U.S. Air Force Photo Poster - F-4C Phantom

- 20" wide by 15" high color photo poster from the 1960's - (cropped)
- The photograph is of the McDonnell Douglas F-4C "Phantom"
- Photo taken by official USAF photographer TSgt. Guy R. Dyke **
* The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor aircraft/fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Aircraft first entering service in 1960. - It was also adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their respective air wings. The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. - It can carry more than 18,000 pounds (8,400 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was designed without an internal cannon. Later models incorporated a M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. During the Vietnam War, the F-4 was used extensively; it served as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, and became important in the ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance roles late in the war. The F-4 Phantom II remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. It was also the only aircraft used by both U.S. flight demonstration teams: the USAF Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the US Navy Blue Angels (F-4J). The F-4 was also operated by the armed forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several Arab–Israeli conflicts, while Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms in the Iran–Iraq War. (Israel retired theirs in 2004 while Germany retired theirs more recently in 2013). Phantoms remain in front line service with seven countries (Australia, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Japan, Spain, and Turkey) and in use as a target drone in the U.S. Air Force. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft.
** Photographer TSgt. Guy R. Dyke - retired as a master sergeant from the U.S. Air Force after 28 years of service. He also served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, the Asiatic Pacific Theater Victory Medal, the American Theater Victory Medal, the American Theater of Operation Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Purple Heart. - He passed away in 2010 at the age of 86.