Overachiever from the Beginning

[Talyn]

Fantastic Phantom: the Records set by the McDonnell Douglas F-4​

Looking more like a killer than a speedster, the large twin-engined jet built to sweep the skies clear of enemy MiGs and deliver payloads of bombs would also record many "firsts".

Out of a requirement for an all-weather fleet defense interceptor, McDonnell Douglas developed the XF4H-1 twin-engine two-seat test aircraft. In July 1955, the United States Navy (USN) ordered two XF4H-1 test examples along with five YF4H-1 pre-production aircraft. Test flights would begin on May 27, 1958. The aircraft would become known as Phantom II and later referred to as simply Phantom.

Fantastic Phantom: the Records set by the McDonnell Douglas F-4

Looking more like a killer than a speedster, the large twin-engine jet built to sweep skies clear of enemy MiGs and deliver large payloads of bombs would

theaviationist.com

On Dec. 6, 1959, during Project Top Flight, Commander Lawrence E. Flint Jr. of the USN would set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world altitude record during a zoom climb of 98,556 ft while flying the second produced YF4H-1 (142660) at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) California. The previous record of 94,658 ft was held by Soviet pilot Vladmir Sergeyevich Ilyushin in a Sukhoi T-43-1, a prototype of the Su-9 all-weather interceptor.

Project High Jump​

Project High Jump would see a series of time-to-altitude records set by both USN and USMC pilots between Feb. 21 and Apr.12, 1962. A total of eight records were set, with the first five set by Phantoms from NAS (Naval Air Station) Brunswick, Maine, the remaining three from NAS Point Mugu in California.

The F-4 Phantom was one of the first Navy aircraft to have a non-pilot RIO or also known as the GiB (Guy in Back). The Phantom was also the mount of Lt. Randy “Duke” Cunningham and William P. Driscoll when, flying a Navy F-4J variant with the call sign “Showtime 100”, they achieved ace status by downing three MiG-17s on May 10, 1972. These three MiG kills made Cunningham and Driscoll the first American air aces of the Vietnam War.