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McDonnell Douglas RF-4B Phantom II
Tactical Photo Reconnaissance Squadron 3
By Marc "Devil Dog Of The Web" Iseli / Updated Dec. 2025
Back when the brass decided Marines needed to do more than just break things, McDonnell cooked up the RF-4B, a Phantom II with all the bite of a declawed housecat, but with a nose long enough to sniff out trouble from the next zip code. Basically, they took the Air Force’s RF-4C, stripped out the guns, and slapped on a snoot that was almost five feet longer than the regular F-4B. Out went the big radar, in came a Texas Instruments gizmo that could dodge hills and pretend to map the ground, as long as you didn’t sneeze on it.

The nose of this beast was basically a floating photo lab, with three camera bays, Stations 1, 2, and 3, ready to snap everything from low-level mud shots to high-altitude glamour pics. You could stuff in a KS-87, KA-87, or even the big-boy KS-127A if you wanted to impress the intel weenies. Unlike the Air Force, which just pointed their cameras straight ahead and hoped for the best, our pilots could actually swivel the cameras and catch the enemy picking their noses off to the side.

The back seat was reserved for the Recon Wizard, no flight controls, just a pile of switches and enough gear to make Radio Shack jealous. If things got spicy, you had chaff and flares to keep the bad guys guessing, and for night ops, you could light up the sky with photoflash cartridges like it was the Fourth of July. Film could be cooked up right there in the jet, and if the grunts on the ground were feeling needy, you could drop the cassettes out the bottom for instant battlefield selfies. The first RF-4B took to the skies in '65, and by 1970, 46 of these flying camera clubs were in Marine hands. In '75, the Corps decided to give them a facelift and rewired the whole mess under Project SURE, probably because duct tape wasn’t cutting it anymore.

Visit My Photo Album
Photos of RF-4B Phantom early 80s glory days.

RF-4B Phantom Data & Systems
Every thing you would ever want to know about the RF-4B Phantom below.

RF-4B Walkaround
Walkaround the RF-4B Phantom
Specifications
Measurements and data of the RF-4B
Modifications
NAS North Island SURE Project.
Production List, PDF
History of every RF-4B Phantom
General Electric J79-8
RF-4B Phantom Power Plant
Martin Baker MK. H-7
RF-4B Phantom Ejection Seats
Photo Cameras
Cameras of the Three Camera Bays
RF-4B Museums
RF-4B Museums and displays
RF-4B Boneyard
Check out the RFs final resting place
RF-4B Mishaps
RF-4B major Crash sites.
The Spook
The story of the creator of the Phantom Spook, Anthony “Tony” Wong.

Alright, you glorious Rat Phixers and Phlyers, if we ever survived a TAD, a Det, or a BOHICA, who haven't, and you didn’t think I was the biggest gaff off in the squadron. Got a sea story, or some grainy photos your ex didn’t set on fire, and they’re only slightly illegal? Send ‘em by email, snail mail, or safety wire it to a carrier pigeon. I collect ‘em all, just nothing that would incriminate me.
80svmfp3@gmail.com

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