McDonnell FH / FD Phantom

History

Allied victory in World War II (1939-1945) was not a foregone conclusion in 1943, as the war raged in Africa and Europe, while increasing commitment to the Pacific to counter the might of the Japanese Empire. Warship battles dotted the seascape during the Battle of Island Hopping, and progress proved to be a slow and bloody affair.

This period gave birth to a new generation of pilots, aces and aircraft, and forever cemented the role of aircraft carriers in naval warfare.

With this in mind, the United States Navy (USN) wants to expand its fighter inventory beyond the traditionally aligned piston-powered types. With many key players in the defense industry tied to producing much-needed ready-to-use aircraft, the U.S. Naval Aviation Administration approached the McDonnell Company in January 1943 for the new single-seat jet monoplane program. Partners.

The engine of choice is the same new turbojet from Westinghouse. The aircraft received the designation "FD-1".

VF-17A fighter squadrons were the first to use the FH-1 Wraith when they arrived in large numbers in August 1947. Over the following year, the total increased significantly.

Also in 1947, the Marine Corps Aviation Department acquired the FH-1, marking the Phantom as the first joint USN/USMC jet fighter.

The FH-1 in service is more of a technical stepping stone for the US Navy than a long-term combat solution. Thirsty jets rely on limited range, and pure machine gun weapons don't pack a punch compared to the full gun arrangements seen in competing fighter designs elsewhere. While the Mirage carried missiles in an attack role (rarely used in actual service), its lack of bomb-dropping capability precluded any use as a fighter-bomber.

Straight-line performance, however, was the best of its time, giving the carrier-based fighter an advantage over the piston-powered foes it might face.

However, the FD-1 series had an extremely short lifespan as the line was retired by the US Navy and US Marine Corps in 1949, and the Reserve followed in 1954. MacDonald then developed the F2H Banshee based on his FH-1 experience, and 895 of this design were completed when it was introduced into service in August 1949.

The FH-1 was not exported to U.S. partners, and no variants exist other than 60 FD-1 production models and a pair of XFD-1 prototypes.

McDonnell renames the "Phantom" for its classic F-4 "Phantom II" design.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes