The Snapshots in Time Collection
Ordnance Release Checklist (Direct, Dive Toss, Rockets), USAF F-4 Phantom Manual (15 Jul 71)
This checklist page from a 1971 U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom operations manual details the precise cockpit switch sequences aircrews followed to deliver bombs and rockets. The 'Dive Toss' procedure, which used the aircraft's radar and Weapon Release Computer System to compute an automatic release point, represented an advance in bombing accuracy over purely manual ('Direct') deliveries. Checklists like this reduced the immense workload on two-man F-4 crews during high-stress combat sorties over Vietnam. Project: 218451