The F4 was launched by a bridle which was attached th the fuselage somewhere near the wing roots, not to the nosewheel. I stand to be corrected, but I believe all USN & RN Phantoms (F4B/N, J & K) had the extendable nosewheel oleo which was incorporated to give the aircraft an appropriate angle of attack during the catapult launch.
Thanks NutherA2,
That makes sense...if you check the Wikipedia page for the Phantom, there is a pic of both RN and USN Phantoms on the USS Independance, side by side, on exercise. The USN machine looks to have an extended nose gear leg, but not to the same extent as the RN one...the RN one looks about 6 or 8 feet tall!