Saturday, October 26, 2013

Where did all the F4H Prototypes Go?

There were many F4H prototypes, well pre-production aircraft probably would be a better term, and they were in great demand.  These aircraft were closely guarded by BuAer who determined who would get them and for how long.  This was necessary to ensure that the testing and systems development went smoothly and quickly.  Here is a list of aircraft and who they were bailed to (or lent to).


SERIAL# BUILD# BLOCK# BAILED TO
142259 1 McDonnell YF4H-1 Proof of concept Prototype
142260 2 McDonnell YF4H-1 Proof of concept Prototype. Used by McDonnell for inlet development work.
143388 3 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-1-MC) To McDonnell for equipment checks and then to General Electric (along with build# 13) for testing and development of the J79-GE-8 engine.
143389 4 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-1-MC) To NAMTC (Naval Air Missile Test Center) at Point Mugu NAS for tests of the Sparrow missile system.
143390 5 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-1-MC) To Raytheon for development of the Sparrow missile system.
143391 6 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-1-MC) US Navy - for carrier suitability trials.
143392 7 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-1-MC) US Navy - equipped to the initial production standard with the 32-inch radome, the AAA-4 IRST, and a special spin chute in the tail. Sent to Edwards AFB for spin trials.
145307 8 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-2-MC) US Navy - used for structural & load testing.
145308 9 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-2-MC) To McDonnell - stayed in St. Louis for developing equipment.
145309 10 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-2-MC) To Raytheon for studies of the APQ-72
145310 11 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-2-MC) To Edwards AFB for nuclear weapons delivery
145311 12 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-2-MC) Devoted to the world speed record program.
145312 13 McDonnell F4H-1F (F-4A-2-MC) To General Electric for testing and development of the J79-GE-8 engine.

References:

  1. Engineering the F-4 Phantom II - Parts Into Systems, by Glenn E. Bugos
Revisions:

10/26/2013 - Original Post

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