Subject: New Fighter Series--McDonnell F-2 Banshee (1 of 5)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 5 Apr 94 16:38:14 GMT

>From [email-masked]

In late 1944, the US Navy ordered three carrier-based jet fighters, 
the Vought XF6U-1 Pirate, the McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom, and the North 
American XFJ-1 Fury.  It was hoped that these three fighters would be 
available in time for *Operation Olympic/Coronet*, the invasion of 
Japan which was planned for May of 1946.  

The FD-1 Phantom was a single-seat carrier-based fighter powered by a 
pair of 1600 lb.s.t Westinghouse J30-WE-20 turbojets buried in the 
wing roots.  The prototype XFD-1 made its first flight on January 26, 
1945.  On July 19, 1946, the second XFD-1 made the first takeoff and 
landing aboard the carrier USS *Franklin D.  Roosevelt*, becoming the 
first US-designed pure-jet fighter to operate from an aircraft 
carrier.  30 production Phantoms (redesignated FH-1 in 1947, when the 
McDonnell company designator was changed from D to H) were built.  
VF-17A was the only Navy squadron to operate the Phantom, which 
started to receive the type in July of 1947.  VF-17A was later 
redesignated VF-171.  It was later joined by the Marine squadron 
VMF-122 as a Phantom user, VMF-122 becoming the first Marine Corps 
squadron to operate jet aircraft.  The FH-1 Phantom had been phased 
out of front-line service by July of 1950, but it remained with some 
Naval Reserve units up until July of 1953.  

The McDonnell XF2D-1 Banshee was a substantially larger and more 
powerful version of the Phantom.  Back in 1945, when the Navy was 
first letting contracts for carrier-based jet fighters, it noted that 
the McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom was substantially slower (only 487 mph at 
sea level) than contemporary USAAF jet fighters such as the P-80 
Shooting Star.  Consequently, at the same time that they were ordering 
jet fighter prototypes from other manufacturers, the Bureau of 
Aeronautics (BuAer) invited McDonnell to submit a design for a 
successor to the FD-1 even before the Phantom had entered production.  
On March 22, 1945, a Letter of Intent was issued which covered the 
development and manufacture of three XF2D-1s Serials were BuNos 99858 
to 99860.  

The XF2D-1 design team at McDonnell was headed by Herman D.  Barkey.  
The design that they proposed was basically an enlarged Phantom 
powered by two 3000 lb.s.t.  Westinghouse J34 turbojets mounted in the 
wing root fillets.  The fuselage was longer and provided volume for 
526 US gallons of fuel rather than the 375 US gallons carried by the 
FD-1.  A quartet of 20-mm cannon replaced the four 0.50-inch machine 
guns of the FD-1.  These guns were relocated from the top to the 
bottom of the nose in order to reduce the blinding effect on the 
pilot.  

The mockup was inspected on April 24-26, 1945.  The end of the war in 
the Pacific resulted in the cancellation of many aircraft projects, 
but the Navy thought the F2D sufficiently promising that it was spared 
the axe.  Nevertheless, work on the XF2D-1 proceeded at a less hectic 
pace, and the construction of the prototypes was delayed until late 
1946.  

The first XF2D-1 took off on its maiden flight at Lambert Field in St.  
Louis on January 11, 1947.  It was powered by two 3000 lb.s.t.  
Westinghouse J34-WE-22 turbojets.  Shortly after its first flight, the 
XF2D-1 was redesignated XF2H-1 when the factory code for McDonnell 
changed from D to H.  Flight tests and service evaluations went fairly 
well, but some control problems were encountered which resulted in the 
decision to replace the dihedral tailplanes of the prototypes with 
tailplanes without dihedral on production models.  

The first production F2H-1s were ordered on May 29, 1947.  56 machines 
(BuNos 122530/122559 and 133990/123015) were delivered between August 
1948 and August 1949.  They were identical to the prototype except for 
the elimination of the tailplane dihedral.  They were initially 
powered by a pair of 3000 lb.s.t. J34-WE-22s, but were later 
retrofitted with 3150 lb.s.t. J34-WE-30s.  

The first production aircraft (BuNo 122530) was bailed back to 
McDonnell for use as a testbed for the afterburner that was to be used 
on the XF-88A.  This aircraft was later fitted with extended wing 
trailing edges as a development aircraft for the F2H-3 series.  

The first F2H-1 Banshees were delivered to VX-3 based at NAS Atlantic 
City in August of 1948.  This squadron carried out service evaluation 
of the type before it was issued to operational units.  The first 
operational unit to receive the Banshee was VF-171 based at NAS Cecil 
Field in Florida, trading in its Phantoms for the new type.  

On August 9, 1949, Lt. J. L. Fruin's F2H-1 went out of control 
while performing aerobatics at a speed of 500 mph and an altitude of 
30,000 feet.  He was forced to eject, becoming the first American 
pilot to use an ejector seat for emergency escape.  

During August of 1949, another F2H-1 was flown to an altitude of 
52,000 feet, setting an unofficial altitude record for a jet-powered 
aircraft.  At this time, the Navy was locked in a controversy with the 
Air Force over funding priorities.  The Air Force was touting the B-36 
long-range bomber as the answer to deterrence, whereas the Navy was 
pushing its aircraft carriers.  The ability of the Banshee to reach 
such extreme altitudes was an embarrassment for the Air Force, which 
had been arguing that its B-36s flew so high that they were immune 
from interception.  

The service life of the F2H-1 was relatively brief.  F2H-1s were soon 
transferred to Reserve units as the more capable F2H-2 became 
available.  

Specification of the F2H-1 Banshee: 

Two Westinghouse J34-WE-30 turbojets, 3150 lb.s.t. each.  Maximum 
speed 587 mph at sea level, 563 mph at 20,000 feet.  Initial climb 
rate 7380 feet per minute.  Landing speed 101 mph.  Service ceiling 
48,500 feet.  Normal range 1278 miles.  Combat range 600 miles.  Fuel 
capacity was 700 US gallons.  Weights were 9794 pounds empty, 16,200 
pounds loaded, 18,940 pounds maximum takeoff.  Dimensions were 
wingspan 41 feet 7.4 inches, length 40 feet 1.8 inches, height 14 feet 
5 1/2 inches, wing area 294.1 square feet.  Armament consisted of four 
20-mm cannon in the nose.  

Sources:

  United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and
  Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

  The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers,
  Orion, 1987.

  The World Guide to Combat Planes, William Green, Macdonald, 1966. 

  The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston,
  Orion, 1988. 

  McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920, Rene J. Francillon,
  Naval Institute Press, 1990.

Joe Baugher		AT&T Bell Laboratories   	
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