Histoire & Collections

McDonnell F-4 Phantom Volume 1: US Navy/USMC

by  Gerald Paloque

Reviewed By  Steven Brooks, IPMS# 45582

MSRP: $24.95 ISBN: 13: 978-2-352501-14-5 Paperback, 8"x9", 80 pages, 15 photos, 220 drawings Review Book from Casemate Publishing: www.casematepublishing.com McDonnell F-4 Phantom Volume 1: US Navy/USMC is the tenth issue of Histoire & Collections Planes and Pilots series, and the first to cover a jet age aircraft. The first few pages of the introduction give a brief history of the F-4 Phantom II from concept in 1953 to the end of its military career as the F-4S in the early 1990's. The last two pages of the introduction give a very interesting explanation of the markings and paint schemes used by the USN and USMC. This section discusses the Modex, or the aircraft side number, the squadron codes, and the color codes, and how to use these three bits of information to decipher the aircrafts position in the Carrier Air Wing (CVW). The main content of the book covers the F-4 squadrons of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. This section is laid out in numerical order by squadron number, and gives a brief history of the squadron while using the F-4, mostly Vietnam activity and aircraft losses. The text given per squadron is very utilitarian, giving the detachment dates, the number of aircraft lost, and basic cause of the loss. In a few cases, this will leave you wanting to know more, especially if you are a fan of a certain squadron. While the text is lacking, the artwork is incredible. There is a small drawing of the unit patch for each squadron, with multiple full color profile views of the unit aircraft, usually including at least one colorful CAG bird, and a few examples of Bicentennial paint schemes. There are also top and bottom views of some of the more interesting paint jobs. While the book has been translated from the original French into English, there was apparently very little proof-reading. There are grammatical errors that will have you stumbling, and backing up to read sections a second time. There are a couple of instances where the French text slipped past the translator and made it into the English edition, but it is all easily translated. I would strongly recommend this book, even with the few minor problems. Even if this book was only available in French, the reference value of the artwork would easily justify the purchase price. The English translation makes it a must-have for F-4 fans. I would like to thank Casemate for providing the review sample.