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There's also the question of whether the F-4 was even cleared for export at the time Germany bought 104s, the Phantom was a brand new aircraft still in the prototype phase at the time, it didn't enter series production until the early 60s (I think 61) by which time the 104 had already been selected. While I agree that the Phantom ultimately matured into exactly what the Germans were originally looking for in the late 50s, the likelihood that they would have put all their eggs into the basket of a plane that is still only a prototype is slim to none. It's the same reason that Northrop's F-5 wasn't considered seriously. Germany was looking for something already in production, something that could essentially be bought off the shelf. Given the aircraft they were considering, the F-8 probably would have been the best choice.

[QUOTE="Yankee_Aviator, post: 486026, member: 29604"] There's also the question of whether the F-4 was even cleared for export at the time Germany bought 104s, the Phantom was a brand new aircraft still in the prototype phase at the time, it didn't enter series production until the early 60s (I think 61) by which time the 104 had already been selected. While I agree that the Phantom ultimately matured into exactly what the Germans were originally looking for in the late 50s, the likelihood that they would have put all their eggs into the basket of a plane that is still only a prototype is slim to none. It's the same reason that Northrop's F-5 wasn't considered seriously. Germany was looking for something already in production, something that could essentially be bought off the shelf. Given the aircraft they were considering, the F-8 probably would have been the best choice. [/QUOTE]

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