F-4 Phantom Reading List

[_BringTheReign_]

If you're anything like me, reading books about combat aircraft and the theatres they served in generates an immediate desire to go fly that aircraft in DCS! 

With that in mind, let's climb aboard this hype train till release day, and share some books about the F-4 Phantom, the people who flew them, and the theatres it served in! 

I'll start off with a few of my favourites:

• Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds - Christina Olds, Robin Olds, Ed Rasimus
• Top Gun: An American Story - Dan Pedersen
• Sierra Hotel: Flying Airforce Fighters In The Decade After Vietnam - C R Anderegg
• The Hunter Killers - Dan Hampton

What do you recommend to fellow F-4 Phantom Enthusiasts?

[SgtPappy]

I learned so much about the F-4 and US doctrine during the Vietnam war from "Clashes: Air Combat Over North Vietnam, 1965-1972" by Marshall L. Michel III. I still refer to material here when I have questions. 

"Israeli F-4 Phantom II Aces" by Shlomo Aloni also gives a great perspective on the Israeli experience with the F-4 from SAM avoidance to dogfights and gun kills in the most intense aerial fighting that Phantom crews have ever seen.

Edited January 28, 2022 by SgtPappy

[G.J.S]

F-4 Phantom by Bob Prest. 

[Nexus-6]

"Nickel On the Grass" is a good read.

[Bremspropeller]

All the Osprey titles about the Phantom.

I'll post more later.

[yewls]

Once a Fighter Pilot by Jerry Cook is a great read as well - went from a FAIP to the first USAF F-4 squadron and served a tour in Vietnam

[mkellytx]

1 hour ago, _BringTheReign_ said:

If you're anything like me, reading books about combat aircraft and the theatres they served in generates an immediate desire to go fly that aircraft in DCS! 

With that in mind, let's climb aboard this hype train till release day, and share some books about the F-4 Phantom, the people who flew them, and the theatres it served in! 

I'll start off with a few of my favourites:

• Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds - Christina Olds, Robin Olds, Ed Rasimus
• Top Gun: An American Story - Dan Pedersen
• Sierra Hotel: Flying Airforce Fighters In The Decade After Vietnam - C R Anderegg
• The Hunter Killers - Dan Hampton

What do you recommend to fellow F-4 Phantom Enthusiasts?

Don't forget Palace Cobra: A Fighter Pilot in the Vietnam Air War also by Ed Rasimus, which is his Phantom memoir.  Also, Magnum! The Wild Weasels in Desert Storm - Eisel, Schreiner is a good read, granted it's the G, but it's the Phantom's last big USAF action.

If data is more your thing Have Doughnut and Project Red Baron are good, not Phantom specific though.

Edited January 28, 2022 by mkellytx

[divinee]

I’d recommend ”Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club” by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver 

[Rick50]

 

I read this back in 1991, and my memory of the book was all about descriptions of dogfights and engagements over Vietnam, almost always in Phantoms.... the real world advantages and disadvantages of Phantoms Vs this Mig or that Mig, how to gain the upper hand, did the missile get wasted or did it connect. I think there was even a Sparrow BVR engagement that didn't go as well as they wanted, by the time it impacted they could see it hit.

The official description focuses a lot on "Top Gun" school, and I'm sure that was in it, but decades later my memory was the real world dogfights VN in Phantoms!

 

Scream of Eagles
The Dramatic Account of the U.S. Navy's Top Gun Fighter Pilots and How They Took Back the Skies Over Vietnam
By Robert K. Wilcox

https://www.amazon.com/Scream-Eagles-Dramatic-Account-Fighter/dp/1476788413

 

https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Scream-of-Eagles/Robert-K-Wilcox/9781476788418

 

Edit:  the edition I read was printed much earlier... I'm not sure, but I think mine was the first print run. I just know I read it in either late 1990 or 91.

Edited January 28, 2022 by Rick50

[stockfisch]

„F-4 Phantom“ by Tim McLelland is my favourite book about the history of the phantom. Lot‘s of awesome pictures, stories and profiles.

[G.J.S]

54 minutes ago, stockfisch said:

„F-4 Phantom“ by Tim McLelland is my favourite book about the history of the phantom. Lot‘s of awesome pictures, stories and profiles.

Knew him well - also went under the name Tim Laming. Had many discussions with him whenever I was in the Sheffield area, where he lived up until his death early November 2015. Good friend, missed. One of the few who could actually take a whole sortie without thundering up his last 12 meals in the rear seat. 

[stockfisch]

17 hours ago, G.J.S said:

Knew him well - also went under the name Tim Laming. Had many discussions with him whenever I was in the Sheffield area, where he lived up until his death early November 2015. Good friend, missed. One of the few who could actually take a whole sortie without thundering up his last 12 meals in the rear seat. 

Sad to hear he passed away.

[Bremspropeller]

Andreas Klein's "Ultimate F-4 Phantom II Collection" is also very noteworthy. The volumes out to this day aren't too many, though:

Vol 1 - Israeli Phantoms 1969 - 1988 (co-authored by Shlomo Aloni)

Vol 2 - Israeli Phantoms 1989 - "Today" (that would be 2009, co-authored by Shlomo Aloni)

Vol 3 - US Navy Phantoms - 1960 - 2004 (co-authored by Patrick Martin)

Vol 4 - British Phantoms 1966 - 1978 (authored by Patrick Martin)

Vol 5 - British Phantoms 1979 - 1992 (authored by Patrick Martin)

Vol 6 - USMC Phantoms (RF-4B only) 1965 - 1990 (authored by Lee R. De haven and Richard Rentrop)

 

Klein also has published some bi-lingual work on the Luftwaffe F-4F and RF-4E, but I'm not sure whether this is still easily available. There is a neat "four in one" edition, combining the four paperbacks into one boxed set.

[Karon]

I try to avoid accounts of pilots as they have the tendency of quickly becoming somewhat pompous and exaggerated, and those books are written for the general audience with zero aviation background. Therefore, the best books imo are the ones that spend some time diving into the procedures and the technical details. A good example is "Per Ardua", by Gledhill (Nav) and Keeble (pilot).
Another good book is Sierra Hotel : Flying Air Force Fighters In The Decade After Vietnam, but it's an entirely different type of book (it's not a bio).
I'm using them book a lot as sources and inspirations.

If you find book that are technical details and procedures for the majority, please ping me

[Victory205]

Well, despite being written by a “pompous and exaggerating” pilot, this the best account of what it’s like to fly a Phantom, or any tactical jet for that matter, in a nuanced, thoughtful manner. In fact, his description of pilots is spot on, which is at odds with what most of the new generation of “aviation enthusiasts”, who have been skewed by a handful of movies and self promoters on media channels, seem to believe. 

This exactly captures the simple act of raising the landing gear-

”Gear retraction takes less than three seconds, but the sequence of events is no less intricate than a ballet. It begins with selection of the gear handle to the up position. In military airplanes, the gear handle is a hefty chunk of metal that pilots are taught to move with a vengeance, as if the force itself were important to the success of the operation…”

You may have to do a little digging to find an affordable, used copy -

“Phantom over Viet Nam”, by Stanford Engineering Graduate, and USMC pilot, John Trotti

Edit: Found that the book is available on the Amazon Kindle Store at a very modest price. 

Edited January 30, 2022 by Victory205

[Karon]

Ah, don't hyperbolize my hyperbole, chief
After having read several dozens bios and memoir, I can say that most of the books written by crews are brilliant and enjoyable, but sometimes you run into that book in which the author tries that little bit too much (euphemism), breaking the whole experience, at least for me. For example, Bruce Gordon (Spirit of Attack) vs Ed Macy (Apache, Hellfire) vs Dan Hampton (Viper Pilot): I loved the first, sometimes raised an eyebrow with the second (especially after reading Madison's book), but I never managed to finish the third. De gustibus.

Thanks for the suggestion, I just ordered the book. £12 used and delivered in a couple of days

[Victory205]

You wound me, sir… I may not recover.

Very true in that some accounts from pilots are cartoonish (similar to current cinema) and bombastically shallow. Everyone who earned wings had difficult times at some point, and had to overcome obstacles that came in many forms. The interesting stories include those challenges and frustrations, and how they were overcome. 

Just noticed that “Phantom over Vietnam” is indeed available on the Kindle Store, at a reasonable price. It’s a nuanced, insightful read. Highly recommended.

Edited February 3, 2022 by Victory205

[Nodak]

USAF Phantoms; Tactics Training and Weapons,  Anthony Thornborough

McDonnell F-4 Phantom Spirit in the Skies

McD&D F-4K and F-4M Phantom II, Michael Burns

[Fangs Out]

Just asking , are we allowed to post straight documents to this forums. Because I got a copy of the F-4E Declassified Pilot's flight handbook that i'd love to share with you guys to get ready for the HB F-4

 

[G.J.S]

10 hours ago, Fangs Out said:

Just asking , are we allowed to post straight documents to this forums. Because I got a copy of the F-4E Declassified Pilot's flight handbook that i'd love to share with you guys to get ready for the HB F-4

 

Doubtful. PM a moderator to be sure.

[Bremspropeller]

MiG Killers of Yankee Station

Not exclusive to the F-4, but a very good read.

[diamond26]

Good one not only about F-4 

[sa63114200]

[Omega417]

The Holy Grail for reading materials: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/f4.html

[Rick50]

 

a quick article about Japan's Phantoms and their retirement from frontline service:

 

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37742/so-long-samurai-japan-bids-farewell-to-its-final-frontline-phantoms

 

Edit: it's  always impressed me how super clean the Japanese Phantoms have been kept... like it's an amazing point of pride for them!  I mean  sure, fresh coats of paint and regular washing,  sure, but somehow I don't see other airforces keep ALL their planes as CONSISTENTLY clean as Japan does!

Edited November 5, 2022 by Rick50