The F4 Phantom was a good aircraft in it`s time but early versions had a few peculiarities that needed to be sorted out. This version is a Navy F4B of the Vf-92 "Silver Kings" Squadron flying from the USS Constellation as it would have appeared during the Vietnam Conflict. The Navy F4B differed from the Air Force F4C version in that it had a significantly shortened nose cone to facilitate lifting on Carrier elevators (The Air Force received the F4C which was effectively identical to the F4B but with a longer nose and different electronics).
The F4B was accepted by the Navy in 1961, and the F4C by the Air Force in 1963 (The original F4A`s never saw service due to many technical issues meaning the F4B was the first actual service variant). Phantoms remain in service in many countries to this day, but were officially retired from US production in 1979, and from service with US Forces in 1996, after over 30 years of continuous combat service. A number of F4`s have remained in US service converted to use as Remote Target Drones...