The McDonnell-Douglass F-4 Phantom jet was in many ways representative of the times and of the United States in Vietnam : It's mission was not clearly defined and hence often misused and under performed.

First flown in 1958, the Phantom was originally developed for the U.S. Navy and entered use in 1961. Originally called the F4H-1, the initial design was as a carrier-based fleet defense two-person interceptor to be used against air attack. Because of this, the armament requirements were changed to include four Sparrows and the initially designed 20-millimeter cannons were taken off the plane.

In 1961 the U.S. Navy lent the USAF 29 F-4Bs for evaluation. The 29 came from a lot of 649 built for the USN and USMC. The Air Force needed a new plane, and the thinking of the time by the U.S. government was to try to reduce expenses as much as possible. To buy one type of plane in quantity instead of two or three different planes would be not as expensive. Instead of buying to one's needs, buy to price. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, the primary plane that was used in America's entry into World War II had been purchased similarly, to price. It was quickly superceded by several planes that included the P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt, and the P-51 Mustang. Yet twenty years later, with different branches of the military now in place, the idea that perhaps these different branches might now have different requirements seemed to not have been adequately considered.

The largest user of the Phantom was the USAF. And in 1966 the Phantom F-4C was the workhorse of the USAF in Vietnam . By 1968 it was the F-4D. Even though the jet had been initially designed to use radar-guided missiles such as the Sparrow and later the Sidewinder to shoot down aircraft at long distance, the Air Force chose to use it as a fighter instead. To say that it is difficult to succeed in a subsonic dog-fight when one doesn't have guns on board is considerate. The kill-ratio in air battles against the North Vietnamese Air Force from 1965 - 68 was only 1.5 to 1. By some accounts, it was just 1 to 1. The Russian MIG-17s and MIG-21s were much smaller (harder to hit) and more maneuverable.

In contrast, the predecessor to the F-4, the F-86, had a kill ratio in Korea from anywhere of 14:1 to 10:1.

From 1969 to 1973, the USAF used the F-4E. The armament now included a M61A1 “Vulcan” 20mm cannon.

One of the more interesting variants is the F-4G. In 1975, the F-4G Phantom became the “Wild Weasel.” The role of the “Wild Weasel” is to detect and destroy radar-controlled surface-to air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery. In 1991, the F-4G Wild Weasel was utilized in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq . Today, the role of the “Wild Weasel,” is performed by a F-16 variant, F-16CJ.

Over 5,000 F-4s, in all of their variants, were manufactured in the plane's lifetime. The F-4E was replaced by the F-15 starting in 1975 and by the F-16 in 1979. The last USAF reserve squadron relinquished their Phantoms n 1991.

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