McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (153072 / 1) in a fake "Blue Angels" livery of the US Navy at the Technik Museum Speyer (Germany)
This McDonnell Douglas F-4C original flew for the US Air Force with serial 63-7423, where the Blue Angels flew the F-4J version.
Top left the McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (63-7446) in a Michigan ANG livery of the United States Air Force (USAF).
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it first entered service with the Navy in 1961 before it was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of their air arms. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, and cementing its position as an iconic combat aircraft of the Cold War. The F-4C variant is a two-seat all-weather tactical fighter, ground-attack version for the United States Air Force; supported a wide spectrum of weapons including AIM-4 Falcon, AGM-12 Bullpup, and nuclear weapons; wider main wheel tires resulted in distinctive wing bulges; J79-GE-15 engines with provision for cartridge start; boom refuelling instead of Navy's probe and drogue refuelling; AN/APQ-100 radar; duplicated flight controls in the rear cockpit. The aircraft exceeded Mach 2 during its first flight on 27 May 1963; 583 built.
It was also the only aircraft used by both United States flight demonstration teams:
the United States Air Force "Thunderbirds" (F-4E) and the United States Navy "Blue Angels" (F-4J).
The Technik Museum Speyer (Speyer Museum of Technology) is a technology museum in Speyer (south-west of Heidelberg), Germany. The collection includes: aircraft, classic vintage cars, racing- and classic motorcycles, historic fire engines, ships, massive steam locomotives, mechanical instruments, rarities and fashions. A special part of the collection is the Russian Space Shuttle Buran. The collection is displayed both indoors and outdoors, and finally there is an IMAX theater. The museum was established in 1991. It is closely associated with the Technik Museum Sinsheim (Sinsheim Museum of Technology). The latter suffered from a lack of space and a second location was opened in Speyer.