All language subtitles for Air.Warriors.S06E03.F-4.Phantom.WEB.h264-CAFFEiNE[eztv]

Narrator: It's one of the
world's most iconic fighters.

Man: This is the
mcdonnell douglas

F-4 phantom ii supersonic,

All-weather fighter bomber.

It's just a badass airplane.

Narrator: Its nickname:
Double ugly, the rhino,

Even the mig killer.

Man: It came charging in,
didn't ask permission.

And said here we are,
who wants to fight?

Narrator: This is
the story of an aircraft

That transformed itself.

Man: The f-4 wasn't designed
to be a dog fighter.

It was designed to
be a high altitude,

Fast, long range interceptor.

Narrator: And inspired an
entire generation of pilots.

Man: We needed to hit them
hard, hit them fast

And hopefully knock them
out as rapidly as possible.

Narrator: To
become the standard

By which every fighter of
its time would be measured.

Man: When you cheat death, it's
pretty nice to come back

And live and do it again.

♪

Narrator: August
1990, saddam hussein

Orders 100,000 iraqi troops
to invade neighboring kuwait,

Sparking an
international conflict.

President bush: Iraq must
withdraw from kuwait completely,

Immediately, and
without condition.

Narrator: Five months later,

The united states leads
a military campaign

To stop the iraqi
dictator in his tracks.

They plan a
full-scale air attack.

♪

The problem: Surface-to-air
missiles or sams.

Lots of them, all looking hard

For american targets
in the skies.

Coalition forces need a
plane with the firepower

And smarts to take
these weapons out.

The aircraft leading the charge

Is a 30-year-old
warhorse: The f-4 phantom.

Nearly 60,000 pounds
of brute force,

Just over 58 feet long and
38 feet from wing to wing,

The f-4 phantom is a monster.

Man: This is the
mcdonnell douglas

F-4 phantom ii
supersonic,

All-weather fighter bomber.

We call it the double ugly.

It's two engines,
two crew members,

And ugly in its own right.

It's just a badass airplane.

Narrator: It's a badass plane

With massive amounts of
military street cred.

Man: The f-4 has served
in all three services,

Navy, air force, and marines,

And has virtually
been in every role,

Both air-to-ground, air-to-air.

A lot of fighters can
only do one thing well.

This thing does them all.

Narrator: Doing it all

Requires not just one
crew member, but two.

Man: The pilot does all the
flying and maneuvering

And the weapon's system
operator does all the radar work

In the weapon's system.

Narrator: A choice of
weapons made the phantom

One of the most popular assets
in the united states arsenal.

Man: The f-4 is a very
versatile platform.

It can carry
radar-guided missiles,

Air-to-air heat
seeking missiles,

Harm, anti-radiation
missiles, iron bombs,

Cluster munitions,
pretty much any weapon

That's been out there
has been hung on the f-4.

Narrator: The f-4 phantom

Is one of the greatest
front-line fighters of all time.

And it's about to
do battle again.

January 17th, 1991,

Coalition forces roll
out an aerial assault

Over iraqi military targets:

Operation desert storm.

At shaikh isa air base, bahrain,

Two phantoms prepare
to enter the fray.

Man: Our mission that day

Was to hunt down
surface-to-air missiles.

We needed to hit them
hard and hit them fast

And hopefully knock them
out as rapidly as possible.

Narrator: F-4 pilot
lieutenant colonel

Edward ballanco

Served in the elite
air force squad

Known as the wild weasels.

Man: The wild weasels
were sam killers

Specially modified to take on
the surface-to-air missiles.

Narrator: Being a wild weasel

Isn't for the faint of heart.

The job's so dangerous, you
have to volunteer for it.

Man: Our plan was to let the
surface-to-air missiles see us

And not look at the
attack airplanes

That were coming in behind us

So that we can engage the sams

Before they engage
the attack force.

Everybody else tries
to hide from the sams,

We tried to make
ourselves visible.

The motto is first in, last out.

Narrator: Ballanco
and his wingman take off.

Nearly 300 miles away in qatar,

Eight f-16 falcons
take to the skies too.

They'll meet up with the
phantoms near kuwait.

Man: The f-16s were dropping
bombs on the military targets.

Our job that day was to take
out the surface-to-air missiles

So that the f-16s could
get in, drop their bombs

And get out safely.

It was very critical
that we were there.

Narrator: Ballanco
and his wingman

Monitor the falcon's
progress as they fly.

For the mission to succeed,
their timing must be perfect.

Man: We wanted to be in and hit
the surface-to-air missiles

Or let the surface-to-air
missiles see us

Before they saw the f-16s.

If we screwed up,
they could die.

Narrator: Just
outside the combat zone,

The phantoms look
for a kc-135 tanker.

Man: We had to take on fuel

Because we were loaded
with four harm missiles.

The normal load out was two.

We carried four because
we knew the threat density

Was going to be high.

Narrator: But the four
weapons come at a price.

They take the place
of extra fuel tanks,

Reducing the phantom's
range to just 300 miles.

Man: We needed the fuel
to get up into kuwait,

Do the mission and
then get back home.

Narrator: The re-fuel
should be routine.

But immediately,
there's a complication,

Strong winds blowing
over 100 knots.

Man: We're getting blown about
20 miles further south

Of where we had
planned to roll out.

That equated to about almost
three minutes behind the time

That we had planned.

Narrator: In peacetime,

Three minutes doesn't
seem like much.

But in combat, it can
mean the difference

Between life or death.

Man: When I saw that we
were behind the time

I knew that this was a problem.

I could see the f-16s
off to the right.

So they were ahead of us

And we were supposed
to be ahead of them.

Narrator: Ballanco
has to make a choice:

Finish gassing up or
get back on the job.

Man: I said hey, we
need to get going.

So we did.

We dropped off the
tanker, we pushed it up

As fast as we could go.

We knew it was critical
to get in there

And keep the f-16s
from getting shot down.

Narrator: The two
phantoms speed into kuwait,

Racing to catch
up with the f-16s.

But they may
already be too late.

Man: As we get close
to the target area

We could see that the sams
were coming up, a lot of them.

We got a pop up sam
right in the vicinity

Of their target area

And it came up with
a launch indication.

Narrator: Ballanco's
f-4 wild weasel

Is specially designed
to sniff out sams.

It has sophisticated
sensors and antennae

Placed all over its body.

They search for enemy
surface-to-air missiles' radar.

The weapons system officer

Analyzes and identifies
these radar signals.

Then, ballanco
fires an 800 pound

Anti-radiation missile, or harm.

His goal: To destroy the radar

And render its missiles useless.

Over kuwait, ballanco
and his wingman split up

And quickly get to work.

Man: Our plan was to
divide up the sams

Based on the target area.

Narrator: Ballanco and
his partner confront the sam

That's heading toward the f-16.

They only have time
to react, not think.

Man: We have
about a 10 second window

To get the harm into the air.

Narrator: Ballanco
quickly gets his hand

On the pickle button and fires.

Man: The missile came off

And it went like a
spear towards the sam.

♪

Narrator: That's
one sam destroyed,

But there's more
popping up all around.

Man: So we fired the next one

And in less than 20 seconds,
our harm hit its target.

Narrator: Ballanco's now
used two of his four weapons

And the threat isn't letting up.

Man: We started looking
to the eastern side

And sure enough we had
sams come up there.

So we had to quickly
maneuver in that direction,

Get a missile off, so we had
in a space of about a minute,

We fired three missiles.

Narrator: Ballanco
catches his breath

And looks to see if the
f-16s are on target.

He's relieved to see that the
fighters are almost home free.

Man: I could see the attack is
taking place by the f-16 flight.

I saw the bombs going off.

Narrator: It
looks like the strike

Will go off without a
hitch, but then: Trouble.

Man: Just then we get a sam
indication that comes up

And gives a launch indication.

The sam was guiding on the f-16.

We've got seconds to keep
the attack force alive.

♪

Narrator: 1991,
high over kuwait,

F-4 pilot lieutenant
colonel edward ballanco

Is in the heat of battle.

He must protect an f-16,

But an iraqi missile has
it firmly in its sights.

Man: The f-16 started a
defensive maneuver.

He was jinking and
putting out chaff.

The missile was in the air.

He was in a very
vulnerable position.

Narrator: To
disable the missile,

Ballanco must take
out its radar now.

And he has just one
chance to do it.

Man: We have one missile left

And in this case,
maybe 20 seconds

Would be the sam time of flight

Before it would
kill the airplane.

So we turned immediately,

Put the sam on the nose

And fired.

♪

When our missile
hit the sam radar,

The missile no
longer had guidance

And it was no longer able
to follow the airplane.

We knew the f-16 was safe.

Narrator: Ballanco
and his weapons officer

Have destroyed four iraqi
surface-to-air missile sites

In under two minutes.

Man: It finally dawned on me,
you're out of missiles dummy.

You probably ought to
turn around and go home.

So we headed home.

We were fortunate.

We got up there, we
got our mission done,

We got the attack
airplanes in and out

Without having any damage.

It was a good feeling.

Narrator: The f-4 wild
weasels go on to destroy

Over 200 iraqi missile sites,

Shutting down iraqi air defenses

And making it safe for
coalition aircraft.

Man: I was proud to fly
the f-4 in desert storm,

Proud of what we accomplished.

By doing our job, we saved
not only our own lives,

But my friend's lives as well.

Narrator: The f-4 phantom
is no stranger to combat.

For over four decades,

It's struck fear into any enemy
who dared to challenge it.

This legendary aircraft
has been a fighter

Since the day it was born.

1949, the united states
and the soviet union

Are in the throes of
a bitter cold war.

Man: The cold war is this battle
over what kind of governments

Will dominate around the world.

Narrator: Dr. Laurence burke

Is the naval aviation curator

At the national air
and space museum.

Man: It is a very tense time
where the soviet union

Is looking to expand communism

And the us are
looking to contain it.

Narrator: In August of
1949, the stakes get higher.

The russians reveal their
brand new atomic bomb.

Man: The united states
initially thinks

They have the atomic bomb
as a sort of ace in the hole

And very quickly find out

That no, in fact, the soviets
have the atomic bomb as well.

Nobody's sure what the
other side is going to do.

Narrator: Leaders
on both sides

Believe that conventional
warfare is now obsolete.

The next war will be
swift and devastating.

Man: There is an assumption
coming out of world war ii

That any future war will be
fought with nuclear weapons.

The next war will be fought
at much greater distances,

At much greater speeds, with
much less time to respond.

Narrator: The pentagon
scrambles to adjust

To the new world order

And the us navy finds
itself on the losing side.

Man: Eisenhower comes up with

What he calls the
new look military

That will rely primarily
on atomic weapons.

And he really cuts down the
number of ships in the navy.

It all becomes about
delivering nuclear weapons.

Narrator: Navy planes
don't have the range

To bring a bomb to the russians

Or to stop a russian
bomber before it attacks.

Man: The navy is
still using a lot

Of late world war ii aircraft.

So the f4u corsair, the
douglas ad1 skyraider,

The mcdonnell phantom 1.

What was adequate for
a combat air patrol

Now has to be pushed
much further out

To stop the bombers
before they get close in.

So the navy is looking
for an interceptor.

A plane that can
quickly rush out,

Intercept incoming bombers
and shoot them down.

Narrator: 1952, the pentagon,

The navy bureau of
aeronautics is desperate

For a new aircraft capable of
intercepting a nuclear attack.

Two companies jump at the
chance to submit a design,

Chance vought and
mcdonnell aircraft.

Man: Chance vought responds with
what becomes the f8u crusader

And douglas responds with
what becomes the f-3 demon.

Narrator: Each
looks promising.

Single-engine with
radar powerful enough

To detect faraway bombers,

And missiles big enough to
knock them out of the sky.

Each claims an engine that
offers speed and power.

The crusader goes

With a pratt & whitney
j57 turbojet engine.

It's light and powerful,

Allowing the jet to
be nimble and quick.

The demon takes a gamble

On an engine recommended by the
navy: The westinghouse j-40,

Said to have twice the thrust
of any engine in navy service.

Man: The two companies
design their planes,

They build these prototypes,

They are basically compared
against the standard

And against each other.

And the f-8 crusader is clearly
the much better aircraft.

It's much better at the
short-range fighter role.

Narrator: Chance
vought flies away

With a contract for the f-8.

It's a bitter defeat
for mcdonnell.

Man: The loss of this
competition was difficult.

And it was especially difficult
because the mcdonnell people

Didn't think it was their fault.

The navy had decreed that
mcdonnell would develop this

With this westinghouse engine,

So when the time
came for the fly-off,

Westinghouse did
not have an engine

With the power that they
had been told it would have.

Narrator: Mcdonnell
is determined

To restore its reputation

And get the contract they
believe is rightfully theirs.

Man: Mcdonnell does
what was known

As an unsolicited proposal.

The mcdonnell
engineers went back

And said, well, let's
improve this design.

Let's give it twin engines and
let's give it better engines.

And let's build a flexible
airplane for different missions,

Really pushing the demands

For what a new
airplane needs to do.

Narrator: Mcdonnell takes
its design to the pentagon,

Convinced they've
created an aircraft

That will propel navy
aviation into the future.

Man: And the navy essentially
says, yes, this is interesting,

Keep working on it.

And they give mcdonnell
a little bit of money

To continue
developing this idea.

Narrator:
Mcdonnell bears down,

Determined to come up with
the ultimate high-speed,

Long-distance fighter.

Six years later the new plane
is ready to make its debut.

May 1958, st. Louis, missouri.

Mcdonnell rolls out its
new f4h-1 prototype.

Immediately, it
makes an impression.

Man: It's very different from
its ancestry as the demon.

It's a big, bulkier plane.

It's got sort of an
odd-looking wing.

It's flat in the middle with
these canted up wing tips.

It's also very different

Than anything that's
been seen to date.

Narrator: One big
difference: The phantom's wings.

They're designed with
dihedral or an upward angle.

Man: One of the most interesting
characteristics of the f-4

Is the dihedral on the wing tip

And that's right along
the fold line here.

It's directly related to the
stability of the airplane.

For a fighter, you want it

To be somewhat unstable
for maneuverability

And that's what's
accomplished from this.

Narrator: Its wings give
the phantom maneuverability.

Two general electric j-79
engines give it power.

Man: This is one of the two j-79
engines on the f-4 phantom,

Put about 11,000 pounds
thrust of military power

And about 17,000
pounds in afterburner.

They can propel the
airplane to mach 2.2ish

And push the airplane

To an altitude of
40,000 feet per minute.

The j-79 is known
for is its noise.

It's a very noisy, noisy,
loud, very distinctive noise.

The f-4 kind of makes
a howl as it's coming

And as it's leaving, quite
the roar from these engines.

Very reliable, strong engine.

As a pilot flying
the f-4 phantom,

It's like driving
a '60s muscle car.

Narrator: The new
aircraft seems poised

To take the navy by storm.

There's just one thing
standing in its way, again.

Man: Chance vought, having
had the successful design

With the f-8 crusadar,
basically decides to update it.

They give it a little
bit bigger engine

And it's a little bit longer

But it's still a single
engine, single seat aircraft.

Narrator: The
navy wants a fly-off.

The new and improved f-8
crusader is ready to rumble,

But this time mcdonnell is
determined to get the edge.

September 1958,
edwards air force base.

Mcdonnell's f4h-1 meets its
rival for a second fly off.

Man: It's a close competition.

The crusader is a
little bit more nimble

And the pilots like it better.

But the navy sees much more
promise in the f4h design.

The navy ends up giving
the contract to mcdonnell

To develop this into a
fleet defense airplane.

Narrator: The navy is
confident that its new fighter

Will dominate the skies

And they set out to
prove it to the world.

Man: They wanted to demonstrate
not only to the us public

But also to the soviets

That we now had this very
fast, very capable plane.

Narrator: The
phantom challenges

Almost every aviation
record in the books

And methodically
blows them away.

In 1959, it sets the
world altitude record,

Over 98,000 feet.

In 1961, it beats the world
speed record, over 1,600 mph.

Just 31 months after
its first flight,

The f-4 is the us navy's
fastest, highest flying

And longest range fighter,

With 15 world
records to its name.

Man: The f-4 early on

Was a public relations
person's dream.

Narrator: Dick
anderegg was an f-4 pilot

And director of the air force
history and museums program.

Man: Because of all
the power it had,

It was able to break all of
the existing speed records

And all the existing
time to climb records,

Far surpassing anything any
other aircraft had ever done.

This made it very
attractive to the public.

It made it also very attractive

To people in the
defense department.

Narrator: One of those people

Is defense secretary
robert mcnamara.

He thinks the f-4 is
the perfect aircraft

For not just the navy,
but for the air force too.

Man: The department of defense
was making an effort

To try to have the
navy and air force

Have the same airplane,
and they wanted to do this

For commonality as a
cost reducing measure.

Narrator: Mcnamara
pushes the air force

To take the phantom
for a test ride.

It's love at first sight.

Man: What that means
for airplanes

Is that the air force is looking

For its own new high-altitude
air defense aircraft

And isn't really interested
in taking a navy plane.

But the f4 phantom
is such a good design

That the air force says,
no, in fact, we like this.

Man: The appeal of the f-4

Was that it was a very strong
airplane with a lot of thrust,

And when you're a fighter pilot,

There's no such thing
as too much thrust.

Narrator: The pentagon
quickly finds a use

For its brash new
fighting plane: Vietnam.

Man: Vietnam is the first time

That the f-4 is
going to see combat,

And it's going to see combat

With the navy,
marines, and air force.

Man: It was the big
dog on the porch.

The f-4 was quite versatile
to fill both of the roles,

Fighter and attack airplane.

Narrator: Soon, the phantom

Is the most widely used aircraft

In the united states military.

But halfway around the world,

Someone else has its eye
on the phantom: Nasa.

Their plan: To put it on
the edge of outer space.

1965, the f-4 phantom
has been working

For american interests in
vietnam for almost a year.

In the united states,
nasa scientists tap it

For another mission: To give
america an edge in space.

Gemini 4 is nasa's
10th manned spaceflight

And its first attempt

At both a multi-day
mission and spacewalk.

Man: A 62 orbit
flight of the gemini 4

Is a most important
connecting link

Between our first
faltering efforts in space

And an ultimate
landing on the moon.

Narrator: For this
launch, and every launch,

There's one moment that
always has nasa on edge.

This is when the missile
carrying the gemini capsule

Reaches the point of max q.

Man: Max q is the maximum stress

On the outer shell
of the rocket.

Narrator: Colonel jack
petry was an f-4 pilot

For the us air force and
worked closely with nasa.

Man: And this maximum pressure

Occurs during the launch
sequence as an aircraft

Or a missile goes through
the speed of sound.

Narrator: Max q is an
extremely dangerous time.

Any flaw in the missile's
shell can prove catastrophic.

Nasa wants to make sure
the technology holds up.

Man: They wanted to see if
there was any vibration,

Any shaking or any abnormities
in the skin of the missile

And determine if they
need to make any changes

In the missile
structure, the speed,

The angles of the launch.

Narrator: Engineers come
up with an ambitious plan

To photograph the missile

As it rockets into
the stratosphere.

Man: They wanted some
close-up photos

To see what was happening
when this missile

Went through its maximum
aerodynamic pressure.

Narrator: The only
question, how to do it.

Man: You just couldn't get this
photography from the ground.

And so they very quickly
said, we're going to use f-4s.

Narrator: F-4 pilots
are up for anything,

But chasing a rocket into
space is a tall order.

Man: This is an extremely
complex intercept maneuver,

Because of missile
altitude, missile angle,

Missile velocity, our
velocity, our positions.

Narrator: June 3rd,
1965, cape kennedy, florida.

Nasa prepares to thrust
the gemini 4 into space.

137 miles away, petry
and a second f-4

Take off from macdill air base.

Man: We had high speed
35 millimeter cameras

Mounted under each
wing of the aircraft.

The cameras worked
right off the gun switch

In the front cockpit.

We synced our gun
sight with the cameras

And so we knew that we're
looking at the right place.

Narrator: At cape
kennedy, the countdown is on.

Man: Three,
two, one, ignition.

♪

Narrator: The two f-4s
race towards the gemini 4.

Their timing must be perfect
to make the plan work.

Man: From missile
launch, t zero,

We had probably about
three and a half minutes

To get ourselves
in good position.

Narrator: Petry
closes in on the missile,

Trying to keep his
air speed precise.

Man: When we first got a
real good look at it,

At about 25,000 feet,
it's a big missile,

And we're closing at about
1,200 feet per second,

Or about a mile
every five seconds.

We've got to control
that speed really well,

So we don't get too close.

Narrator: The
gemini 4 hurtles away

From the earth's atmosphere.

Petry and the other
f-4 fly directly at it

From either side, at speeds
over 700 miles per hour.

They must intercept the
gemini below 35,000 feet,

The exact moment of max q.

♪

Man: We pull with the missile

And so we end up almost
co-altitude with 35,000 feet

As the missile breaks
through the sound barrier.

Narrator: Petry and his
f-4 fly next to the rocket

For 90 extreme seconds.

Man: After he went supersonic,

We got into the rocket
wash from his engine.

It threw our f-4, it was just,
we were all over the place.

It was rocking and rolling.

It was pitching the aircraft,
rolling it left and right.

Narrator: Despite the danger,

Petry isn't about to stop now.

Man: So we just kept
on the missile

And I said, I'm going to stay
here until we run out of film.

Narrator: The f-4 soars
with the gemini to 68,000 feet.

That's twelve miles straight up.

Man: When we landed, there
was a team on the ground

And they instantly downloaded
that film and whisked it off.

Narrator: Nasa
has its close-up.

Petry's f-4 footage plays
a key role in advances

In the space program.

Man: I really didn't think
too much about that.

We were part of this huge,
huge step forward into space.

We were just focused on
getting our airplanes

In the right place
and helping out nasa.

Narrator: The
gemini 4 goes on

To orbit the earth 62 times

And completes the first
american spacewalk.

Man: Okay, I'm out.
Man: Okay, he's out.

Narrator: Paving
the way for astronauts

To eventually land on the moon.

Back on earth, petry's space
chase mission shows the world

The f-4 can literally
keep up with a rocket.

♪

While the phantom rides
high in the united states,

It's facing another
tough challenge

Halfway across the world.

♪

December 14, 1966,
north vietnam.

The united states
is a year and a half

Into a large-scale
bombing campaign:

Operation rolling thunder.

Man: Operation rolling thunder
was the overarching plan

To bomb and attack key
targets in north vietnam.

Narrator: Retired
rear admiral denny wisely

Was an f-4 navy pilot

Who flew 350 missions
during vietnam.

Man: It was primarily to stop
their logistics to the south.

We would go after
storage facilities.

We bombed the power
plants in hanoi,

We bombed power
plants in hai phong,

Which is the two biggest cities.

Narrator: Rear admiral
wisely and five other f-4s

Prepare to take off from the
navy carrier uss kitty hawk.

Man: Our mission on
that particular day

Was to bomb the van dien
truck and storage facility

South of hanoi.

The truck and storage facility

Was roughly the size of
1/2 to two city blocks.

Each element in the strike group

Had a specific section
of the area to bomb.

Narrator: The f-4s
shoot off the boat

And cruise toward land.

Every mile of their
100-mile route

Is littered with north
vietnam's lethal defenses.

Man: They had automatic weapons.

They had anti-aircraft guns,

And they had the sa2 guideline
surface-to-air missiles,

Which was really formidable.

It was a very
well-protected target.

Narrator: Guiding the sa-2s,
the deadly fan song radar.

It has the range to track
an aircraft up to 75 miles.

Wisely's f-4 will know when
it has him in its sights.

Man: Our warning devices
in the f-4 at that time

Was this apr-27 that
could detect if a missile

Was actually launched
and coming at us.

Narrator: The only
problem: Wisely needs missiles

To take out the radar,
and he's carrying bombs.

His only defense: Out
fly the enemy missiles.

One misstep and he's
as good as dead.

Man: The radar warning
system in our airplane

Started going off, just
doodle, doodle, doodle

And your heart rate's
going the same way.

We knew a missile was
airborne, coming at us,

But we didn't know
where it was coming from

And you don't know
which airplane that

Missile is locked on.

Narrator: All six phantoms

Quickly break into
evasive action.

They know that their
best chance for survival

Is to make the
missile overshoot.

Man: We're all maneuvering
for our lives.

We're banking the
airplane and yanking it

And hoping the missiles miss.

When you know there's
a missile in the air,

It's absolutely frightening.

Narrator: Moments later,

The enemy missile
explodes mid-air.

No casualties this time.

Wisely and the other
phantoms quickly recover

And resume their
drive toward hanoi.

But the north vietnamese
radar refuses to be defeated.

Seconds later, wisely's radar
lets out another warning.

Man: They're just firing
one missile after another

And they're exploding
fairly close.

I was scared silly.

Narrator: Wisely still
has many miles to go

Before he reaches his target.

It's too late to turn back.

And even if he did,

There's no guarantee
he'd make it out alive.

Man: It was just so much
stuff coming at us.

It was just surface-to-air
missiles everywhere.

We maneuvered the
airplanes as best we could

And just hoped for the best.

♪

Narrator: High above vietnam,

Phantom pilot rear
admiral denny wisely

Picks his way through an
airspace full of enemy missiles.

His goal: To bomb a north
vietnamese military site.

Man: It's over 100 miles and
that doesn't seem like much

But that's a long way

When you're getting
shot at the whole time.

It's amazing how you
can be scared silly

And so focused at the same time.

Narrator: Suddenly, hope.

Wisely and his partner see that
they're close to the target.

Man: We said hot dog, we're
right where we should be.

It's just like the
photos we had studied

Before we came on the flight.

Narrator: Success requires
intense concentration.

A false move now would erase
all the work they've done

To get to this point.

Man: My backseater, he's
calling off the altitudes

And the dive angles, making
sure my parameters are correct

As we're approaching the
release point for the bombs.

I'm just focused on that target

To get those bombs
off the airplane.

Narrator: Wisely
dives down to 4,000 feet,

And drops his bombs.

6,000 pounds worth
of devastation

Tears into the ground below.

Man: I dropped twelve 500-pound
bombs on the target.

And then it was a
matter of turning back

And going right out the same
way we came in at 550 knots,

Which is well over 600 miles
an hour, just going like crazy.

Narrator: Two hours later,

Wisely and his partner
are back on the carrier.

Man: What kept me alive that day

As far as the f-4 is concerned,

The ability of it to maneuver
and the speed it can attain,

Especially carrying bombs.

It's just pretty nice
to get the job done

And live and do it again.

Narrator: But as the
war in vietnam rages on,

Another threat emerges.

North vietnamese fighter
planes called migs.

Man: The migs were designed
for close-in dog fighting.

The migs were also
smaller and lighter

And much more nimble
than the phantom.

Narrator: It soon
becomes apparent

That the migs have the edge
on the american fighter.

Man: The phantom was a
very fast aircraft

But it's very slow to turn

Which means that it's very
difficult to get behind a mig

For a good shot.

Narrator: No
shots mean no kills.

The pentagon fears its f-4
pilots are losing the edge.

Man: The f-4 wasn't designed
to be a dog fighter.

The f-4 had been designed as
a high-altitude interceptor,

To shoot high altitude targets.

Man: The navy and the air force

Were expecting this
long-range missile battle,

Shooting down bombers, and
what they got in vietnam

Was a short-range dog fight war.

So it was a bit of a problem.

Narrator: Mcdonnell gives
the f-4 a major overhaul,

Hoping to improve it
for the reality of war.

Man: There were four major
versions of the f-4

During the vietnam conflict.

The f4-c, which was
basically the navy version

Of the airplane, which
had no computing power,

Nothing automatic in it at all.

Then, the f-4d, which did have
a computerized bombing system

And a computerized gun
site, for air-to-air.

Then the f4-e with
an internal gun

And then a modified
version of the f4-e

That had a highly modified
wing that gave a better control

At low air speed and
high angles of attack.

Narrator: The new
and improved f-4s emerge

Ready to prove themselves

Against their north vietnamese
enemies, including the migs.

April 1972, udorn air
force base, thailand.

A team of phantom f-4ds take
off on a mig hunting mission.

Man: Our wing was selected to
find and attack and kill migs.

That was our wing's motto.

Narrator: Air force captain
fred olmsted was a f-4 pilot

With over 300 vietnam
combat missions

Man: They were a very
fast, very nimble,

Very capable adversary.

So we were very aware of that.

We were cognizant of
what the mig-21 could do

If you weren't careful.

Narrator: Olmsted counts
on the phantom's upgrades

To help him.

A better radar, improved
sidewinder heat-seeking missiles

For short range adversaries,

And a lighter, more
maneuverable frame.

Man: The upgrades did help.

It was basically an aircraft
that could dog fight

And stay up with any migs
the north vietnamese had

At that time.

Narrator: Olmsted
and the other f-4s

Soon cross into enemy lines,

Daring the migs to
come out and play.

Man: We've got all
four of our radars

Pointing in the direction we
feel a threat might be coming.

It was worth it to take a look

And see if there's
any trouble up there,

Any migs that want
to cause trouble

For other airplanes in the area.

Narrator: Olmsted's
intuition is right on the money.

Two migs appear on the radar,

Ready to accept the
phantom's challenge.

♪

Man: Right then and there

We knew there was going
to be a dog fight.

Somebody's going to die

And it's not going
to be the phantoms.

Narrator: The migs flash
by, passing at just 1,500 feet.

Olmsted quickly turns his
phantom to pursue and attack.

Man: As I'm turning to chase,
unbeknownst to any of us,

Out comes another mig
from below and behind,

Maneuvering to try to
attack me and my wingman.

And his intention was to
get behind me and my wingman

And kill both of us.

Narrator: Olmsted
and his wingman

Prepare to confront
the first two migs.

Another f-4 chases
down the third.

Man: I pulled my nose
up to get behind him.

The mig leader, he
rolled on his back

And went straight down right
in front of me and he was gone.

He was out of the fight.

Narrator: The
mig knows better

Than to face off
against the phantom.

But the second mig
isn't as quick.

Man: The number two man was
right in front of me,

Right where I wanted him.

There was no way the mig

Was going to out
maneuver my phantom.

No matter what the
mig did left or right,

I countered by exactly
the same maneuvers.

Narrator: The mig tries
to make a break for it.

But he can't out
match the f-4's speed.

Man: All of the sudden the real
high g maneuvering ended

And the mig sort
of straightened out

And allowed me to get the
gun sight right on him

And the missiles
locked him right up.

Narrator: Olmsted quickly
sends an aim-7 off the rails,

And it's right on target.

Moments later, another f-4
shoots the second mig down.

Man: The absolute
adrenaline exhilaration

After a dog fight, being
over enemy territory,

Shooting your adversary down

And none of your flight
mates are threatened

And everybody comes home, it's
hard to describe it to people

That have never
been in a dog fight.

It's such an
accomplished feeling

That all of your
training just paid off.

Narrator: By
the end of the war,

The f-4s shoot down 280
north vietnamese aircraft,

More adversaries than
any other fighter.

Man: The f-4 that we
started with in vietnam

Was nothing like the f-4 that
we ended the war in vietnam.

By the end of the
war in vietnam,

We did have the right aircraft.

And by then, they were doing
quite well in the air war.

Narrator: Soon, the
phantom's reign goes global.

The world wants the f-4 too.

Man: The phantom sees
a lot of success

With international
customers as well.

The germans want to build it,
the japanese want to build it,

The british want to build it.

Man: The appeal of the
f-4 to these nations

Was that it was
a great airplane.

These nations wanted an
airplane that was versatile.

They knew the f-4
had a great record

As an air superior airplane

And they knew the f-4
had a great record

As an air-to-ground airplane.

And they knew

That it was the us air
force's front line fighter,

So they wanted it.

Narrator: Back in the states,

The f-4 sees a different
type of action,

In the aerial
acrobatics squadrons

Of the us navy's blue angels

And us air force's thunderbirds.

Man: The phantom has the
distinction of having flown

With both the blue angels
and the thunderbirds

At the same time.

Certainly the reasons it was
such a successful aircraft

Was one of the reasons that
made it a good airplane

For these demonstration
squadrons.

It was big, it was loud,

It could be seen,
it could be heard.