The Fabulous RAAF Phantom

The Royal Australian Air Force flew Phantoms only by force of circumstance. The RAAF was awaiting delivery of the General Dynamics F-IIIC low-level bomber but because of a delay in its delivery, the Australian Government were leased 24 F-4E’s by the USAF to fill the gap. They were delivered in late 1970 for No 1 and No6 Squadron RAAF. When they were eventually returned to the USAF in 1973 there was considerable disappointment in the defence forces in Australia, including Royal Australian Naval fliers who had the impression that like the British Royal Navy, they fly the mean machine.

The two 6 Squadron RAAF F-4E’s in my painting were operated out of Amberley Air Force Base in Queensland and are shown in battle formation, lit by the setting sun while, far below, dusk settles on the landscape of the Evans Head bombing range. The first flight of the McDonnell Phantom was in 1958 and, after a few teething problems, this aggressively efficient-looking machine became a world-beater in terms of both its combat ability and its record-breaking performances. It was also unusual in that McDonnell, a company that had a distinguished history of designing jet aircraft for the US Navy, found itself in the position of having designed an aircraft that was also sought after by the USAF, the reverse of the usual state of affairs. Small wonder that it later became what was described as “the greatest fighting aircraft of the post-war years.”

Notwithstanding that, the old maxim, “if it looks right, it is right” hardly applied to this unusual-looking machine. With its split-dihedral wing, droopy nose, and tail that seemed to be put on upside-down, she was an ugly duckling compared to her streamlined forbears. It is fascinating to note how the F-4’s hot performance reversed those perceptions.

Over 5,000 were manufactured and some are still in active service with air forces throughout the world. Their highly effective operational performance in the Vietnam War was to give them a special caché among professional and military aircrew.

The “E” model, featured in this Marshall painting, incorporated improvements gained from combat experience–the two most obvious of these were the inclusion of a multi-barrelled cannon (in Vietnam the Phantom of the American forces used missiles even though a gun pod was available). Also, a redesigned wing was fitted featuring leading-edge slats to improve manoeuvrability at low-level. Maximum speed was a massive Mach 2.12 at 36,000ft (10,972m). From the Great War of 1914-18 through to the Korean War, the fighter-bomber has been operated by many air forces, but its performance rarely matched the performance of a fighter. Not so with the Phantom. Advanced avionics, extraordinary increases in engine power and performance gave the two-seat fighter-bomber Phantom a fighter-like performance. It was to play an important role in battle situations, often carrying a bomb load previously possible only with larger aircraft. The second crew member of the two-seat Phantom – the ‘man in the back seat’, became vital to success in the variety of operations demanded of this amazing machine.

The Phantom was not the first two-seat fighter-bomber operated by the RAAF. Notable was the Hawker “Demon” of the early 1930s. It never saw action but gained a lot of publicity; mostly because the dashing young pilots of the day seemed to have a flair for crashing them. By the time World War Two had broken out, the Demon was obsolete, but you can still see a fine example of one in the RAAF Museum at Point Cook, Victoria. However, you won’t find a Phantom. More’s the pity.

Above: An RAAF Hawker Demon, 1935