The Imperial Iranian

Air Force was the largest overseas operator of the F-4 Phantom before the Revolution. The Imperial Iranian Air Force ordered 16 F-4Ds in 1967; they ordered a second batch of 16 F-4Ds later. The first batch of F-4Ds arrived in Iran on September 8, 1968, with 32 F-4Ds being ultimately delivered to the Imperial Iranian Air Force. Iranian F-4Ds were used in several unsuccessful attempts to intercept Soviet MiG-25 that were spying on Iran. The first combat use of the F-4D by Iran was in 1975 when Iran provided military assistance to the Sultan of Oman in actions against rebels. One of these F-4Ds was lost to ground fire.
The government of Iran ordered 208 F-4Es and 32 RF-4Es from McDonnell during the early and mid-1970s. The first examples were delivered in March of 1971. A total of 177 F-4Es (plus eight F-4Es borrowed from the USA and subsequently returned) and 16 RF-4Es were delivered to the Imperial Iranian Air Force between 1971 and 1979. However, in 1979, the Revolution took over the government, and on February 28, 1979, the US government placed an embargo on further arms deliveries to Iran. The remaining 31 F-4Es and 16 RF-4Es on the contract were never delivered.
At this time, Iran had almost 223 operational Phantoms. Contrary to Western reports, F-4 squadrons managed to maintain their combat effectiveness despite widespread political upheavals and personnel purges. Technical malfunctions, often appearing during flight preparation, would reduce the flight packages, but missions were seldom aborted for this reason.
The outbreak of the Iraq-Iran War on the afternoon of September 22, 1980, resulted in the newly reorganized Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) having to rely heavily on its F-4 Phantom units. This legendary veteran fighter-bomber was the star of the Iranian Air Force during the eight-year war with Iraq, performing virtually every combat role, from pure fighter to deep-penetration interdictor. Phantoms were to play a vital role in most of the missions far into Iraqi territory, in many cases returning to base after sustaining heavy combat damage.
The F-4’s baptism of fire during the war with Iraq was unexpected. The conflict began with an Iraqi air attack on six Iranian air bases and four Iranian army barracks, followed by a land offensive deep into the country at four points along a 435-mile (700km) front. This first Iraqi air attack failed due to rigid and inflexible mission planning, lack of sufficient target intelligence, and the use of unsuitable general-purpose (GP) bombs. One F-4E was destroyed by having its nose section cut off in a strafing run on the ramp at the Mehrabad airport, and another F-4 base, Hamedan, also suffered some damage.
The first Iranian air attack on Iraq saw the successful bombing of Al-Shoibiya naval base, near the port city of Um-Al Qassr, by four F-4s from Bushehr AB, using 1,000lb (450kg) bombs. Among the targets were several anti-shipping missile batteries. This Iranian retaliation was so swift that Iraqi air defense positions had been caught by surprise right across the flight route. The next day, up to 140 Iranian fighter-bombers, including significant numbers of F-4s from Bushehr, Tehran, and Hamedan, attacked several Iraqi air bases and military installations with almost total impunity.
These first days of the war saw other air strikes against such targets as the military installations of the Um-Al-Quasar. On one such mission, a two-ship formation of F-4Es, each armed with six 750lb (340kg) GP bombs, attacked Iraqi port installations and anchored missile boats. Some 20 minutes later, an RF-4E took reconnaissance photos of the aftermath, which showed that heavy damage had been inflicted on ships and harbor installations.
The general tactic for during such missions was to approach the target from different directions and then execute a pop-up and dive attack. On the return flight, a SAM missile on the right wing hit one of the Phantoms, damaging some of its systems and control surfaces; despite this, the aircraft was still flyable. However, the fuel indicators did not work, and the right-wing caught fire. The runways of the nearest base were still damaged from the first day’s bombing, so the crippled Phantom had to land on the unaffected part at a higher-than-normal speed. The tires burst, and the aircraft ran off the end of the runway after the crew had already ejected. Later, the aircraft’s wing was replaced, the first time such work had been undertaken in Iran, and it was returned to combat service.
The first months of the war saw the Iranian Air Force making concentrated efforts to halt the Iraqi ground advance, often directly engaging tank and vehicle columns, sometimes at altitudes as low as 10-13f. (3-4m). Iraqi MiG-21 and MiG-23 fighters were used as top cover to protect their military columns heading toward Iran, and as a result, there were many air-to-air encounters – with mixed results.