were F-4Bs that had been refit for ground operations. The F-4C arrived in Southeast
Asia in early 1965 and by 1966 equipped 7 squadrons in Vietnam and 3 in Thailand. The
early F-4Cs lacked guns and relied totally on missiles but it wasn’t long before the
addition of SUU-16A gun pods with M-61AI-20-mm guns were put to use to compensate
for the lack of internal guns. The addition of these gun pods gave the pilot gun fire but
degraded the performance of the aircraft. The first F-4Cs suffered from many defects
such as wing tanks that would spring leaks and require resealing after every flight. Many
had cracked ribs on outer wing panels. It wasn’t too long before the F-4D made an
appearance.

In 1971 and 1972 the Spanish Air Force (Ejercito del Aire - EdA) acquired 36 ex-USAF F-
4C Phantom IIs for front-line air defense fighter units to replace their aging F-104 and F-
86F. The EdA F-4s were designated C.12 with the “C” being short for Caza (fighter) and
the 12 indicating the F-4 was the 12th aircraft type they had used since their Civil War in
the late 1930s. Ex-USAF 58th TTW (Tactical Training Wing) Phantom 64-0896 was sent
to Spain in 1978 and assigned to Ala 12 (12th Wing) Escuadrones (Squadron) 122
based at Torrejon and given serial number C.12-40. It was one of 4 F-4Cs sent as
attrition replacements. The last F-4C was withdrawn from EdA front-line service in April
of 1989 when they were replaced by F-18 Hornets.

Specification of the F-4C

Manufacturer: McDonnell-Douglas

Role – Fighter

Performance
Engines - (2) General Electric J79-GE-15 turbojets, 10,900 lb.s.t dry, 17,000 lb.s.t. with
afterburner
Maximum Speed – 1,433 mph @ 48,000 ft, 826 mph at sea level
Initial Climb Rate - 40,550 fpm
Service Ceiling - 56,100 ft
Combat Ceiling - 55,600 ft
Combat Range - 538 miles
Maximum Range – 1,926 miles with maximum external fuel

Weights
Empty - 28,496 lbs
Gross - 51,441 lbs
Combat Weight - 38,352 lbs
Maximum Take-Off Weight - 58,000 lbs

Dimensions
Wingspan 38 ft 5 ins
Wing Area - 530 sq ft
Length - 58 ft 3 3/4 ins
Height - 16 ft 3 ins

Fuel
Maximum Internal - 1,986 US gallons (1,343 gallons in fuselage, 630 gallons in wings)
Maximum External - 600 US gallons in centerline tank underneath the fuselage and 740
US gallons in (2) under-wing tanks / total fuel to 3,313 US gallons

Armament
(4) AIM-7D or -7E Sparrow semi active radar homing missiles in under-fuselage recesses
Inner pylons could each accommodate (2) AIM-9B/D Sidewinder infrared homing missiles
Ground Attack Mode – able to carry up to 16,000 pounds of ordnance on centerline
pylon underneath the fuselage
Plus
(4) under-wing hard-points

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