Phantom FGR.2

Phantom FGR.2

Hunter F.6

▄JAS39C

Phantom FGR.2

Hunter F.6

▄JAS39C

Britain

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.7	12.0	11.3

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:350 000

Purchase:950 000

This page is about the British jet fighter Phantom FGR.2. For the USAF version, see F-4C Phantom II.

Description

The Phantom FGR.2, also known as the F-4M is a rank VII British jet fighter with a battle rating of 11.7 (AB), 12.0 (RB), and 11.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.93 "Shark Attack". It is a British version of the American F-4 Phantom II.

Although on first glance appearing very similar to it's American counterpart the F-4C Phantom II, there are a number of major visual and performance differences between the two aircraft. Phantom's produced for the RAF were redesigned to use British Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines, instead of the General Electric J79 turbojet engines found on American Phantoms. The British engines produced more thrust than the American engines, but were wider; as a result the fuselage of British Phantoms was modified and is slightly wider than on American Phantoms. In addition the Phantom FGR.2 has larger air intakes than the F-4C, in order to allow for the increased airflow required by the new engines. The read of the Fuselage is also significantly different changed on the Phantom FGR.2, the engines are noticeably angled downwards and due to the different afterburner arrangement on the Spey engines, the area around the engine exhausts has been reshaped, as well as the engine exhausts themselves being a different shape. In addition the Phantom FGR.2 has a squared off tail, and lacks the under-nose probe of the F-4C.

In game these changes mean that the Phantom FGR.2 has much better low altitude acceleration and climb rate, compared to the F-4C, as a result of the more powerful engines. In games you will usually see the Phantom FGR.2s get off the ground and to altitude much quicker than the F-4Cs; however due to the increased drag of the redesigned fuselage, and the performance characteristics of the Spey engines, it does not perform quite as well as the F-4C at high altitude, and cannot reach the same maximum speed.

General info

Flight performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 10,667 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
2,195	2,185	16000	26.5	26.8	139.3	129.0	850
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 10,667 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
???	???	16000	??.?	??.?	??.?	??.?	850

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	✓	✓	✓	✓

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		625	~11	~4

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 810	< 750	< 700	N/A

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
0 m	5,120 kgf	7,168 kgf

Survivability and armour

Like it's American counterpart, the F-4C, the Phantom FGR.2 has no armour plates, or bulletproof glass. Like the F-4C it has fuel tanks on the leading edges of the wings, and most of the space in the fuselage which isn't taken up by the engines or cockpit is filled with fuel tanks. The tail control lines are also reasonably exposed, running down the top of the fuselage.

Armaments

Suspended armament

The Phantom FGR.2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 1 x 20 mm M61 Vulcan rotary cannon, gun pod mounted under fuselage (1,200 round)
• 1 x 20 mm M61 Vulcan rotary cannon + 8 х 1,000 LB G.P. Mk.I bomb
• 1 x 20 mm M61 Vulcan rotary cannon + 108 х SNEB type 23 rocket
• 1 х 20 mm M61 cannon rotary cannon + 4 х AIM-9D Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
• 1 х 20 mm M61 cannon rotary cannon + 4 х AIM-9D Sidewinder air-to-air missiles + 4 х 1000 LB G.P. Mk.I bomb
• 4 х AIM-9D Sidewinder air-to-air missiles

Like the F-4C the Phantom FGR.2 lacks any internal guns; instead relying on a M61 Vulcan rotary cannon, mounted centrally under the fuselage. The cannon is angled downwards at about 1°, coupled with the guns position under aircraft this makes aiming slightly more difficult than on other aircraft; the gun also has a wide bullet spread. A benefit of the rotary cannon is that it can fire all 1,200 rounds of ammo before it can overheat and jam. Unlick the F-4C the Phantom FGR.2 can only carry a single gunpod.

In terms of other suspended weaponry the Phantom FGR.2 falls far behind the F-4C, having 6 loadout options compared to the F-4C's 21. It has a more limited choice of bombs, carries fewer rockets and cannot carry Bullpup air to ground missiles.

In terms of air to air missiles the Phantom FGR.2 can carry four AIM-9D Sidewinder missiles; as opposed to the F-4C's choice of AIM-9B and AIM-9E Sidewinders. The AIM-9D's currently perform identically to the AIM-9E's, with the exception that the AIM-9E's have a slightly better IR seeker, so track slightly better.

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Modules

Tier	Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
I	Compressor	Fuselage Repair		1000 LB GP
II	New boosters	Airframe	Offensive 20 mm	Matra SNEB
III	Wings repair	G-Suit		AIM-9D
IV	Engine	Cover	New 20 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Better acceleration and climb rate than it's American equivalent, the F-4C
• One of the fastest aircraft in the game, especially at low altitude (at sea level it can reach mach 1.18 when stock)
• One of the fastest climbing aircraft in the game
• Excellent acceleration, especially at low altitude, exceeding that of even the F-4C
• Very good AIM-9D, which are only very slightly inferior to the AIM-9E
• Very high rate of fire cannon, which does not jam
• Can land on aircraft carriers

Cons:

• Gun pod is angled downwards
• Gun pod has wide bullet spread when stock, which although useful in some situations leads to you missing your shots in others
• Missiles are rank 3 modification
• Large target compared to aircraft like the Mig-21
• Due to large weight it requires a high landing sped (~350 kph), and can be tricky to land for players new to it (especially on aircraft carriers)
• Not quite as good at very high altitude as the [F-4C]]
• Taking minimum fuel leaves you with very limited battle endurance (especially if you use the afterburner), while the 20 min fuel option noticeably impacts handling

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.