Despite its imposing dimensions and a maximum takeoff weight of over 60,000 pounds, the F-4 Phantom II was capable of reaching a top speed of Mach 2.23 and had an initial climb rate of over 41,000 feet per minute.
To meet the US Navy’s demand for a high-altitude interceptor capable of defending carriers with long-range air-to-air missiles against incoming aircraft, McDonnell Aircraft Company developed the F4H-1 Phantom II (later redesignated the F-4). The prototype first flew in 1958, and deliveries to Navy and Marine Corps squadrons began in 1960.
Its exceptional performance and adaptability soon drew the attention not only of the US Air Force (USAF) but also of the air arms of ten other countries, leading to its adoption as one of the most widely used aircraft in aviation history.
Although it had large dimensions and a maximum takeoff weight exceeding 60,000 pounds, the F-4 could still attain a top speed of Mach 2.23 and boasted an initial climb rate of more than 41,000 feet per minute.
As told by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver in his book The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club, the Navy, following the example set with the F-8 Crusader, chose to promote its new fighter by having it establish new speed and altitude records.
These record-breaking flights started on Dec. 6, 1959, when the second YF4H-1, flown by Commander Lawrence E. Flint, Jr., performed a zoom climb to 98,557 feet during Operation Top Flight, setting a new world altitude record and surpassing the previous mark of 94,658 feet held by a Soviet Sukhoi T-43-1. Commander Flint accelerated the aircraft to Mach 2.5 at 47,000 feet, then climbed at a 45-degree angle to 90,000 feet, where he shut down the engines and glided to the maximum altitude. As the Phantom II descended back through 70,000 feet, he restarted the engines and returned to normal flight. On Sep. 5, 1960, an F4H-1 achieved an average speed of 1,216.78 miles per hour over a 500-kilometer (311-mile) closed-circuit course. Twenty days later, on Sep. 25, another F4H-1 averaged 1,390.21 miles per hour over a 100-kilometer (62-mile) closed-circuit course.
To mark the 50th anniversary of Naval Aviation on May 24, 1961, three F4H-1F Phantom IIs set a transcontinental speed record, even though they had to reduce speed for aerial refueling. The fastest of the three, flown by Lieutenant Richard Gordon with RIO Lieutenant Bobbie Long, averaged 869.74 miles per hour and completed the journey in 2 hours 47 minutes, earning Gordon the 1961 Bendix Trophy.
Operation Sageburner involved an attempt to break the world sea-level speed record, which required the aircraft to fly a three-mile course at an altitude of less than 125 feet over the Salton Sea in southern California. During the first attempt on May 18, 1961, Commander J.J. Felsman was killed when his Phantom II broke apart in mid-air following a pitch damper failure. On Aug. 28, a second Phantom II set a new world record by averaging 902.769 miles per hour over the course. On Dec. 22, 1961, a Phantom II fitted with water-methanol injection achieved an absolute world speed record of 1,606.342 miles per hour in Operation Skyburner. On Dec. 5, another Phantom II established a sustained-flight altitude record of 66,443.8 feet.
In 1962, Operation High Jump set a series of time-to-altitude records: 34.523 seconds to reach 3,000 meters (9,840 feet), 48.787 seconds to 6,000 meters (19,680 feet), 61.629 seconds to 9,000 meters (29,530 feet), 77.156 seconds to 12,000 meters (39,370 feet), 114.548 seconds to 15,000 meters (49,210 feet), 178.5 seconds to 20,000 meters (65,600 feet), 230.44 seconds to 25,000 meters (82,000 feet), and 371.43 seconds to 30,000 meters (98,400 feet). Although this achievement was never officially recognized, the Phantom II completed a final flight with a zoom climb that reached an altitude of over 100,000 feet.
Over the three years from 1959 to 1962, the Phantom II established 16 world records. Except for Operation Skyburner, all of these achievements were accomplished using standard production aircraft. Five of the speed records remained unbroken until the arrival of the F-15 Eagle in 1975.
The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by U.S. Navy
