Tamiya 1/48 McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II 61121Legendary Aircraft The deployment of the F 4 Phantom II started in the early 1960s and over 5,000 were manufactured during its production run. The F 4 Phantom II was operated by not only the Navy and Air Force in America, but also other countries on account of its long range and superlative loading capacity. In 1952, the Navy desired a supersonic aircraft and while the F 8 Crusader produced by the Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. was employed, the