In 1964, the Phantom was ordered for the Fleet Air Arm to serve as the Royal Navy's primary fleet air defence aircraft, with a secondary strike capability.
It was intended that these aircraft would operate from the decks of four aircraft carriers; at least two of these were planned new ships, while the other two were to be existing but heavily modified.
At the time, the Royal Navy's carrier force consisted of five fleet or light fleet carriers of differing sizes and ages.
Of the five in service, only Eagle and Ark Royal, each displacing approximately 50,000 tons, were big enough to accommodate the Phantom in sufficient numbers, so plans were put in place to rebuild these two ships to enable the operation of the aircraft.

The requirements for the intended force of four carriers meant that five squadrons of Phantoms would be needed.
However, in its 1966 Defence White Paper, the Government decided to cancel the two new carriers, which led to reductions in the total order for the Royal Navy's Phantoms.
Initially 140 were ordered, which was eventually cut to just 48, with options for another seven.
The intention was to form a pair of front-line squadrons, each of twelve aircraft, that would operate from the two remaining, heavily modernised fleet carriers.
The remaining 24 aircraft were to be used to form a training unit, and to provide a reserve pool in the event of aircraft losses.

The Royal Navy received its first F-4K Phantoms, which carried the British designation FG.1, in April 1968.
These were assigned to 700P Naval Air Squadron (NAS), which was to serve as the Intensive Flying Trials Unit.
Upon completion of the successful flight trials, 767 Naval Air Squadron was commissioned in January 1969 as the FAA's training squadron.
This was followed at the end of March 1969 by 892 Naval Air Squadron, which was commissioned as the Royal Navy's first operational Phantom unit, intended to embark in Ark Royal once her three-year refit had completed in 1970.
During 892 NAS's initial work up, three of its aircraft were entered in the Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race, a competition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first trans-Atlantic flight.
One aircraft, crewed by 892's commanding officer, Lt Commander Brian Davies, with Lt Commander Pete Goddard as his observer, set a record of four hours and 46 minutes for the west to east crossing between Floyd Bennett Field in New York City and Wisley Airfield outside London, a record that stood for five years.

At the same time as the Fleet Air Arm was receiving its first aircraft, the A&AEE had three FG.1s delivered to its 'C' Squadron for flight deck trials aboard Eagle.
Two sets of trials were successfully carried out in March and June 1969; the first comprised approaches and touch-and-go landings, while the second set of trials involved full catapult launch and arrested recovery.
As a result of the reheat from the Spey turbofans, the ship's jet blast deflectors (JBD) were not used; instead a steel plate was fixed to the deck to absorb the heat of the engines building to launch, and fire hoses were used after each launch to prevent them melting.

Ark Royal had entered refit to accommodate the Phantom in 1967; this involved a major reconstruction, including several elements to allow the ship to operate the aircraft – the flight deck was increased in area and fully angled to 8½°, the arresting gear was replaced with a new water-spray system to accommodate the Phantom's higher weight and landing speed, and bridle catchers and water-cooled JBDs were fitted to the catapults.
Once this work was complete, Eagle was scheduled to undergo a similar modernisation.
However, the planned phasing-out of fixed-wing aviation in the Royal Navy led to the intended refit of Eagle being cancelled, with the options for seven additional FG.1s not taken up.
As a consequence, it was decided to further reduce the FAA's Phantom fleet to just 28 aircraft.

In 1970, Ark Royal embarked 892 NAS as part of her air group for the first time, with a total of 12 aircraft.
The first operational use of the Royal Navy'
In 1964, the Phantom was ordered for the Fleet Air Arm to serve as the Royal Navy's primary fleet air defence aircraft, with a secondary strike capability. It was intended that these aircraft would operate from the decks of four aircraft carriers; at least two of these were planned new ships, while the other two were to be existing but heavily modified. At the time, the Royal Navy's carrier force consisted of five fleet or light fleet carriers of differing sizes and ages. Of the five in service, only Eagle and Ark Royal, each displacing approximately 50,000 tons, were big enough to accommodate the Phantom in sufficient numbers, so plans were put in place to rebuild these two ships to enable the operation of the aircraft.
The requirements for the intended force of four carriers meant that five squadrons of Phantoms would be needed. However, in its 1966 Defence White Paper, the Government decided to cancel the two new carriers, which led to reductions in the total order for the Royal Navy's Phantoms. Initially 140 were ordered, which was eventually cut to just 48, with options for another seven. The intention was to form a pair of front-line squadrons, each of twelve aircraft, that would operate from the two remaining, heavily modernised fleet carriers. The remaining 24 aircraft were to be used to form a training unit, and to provide a reserve pool in the event of aircraft losses.
The Royal Navy received its first F-4K Phantoms, which carried the British designation FG.1, in April 1968. These were assigned to 700P Naval Air Squadron (NAS), which was to serve as the Intensive Flying Trials Unit. Upon completion of the successful flight trials, 767 Naval Air Squadron was commissioned in January 1969 as the FAA's training squadron. This was followed at the end of March 1969 by 892 Naval Air Squadron, which was commissioned as the Royal Navy's first operational Phantom unit, intended to embark in Ark Royal once her three-year refit had completed in 1970. During 892 NAS's initial work up, three of its aircraft were entered in the Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race, a competition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first trans-Atlantic flight. One aircraft, crewed by 892's commanding officer, Lt Commander Brian Davies, with Lt Commander Pete Goddard as his observer, set a record of four hours and 46 minutes for the west to east crossing between Floyd Bennett Field in New York City and Wisley Airfield outside London, a record that stood for five years.
At the same time as the Fleet Air Arm was receiving its first aircraft, the A&AEE had three FG.1s delivered to its 'C' Squadron for flight deck trials aboard Eagle. Two sets of trials were successfully carried out in March and June 1969; the first comprised approaches and touch-and-go landings, while the second set of trials involved full catapult launch and arrested recovery. As a result of the reheat from the Spey turbofans, the ship's jet blast deflectors (JBD) were not used; instead a steel plate was fixed to the deck to absorb the heat of the engines building to launch, and fire hoses were used after each launch to prevent them melting.
Ark Royal had entered refit to accommodate the Phantom in 1967; this involved a major reconstruction, including several elements to allow the ship to operate the aircraft – the flight deck was increased in area and fully angled to 8½°, the arresting gear was replaced with a new water-spray system to accommodate the Phantom's higher weight and landing speed, and bridle catchers and water-cooled JBDs were fitted to the catapults. Once this work was complete, Eagle was scheduled to undergo a similar modernisation. However, the planned phasing-out of fixed-wing aviation in the Royal Navy led to the intended refit of Eagle being cancelled, with the options for seven additional FG.1s not taken up. As a consequence, it was decided to further reduce the FAA's Phantom fleet to just 28 aircraft.
In 1970, Ark Royal embarked 892 NAS as part of her air group for the first time, with a total of 12 aircraft. The first operational use of the Royal Navy'
McDonnell Douglas Phantom in UK service