F-4 Phantom By The Book

How cool would your job be if this was one of the books that you used?  Sitting on a cart at the Airzoo, along with a tool kit and a cup of coffee was this book. It appears that part of the work scheduled for that day was work on an F-4 Phantom.

The F-4 was first put into service in the US military in 1960 and found its way into the air wings of the Navy, Marines and Air Force.  As an air superiority fighter, it was one of the primary machines used during the Vietnam War and continued to be used in the later decades. Eventually, the F-15, F-16, and F-14 supplanted it in the different branches.

The last hurrah for the Phantom was in the first Gulf War in 1991. There it was used to suppress enemy air defenses.  In 1996 it was finally retired from active duty in the US military. The model did see extensive use in other military forces around the world and as of June 2013 still was seeing duty in Germany.

The book above is a pretty cool piece that acts as an owner’s manual for the model. From schematics and photos to break downs of all the major components. Sort of like what you may find for your car, except with places for guns and missiles. If you want a copy they are only about $20 and can be found here.