@ Gifu, Japan
April 2026
From my first visit to the Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum outside of Nagoya, Japan. The Phantom first flew in 1958 was produced for use by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was the only company outside of the United States to operate a full production line for the F-4 Phantom II. The Japanese-built version was designated as the F-4EJ. The first 2 aircraft were built by McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis and shipped to Japan. The remaining 138 were built under license by Mitsubishi between 1971 and 1981. On May 21, 1981, the very last F-4 Phantom II ever produced in the world rolled off the Mitsubishi production line in Nagoya. In the 1980s, Mitsubishi oversaw a major Life Extension Program (LEP) for the Phantom fleet, resulting in the F-4EJ Kai (Kai meaning “modified”). The last operational F-4EJ Kai fighters were finally retired in March 2021. The last Phantom in US service retired on December 21, 2016. F-4 production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft.