US Navy Phantoms Book Review
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | December 2010 | Title | US Navy Phantoms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Patrick Martin, Andreas Klein | Publisher | AirDOC |
| Published | 2010 | ISBN | 978-3-935687-83-6 |
| Format | 160 pages, hardbound | MSRP (Euro) | €39.95 less 7% VAT for non-EU customers |
Review
AirDOC just released a new title from their 'Double Ugly! Books' series providing a nice cross-section of US Navy Phantoms. The title opens up with a quick summary of the variants of the Phantom operated by the US Navy starting with the F4H-1 prototypes to the final F-4S. This title doesn't address the recce Phantom nor USMC operators.
From the opening summary, this title dives straight into the squadrons and special activities that flew the F-4. Each squadron/activity summary provides a quick sketch of the unit's history with the type along with beautiful color shots of the aircraft spanning the high-visibility as well as low-visibility color schemes used (where applicable). The squadrons/activities that are covered here include:
- VF-11 Red Rippers
- VF-14 Top Hatters
- VF-21 Freelancers
- VF-22L1 Naval Reserve
- VF-31 Tomcatters
- VF-32 Swordsmen
- VF-33 Tarsiers
- VF-41 Black Aces
- VF-51 Screaming Eagles
- VF-74 Be-devilers
- VF-84 Jolly Rogers
- VF-92 Silver Kings
- VF-96 Fighting Falcons
- VF-101 Grim Reapers
- VF-102 Diamondbacks
- VF-103 Sluggers
- VF-111 Sundowners
- VF-114 Aardvarks
- VF-121 Pacemakers
- VF-142 Ghostriders
- VF-143 Pukin' Dogs
- VF-151 Fighting Vigilantes
- VF-154 Black Knights
- VF-161 Chargers
- VF-171 Aces
- VF-191 Satan's Kittens
- VF-194 Red Lightnings
- VF-201 Hunters
- VF-202 Superheats
- VF-213 Black Lions
- VF-301 Devil's Disciples
- VF-302 Stallions
- Blue Angels
- VAQ-33 Firebirds
- VC-7 Fleet Composite Squadron
- VX-4 Evaluators
- VX-5 Vampires
- NMC Naval Missile Center
- PMTC Pacific Missile Test Center
- NWTS-PM Naval Weapons Test Squadron
- VX-30 Bloodhounds
- NPTC National Parachute Test Center
- NWEF Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility
- NATC Naval Air Test Center
- NADC Naval Air Development Center
- NATF Naval Air Test Facility
The title boasts over 350 previously unpublished photos plus 28 color profiles to provide the Phantom Phan with a nice cross-section of the F-4 Phantom II in US Navy service. Whether you're a Phantom Phreak, a modern aircraft modeler, or a military aviation historian, this title is a must-have for your library. Check out the previous two Phantom volumes covering the F-4 in Israeli service also reviewed here.
This title is available directly from AirDOC's website http://www.airdoc.eu/.
My sincere thanks to AirDOC for this review sample!