thedrifter
05-24-09, 08:03 AM
A half century ago, McDonnell launched first fighter-jet
By Tim O'Neil
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, May. 24 2009
ST. LOUIS — On the first flight, a hydraulic line broke. Test pilot Bob Little
brought the burly prototype jet fighter back to Lambert Field after only 21
minutes in the air. But he had a good feeling about his hot new ride.
Little's impression of May 27, 1958, proved correct. The McDonnell Aircraft F-4
Phantom II became one of the great success stories of military aviation. It
flew in three U.S. military branches — Air Force, Navy and Marines — and in the
air forces of 11 other countries. McDonnell, later known as McDonnell Douglas,
built 5,057 of the twin-engine jets at its plant next to the airport, now
called Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
No other American jet fighter has come close to that production number. In
1967, with America in the thick of the Vietnam War, almost 30,000 workers in
Hazelwood rolled out more than two per day. Workers parked them in tight rows
outside their vast plant, and the thundering test rides were standard
entertainment for airport watchers.
McDonnell may have become a glamorous aerospace company because of the Mercury
and Gemini space programs, but the Phantom earned it more than $20 billion.
That covered good paychecks for thousands of families for more than two decades.
On May 25, 1978 — almost 20 years to the day of Little's first flight —
McDonnell Douglas rolled out its 5,000th Phantom II to great fanfare. (The
Phantom I, also built here, had been one of the Navy's first jets.) Production
of the Phantom II closed 18 months later.
The Phantom II did impressive things for the $1.5 million sticker on the
earlier models. It could reach 1,600 mph, fly straight up and carry twice the
load of most World War II bombers. It wasn't a gorgeous airplane — pilots
dubbed it the "Rhino" because of its humpbacked girth — but it could take
punishment, something air crews value over looks. Phantom II crews came in
twos, a pilot and a weapons-systems officer, or "wizzo."
The Missouri Air National Guard received its first Phantoms in 1978 and flew
them until 1991, when the unit received its first F-15 Eagles, the Air Force
replacement for the Rhino.
McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) also made the sleeker F-15 and the Phantom II's
Navy successor, the F-18 Hornet. The Idaho Air National Guard retired the last
of the American Phantom IIs in 1996, but several other countries still fly them.
The Missouri Guard's last Phantom II rides atop a tall display stand near the
guard base at Lambert.
Another is parked on the old parade grounds at Jefferson Barracks National
Cemetery.
A Look Back
• The F-4 Phantom II, rolled out in late May 1958, became one of the great success stories of military aviation and supported thousands of families.
Ellie
By Tim O'Neil
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, May. 24 2009
ST. LOUIS — On the first flight, a hydraulic line broke. Test pilot Bob Little
brought the burly prototype jet fighter back to Lambert Field after only 21
minutes in the air. But he had a good feeling about his hot new ride.
Little's impression of May 27, 1958, proved correct. The McDonnell Aircraft F-4
Phantom II became one of the great success stories of military aviation. It
flew in three U.S. military branches — Air Force, Navy and Marines — and in the
air forces of 11 other countries. McDonnell, later known as McDonnell Douglas,
built 5,057 of the twin-engine jets at its plant next to the airport, now
called Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
No other American jet fighter has come close to that production number. In
1967, with America in the thick of the Vietnam War, almost 30,000 workers in
Hazelwood rolled out more than two per day. Workers parked them in tight rows
outside their vast plant, and the thundering test rides were standard
entertainment for airport watchers.
McDonnell may have become a glamorous aerospace company because of the Mercury
and Gemini space programs, but the Phantom earned it more than $20 billion.
That covered good paychecks for thousands of families for more than two decades.
On May 25, 1978 — almost 20 years to the day of Little's first flight —
McDonnell Douglas rolled out its 5,000th Phantom II to great fanfare. (The
Phantom I, also built here, had been one of the Navy's first jets.) Production
of the Phantom II closed 18 months later.
The Phantom II did impressive things for the $1.5 million sticker on the
earlier models. It could reach 1,600 mph, fly straight up and carry twice the
load of most World War II bombers. It wasn't a gorgeous airplane — pilots
dubbed it the "Rhino" because of its humpbacked girth — but it could take
punishment, something air crews value over looks. Phantom II crews came in
twos, a pilot and a weapons-systems officer, or "wizzo."
The Missouri Air National Guard received its first Phantoms in 1978 and flew
them until 1991, when the unit received its first F-15 Eagles, the Air Force
replacement for the Rhino.
McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) also made the sleeker F-15 and the Phantom II's
Navy successor, the F-18 Hornet. The Idaho Air National Guard retired the last
of the American Phantom IIs in 1996, but several other countries still fly them.
The Missouri Guard's last Phantom II rides atop a tall display stand near the
guard base at Lambert.
Another is parked on the old parade grounds at Jefferson Barracks National
Cemetery.
A Look Back
• The F-4 Phantom II, rolled out in late May 1958, became one of the great success stories of military aviation and supported thousands of families.
Ellie