1/72 F-4J Phantom II No. 2 Airplane US Blue Angels 1969

The last version of the Phantom II produced for the USN and USMC was the F-4J. Between 1966 and 1972 there were 522 F-4Js built. The USN received their first F-4Js in 1966 and the USMC in 1967. The F-4J had the distinction of scoring the only USMC air-to-air combat victory in Vietnam and it also was the last US operational aircraft in South East Asia. In mid 1970 the F-4 Phantom II was being replaced by the new and improved F-14 Tomcat.

In 1969 the Blue Angels re-equipped with the McDonnell Douglas two-seat F-4J Phantom II. The first F-4Js for the Blue Angels arrived on December 23, 1968. This was the first time they had used a two-seater and the first time both the Blue Angels and the USAF Thunderbirds flew the same equipment. The F-4 allowed the team to add more maneuvers to their routine increasing it to 22 minutes. The aircraft had lead ballast in the nose to compensate for the lack of the AWG-10 radar. The team operated their F-4Js until 1974.