F-4 Phantoms Phabulous 40th - 1978 Commemorative Book
Milestones
| the 50s | |
|---|---|
| 19 September 1953 | Unsolicited proposal submitted to BuAer for a single place all-weather fighter called the F3H-G/H (general purpose VF). |
| 15 June 1954 | Need for an all-weather aircraft arises (no written agreement). BuAer evaluated McDonnell F3H-G/H, F3H-E2 (single engine version), Grumman proposal, and North American proposal. Selected McDonnell design with two J79 engines. |
| 23 July 1954 | Chief of Naval Operations recommended the procurement of two AH-1 aircraft. |
| 18 October 1954 | Letter contract placed with McDonnell for two AH-1 aircraft. |
| 7 December 1954 | BuAer-CNO conference reached following agreement: BuAer-CNO jointly to take necessary action to redesignate AH-1 to F4H-1; CNO to write a requirement for a two-seat aircraft; BuAer to initiate a design competition for an all-weather attack aircraft following receipt of CNO requirement. |
| 7 June 1955 | CNO letter indicated a requirement for a two-seat version of the F4H-1 (AH-1). |
| 23 June 1955 | AH-1 redesignated F4H-1. |
| 19 July 1955 | CNO letter defined configuration of F4H-1. |
| 2 September 1955 | BuAer authorized procurement of five F4H-1 aircraft. |
| November 1955 | Mock-up review. |
| 27 May 1958 | First flight of F4H-1 aircraft from Lambert Field, St. Louis, Robert C. Little, test pilot. |
| 17 December 1958 | Navy decision to buy the F4H-1. |
| 3 July 1959 | F4H-1 christened Phantom II in a ceremony on McDonnell ramp during celebration of company's 20th anniversary. |
| October 1959 | Airplane released for carrier suitability trials. |
| the 60s | |
| February 1960 | Sea trials begin with first carrier catapult takeoff and arrested landing aboard USS Independence. |
| July 1960 | Board of Inspection and Survey (BIS) trials begin at Patuxent River, Maryland. |
| 29 December 1960 | First aircraft delivery to training squadron VF-121, NAS Miramar, California. |
| March 1961 | F4H-1 airplanes below No. 48 redesignated F4H-1F. Airplanes 48 and up retain designation of F4H-1. |
| 25 March 1961 | First flight of a production F4H-1. |
| June 1961 | First F4H-1 airplane (No. 50) delivered to fleet. |
| 14 September 1961 | Last of 47 F4H-1Fs delivered to Navy. |
| October 1961 | Navy's first F4H-1 operational squadron, VF-74, qualified for carrier duty. |
| January 1962 | President's Budget submitted to Congress requesting procurement of the RF-110A reconnaissance version and the F-110A fighter version for the USAF. |
| January 1962 | Two F4H-1 fighters, newly designated F-110A for the Air Force, delivered to TAC Headquarters, Langley Air Force Base. |
| April 1962 | Letter Contract for first F-110A aircraft received. |
| May 1962 | Letter Contract for two prototype RF-110A airplanes received. |
| May 1962 | Letter Contract for two prototype RF-110A airplanes received. |
| 29 June 1962 | First F4H-1 delivered to a Marine Corps squadron, VMF (AW)-314. |
| July 1962 | Conversion of F4H-1 to reconnaissance configuration. |
| August 1962 | First two Navy F4H-1 squadrons (VF-102 and VF-74) deployed (Project Short Cruise). |
| September 1962 | F4H-1, F4H-1F, and F-110A redesignated F-4B, F-4A, and F-4C, respectively. |
| February 1963 | First F-4B delivered to USAF training squadron. |
| February 1963 | USMC authorized to procure RF-4B; letter contract for nine RF-4Bs received. |
| 20 March 1963 | First flight of Navy F-4G. |
| 27 May 1963 | First flight of F-4C. |
| July 1963 | First F-4C aircraft delivered. |
| 8 August 1963 | First flight of YRF-4C prototype. |
| 20 November 1963 | First F-4C delivered to TAC squadron. |
| 18 May 1964 | First flight of RF-4C. |
| June 1964 | First production RF-4C aircraft delivered to USAF. |
| 12 March 1965 | First flight of RF-4B. |
| May 1965 | First RF-4B delivered to VMCJ-3, El Toro, California. |
| May 1965 | Phantom II awarded 1965 Glenn H. Curtiss Memorial Award as outstanding aircraft of the year. |
| 4 June 1965 | First flight of YF-4J. |
| 7 August 1965 | First flight of YF-4E. |
| 8 December 1965 | First flight of F-4D. |
| 4 May 1966 | Last of 583 F-4Cs delivered to TAC. |
| 27 May 1966 | First flight of F-4J. |
| 27 June 1966 | First flight of YF-4K. |
| 28 June 1966 | F-4J accepted by Navy. |
| 2 November 1966 | First flight of F-4K. |
| 21 December 1966 | First production F-4J delivered to fleet training squadron VF-101, Key West, Florida. |
| 27 January 1967 | Last of 637 F-4Bs delivered to U. S. Navy. |
| 17 February 1967 | First flight of YF-4M, three months ahead of contract delivery schedule. |
| 30 June 1967 | First flight of production F-4E, two months ahead of contract delivery schedule. |
| June 1967 | Peak production rate of 72 aircraft a month reached. |
| 3 October 1967 | First squadron F-4E delivered to TAC, Nellis AFB, Nevada. |
| 26 December 1967 | First flight of F-4M. |
| 28 February 1968 | Last of 793 USAF F-4Ds delivered. |
| 25 April 1968 | First transatlantic deliveries to United Kingdom begin. |
| November 1968 | U. S. and German governments sign Co-Production Logistics Agreement. |
| January 1969 | Seven modified F-4J aircraft delivered to El Centro, California for Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team. |
| 15 March 1969 | First official Blue Angels demonstration at Yuma, Arizona. |
| 19 April 1969 | F-4E Thunderbirds aircraft numbers 1 and 2 delivered to Nellis AFB. |
| 4 June 1969 | President Richard Nixon attends first F-4E Thunderbirds demonstration at Air Force Academy. |
| the 70s | |
| 15 September 1970 | First flight of RF-4E. |
| 24 December 1970 | Last of 46 RF-4Bs delivered to USMC. |
| 7 January 1972 | Last of 522 F-4Js delivered to the Navy. |
| 11 February 1972 | First flight of F-4E with production slats installed. |
| 4 June 1972 | First flight of F-4N. |
| 18 May 1973 | First flight of F-4F. |
| 16 January 1974 | Last of 505 RF-4Cs delivered to USAF. |
| 10 December 1976 | Last of 831 USAF F-4Es delivered. |
| 4 November 1977 | First delivery of F-4J slats prototype aircraft to Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. |