F-4 Phantom

Awfully small print. Very thorough.

There are some excellent photos in this book, the problem is many of the captions don't match the photos or drawings. It is almost as if the editor didn't actually review the content to see if it matched the photos and drawings. Furthermore there is a lot of missing information for units. The unit list I'm pretty sure was copied off Wikipedia because it contains just as many errors and omissions. I've spent a good deal of time researching the F-4 and talking with American, British, and German pilots who flew the Phantom. If anything the editor owes it to them not to butcher their history with simple editing errors.

This book is chock full of mostly very good photos. Just try to ignore the often error-ridden captions (some of which are simply made up “facts” that are 100% wrong), and the abysmal color artwork by Richard Caruana. He obviously knows nothing about the intricacies of the F-4 family, and the artwork shows it.The text is okay, but not great; again, riddled with inaccuracies throughout. It really doesn’t add anything to the knowledge base on the F-4, and unfortunately perpetuates some myths that just won’t die as long as people don’t bother to verify what they write.Worth it for the photos, but definitely not a must-have.

Writing a new book on one of the most covered aircraft of our time should offer something different or something new. This does neither. This is my fourth book by Tim McLelland and the others stacked up rather well - this is a poor addition to the collection.The chapters on German and British service are good and probably the best part. Additional coverage of such important and current Phantom operators such as Japan and Greece could have been expanded upon as these both get rather light treatment. The early chapters on US service offer nothing new. Most of the photos presented I have seen in other books over the years or more recently online.Of interest is also the entry from around page 87 regarding the first MiG kills using the SUU-16 gun pod - it reads like a word-for-word 'copy' from the same story available online elsewhere or from the original narrative from  Aces and Aerial Victories: The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia 1965 - 1973 .For the price here we should be getting much more. The physical quality of the book is superb with glossy paper and mostly colour photos. That's all you're paying for though.Both the publisher, Ian Allan, and the author have done better and both should be held to a higher standard. We expect more than a simple photo compilation and borrowed text from the web or other previously published material.If you really want some truly new and interesting studies of the well published F-4 check out The Ultimate F-4 Phantom II Collection by Patrick Martin. Its an excellent new series on the F-4 and really does a great job with some great new content. Save your money - buy the Patrick Martin series.

A great book. lots of pictures and history of the Phantoms.

Sehr zu empfehlen! Viele eindrucksvolle, qualitativ gute Bilder und Bemalungszeichnungen, die einen sehr guten Überblick über die Einsatzgeschichte der legendären Phantom mit Schwerpunkt in der USAF bzw. USN gibt. Viel informativer Text. Neben einem Kapitel über die Verwendung in der Royal Air Force und Royal Navy ist auch eines über die Phantom-Maschinen der Luftwaffe mit tollen Bildern enthalten. Alle gebauten Varianten werden kurz beschrieben. Umfangreichere technische Daten und Ansichtszeichnungen zu den Varianten fehlen und wären die Abrundung des ansonsten hochklassigen Buches gewesen. Für Pantom-Phans (und auch Modellbauer) ein Muss!

As always an excellent production by Tim McLelland. Couldn't put it down. Got me in to serious trouble on Christmas Day!

Alles Prima gelaufen. Das Buch ist sehr interessant und informativ. Man kann es nur empfehlen für Leute die sich für dieses flugzeug interessiern.

This is an excellent book, which any Phantom Phan should have.The book contains goood information, some of the history text has been well covered i n other books.Good sharp photographs.

Another Phantom book, but highly recommended.Very good quality 'photos, and informative text.Although, the most interesting 'photo, (page 118, Edwards AFB test machine) has been given the wrong caption.Great book though, and a bargain on Amazon.