revised 1 September 1949. 47 p. Flight Manuals on CD issue.
Chief of Naval Operations (1975). NATOPS Flight Manual NAVY Model F-4B and F-4N Aircraft. NAVAIR 01-245FDB-1. eFlightManuals issue. 564 p.

Original vintage F-4 Phantom manuals and handbooks for sale

The following original F-4 Phantom manuals are for sale.

TDDR-50 Series trouble shooting manual. The manual was published by the McDonnell Product Support Division on 1 February 1967. It is about 3 cm thick and full of diagrams, many on fold-out pages. It contains details and schematics about the electronics of the F-4D Phantom, including Systems Integration, Air Data Computer, Angle of Attack system, Radar electronic altimeter APN-155, UHF, TACAN, IFF systems, navigation instruments, lead computing optical sight, flight director group, automatic flight controls, etc. It is used but in good condition. The price is 99.00 euro + shipping costs. Contact me at aviation@watergeek.eu for more details and pictures of other pages.

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Last modified: Wed Jul 25 17:36:58 CEST 2012