One of the more written about aircraft is the F-4 Phantom II. You can find books on the aircraft from a variety of sources, but for the first time, there is a series of books about the Phantom II in service with the various nations of the world. A history of the type in the sort of depth that we have not seen before.

Double Ugly Books, a subsidiary of Air Doc, has started this series with one of the more interesting services to use the Phantom II, the IDF/AF. This was followed by USN Atlantic squadrons and now we have the second volume of RAF Phantoms from 1979 until they were withdrawn from service in 1992. British F-4s were never put through a life extension program and so when their airframe hours were up, the planes were grounded. Some had to have special permission to fly to a place where they were cut up, so one cannot say that the British did not get their money's worth out of the aircraft. For an F-4, 5,000 flight hours is the maximum original airframe life.

To McDonnell-Douglas, the two British aircraft were the F-4K and the F-4M. The F-4K was the navalized version and referred to as the Phantom FG.1, while the F-4M was the RAF aircraft and called the Phantom FGR.2. The major difference was that the FG.1 had equipment specifically for carrier use, which included the hold back hooks and a nose gear that had an additional 40 inch extension built in so that it was at the right angle of attack to be launched from Britain's shorter carriers. Otherwise, they were pretty much the same, which helped the type's integration into the RAF post-1978.

The British Phantom had to have a certain percentage of British equipment in it before the London government would buy the plane. This is pretty standard stuff now as you have to keep the home shops busy. Aside from avionics and seats, this meant Spey turbofan engines. These engines were more powerful than the standard J-79 used by the F-4. They were also larger and required a bigger intake opening and a redesign of the ducting and areas around the engine. This increased the drag on the airframe so you ended up with a Phantom that was more powerful, quicker accelerating and with a slower  top speed.

With all the development stuff covered in the previous volume, this one continues with the aircraft in squadron service. This is accompanied by a bevy of superb photographs and drawings, just about all of them in full color. The images are not the tiny ones several other books have provided, but generally cover the width of the page. There are also a large number of full color profiles that match various images in the book.

There are sections on the camouflage and markings of the aircraft as well as one that covers each unit that flew the plane. A small section on weapons is also included as are unit badges, and four views of the various camo schemes carried by these planes. Since the F-4 was not immune to special paint schemes, all of those worn in RAF service are included. The RAF also purchased a number or ex-USN F-4Js for service after the Falklands War when more planes were needed to patrol that airspace. These were all brought into service with required mods and painted at NARF North Island in a rather unusual color that wasn't exactly standard RAF stuff. There are the usual mass of appendices making for a most complete look at the British Phantom.

It is a book that I can easily give my highest recommendation and one that should be a must have for any enthusiast or modeler of the Phantastic Phantom.

December 2013

My thanks to AirDoc for the review book. You can find these at your local hobby shop and if not, ask them to order them for you. You can also order direct by visiting this link.

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