McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Production and Operational Data Book Review
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | June 2005 | Title | McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Production and Operational Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | William R. Peake | Publisher | Midland Publications |
| Published | 2004 | ISBN | 1-85780-190-3 |
| Format | 360 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $49.95 |
Review
Here is just the reference that any Phantom Phreak will want for their library. This book is obviously a labor of love that author William Peake has undertaken to capture the production and operational life of virtually every F-4 ever produced (and that was over 5,000!). The author has kept a detailed database of every aircraft and noted when and where each aircraft served as well as its eventual fate.
The book is divided into different sections:
- Section 1: McDonnell Douglas Ship Number List
- Section 2: Mission Designation Series (MDS) List
- Section 3: MASDC/AMARC Storage List
- Section 4: Battle Damage Repair Aircraft
- Section 5: Display Aircraft
- Section 6: Attrition Lists
- Section 7: USAF/USN/USMC Aerial Combat Victory List
- Section 8: F-4 Phantom Units
As you can imagine, the majority of this reference's 360 pages are devoted to tables listing numerous operational details about every Phantom the author could find. In addition, there are over 190 full color photos of F-4s from around the world collected (and no black and white photos).
If you're an aviation historian, this book is an ideal reference to trace the background of a particular aircraft that you might find in some obscure photo. For the Phantom Phreak, this is a virtual playground of data that will walk you through the service of each aircraft and where many of them ended their careers. For the Phantom Modeler, here is the ultimate resource to get your tail numbers and unit assignments nailed at any point in time of each aircraft's operational lifetime.
Definitely recommended!