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McDonnell F3H Demon

1956 COLD WAR

MacDonald F3H Demon History

During World War II (1939-1945), the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighter appeared and launched carrier-based fighters that outperformed their land-based competitors. Over time, U.S. technology and carrier theory contributed to a shift in Pacific Rim dominance that ultimately led to the end of the entire war.

The dawn of the jet age also ushered in a whole new generation of fighter jets for the U.S. Navy (USN), and McDonnell's attention has long contributed to the service industry, launching various designs.

The first was the FH "Phantom" in 1947, which completed a subsonic development example of 62 straight-wing and two turbojet engines. The Phantom was followed by another straight-wing jet engine in the twin-engine F2H Banshee. This development was even more successful numerically, as 895 lines were produced for the United States, with Canada becoming their only foreign operator. This work led to an entirely new development, with MacDonald's first use of the swept-wing main aircraft, the subsonic F3H Demon.

The U.S. Navy adopted it as a counterpart to the Soviet-introduced Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 "Fagot" high-speed swept-wing jet fighter, developed at the same time as the U.S. Navy's first supersonic fighter, the Douglas F4D "Skyray".

The

Demon originated from a 1949 program to produce swept-wing fighter jets from the outset, rather than modifying existing straight-wing shapes later in development. This time a single-engine configuration was chosen, and the plane will have a crew.

The engine of choice is the Westinghouse J40 in development, which promises more than 10,000 pounds of thrust from a single source. Compared to the weaker twin-engine type previously seen, the performance of this engine alone is deemed adequate by US naval authorities, marking a new shift in US Navy aircraft propulsion.

"XF3H-1" was the codename for the two prototypes ordered, which ended up with the Westinghouse XJ40-WE-6 turbojet, although it only provided 6,500 pounds of dry thrust and 9,200 pounds of afterburner - far less on the promised indicators. The engine never really shined, causing the Demon to be underpowered while proving largely unreliable - its own development ceased in 1955.

Nonetheless, the U.S. Navy needs strong front-line fighters and drives the F3H program forward. This led to the first "F3H-1N" production model, continuing with the 7,200 lb thrust (10,900 lb afterburner) Westinghouse J40-WE-22 engine. Fifty-eight examples of this brand were produced, but only 35 carried the J40.

These early machines killed at least four pilots. With the end of the J40 engine program and the subsequent grounding of the active F3H-1N fleet, the proposed "F3H-1P" photo reconnaissance variant was not adopted.

Since the Demon's airframe was too small to fit a larger, more advanced and proven jet engine, the next mass-produced fighter jet was equipped with an Allison J71 turbojet. This led to the designation "F3H-2N", covering some 239 additional aircraft.

The J71 is more powerful and more reliable than the Westinghouse it replaced.

The F3H-2M went live to support 4 x AIM-7 Sparrow medium-range air-to-air missiles (AAM), two under each wing. It was only later that the short-range AAM family of AIM-9 "Sidewinders" was supported, usually carrying two arrays per missile. An additional 239 were purchased as "F3H-2" fighter-bomber models, certified to carry airdrops of up to 6,000 pounds, while retaining the missile launch qualities of the F3H-2M.

The early F3H-2N also added rocket launch capability.

The F3H-2P became a proposed photo reconnaissance version of the F3H-2M, but the move fell through. The F3H-3 was a more powerful version of the Demon to fit the GE J73 engine, but this design never materialized.

When finished, the Demon has a very modern look with its pointed nose cone, almost board-edged fuselage walls and nice swept wing surfaces. The main wing aircraft are mounted low on the sides of the fuselage and have rounded tips. The rear wing was raised to make room for the nozzle outlet below. The stern consists of a vertical fin and a low-set horizontal plane. The engine is buried in the middle of the rear of the hull.

Inhaled through two air intakes located on either side of the cockpit. The pilot has a comprehensive view of what is about to happen, and his view to the front and sides is largely unobstructed. A tricycle landing gear was installed for ground operation, and the proboscis gave the aircraft a distinct "nose-up" appearance at rest. The wing main aircraft has a hinged function to fold over a US space carrier.

Standard fixed armament consists of 4 x 20mm Colt Mk 12 guns (some versions have a pair removed to save weight).

The

Demon is equipped with the ever-evolving AN/APG-51 radar family, making it an all-weather interceptor.

The F3H series was the U.S. Navy's front-line fighter from 1956 to 1962, providing a useful, all-weather, missile-carrying counter-attack to enemy aircraft threatening U.S. carrier forces.

By then, the line was technically obsolete, eventually being replaced by the excellent Mach 2-capable McDonnell F-4 "Phantom II" series that could perform a variety of mission types, including ground attack and interception , while carrying a large war load. The Phantom II and McDonnell F-101 "Voodoo" were partly influenced by the F3H Demon design - so the three aircraft share some similarities in appearance. The Phantom II was indeed born out of the F3H effort known as the "Super Demon."

The reorganization of the USAF in 1962 resulted in the renaming of all in-service demon marks (see variant list). The F3H was retired in 1964.