Subject: New Fighter Series--McDonnell F-3 Demon (2 of 4)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 14 Apr 94 16:24:40 GMT

>From [email-masked]

The US Navy wanted the F3H-1N in service as soon as possible in order 
to counter the swept-wing MiG-15 then being encountered in Korean 
skies.  Consequently, the Navy had ordered the F3H-1N into production 
even before the XF3H-1 prototype had taken off on its first flight.  
The Navy had even issued a contract to the Temco Aircraft Corporation 
of Dallas, Texas, for an additional 100 Demons to be manufactured 
under license.  This early order for the production of the Demon 
turned out to be a costly mistake.  

The production F3H-1N differed from the prototypes in having its 
ailerons relocated to mid-wing, and the entire nose and cockpit 
sections were tilted down five degrees in order to improve the forward 
vision during carrier approach and landing.  Total fuel fuel capacity 
was increased from 1148 to 1506 US gallons.  An AN/APG-30 airborne 
interception radar was housed under an enlarged dielectric nose cone.  
Armament consisted of four 20-mm cannon situated below and behind the 
air intakes.  

In September of 1952, the Navy also ordered 22 examples of the F3H-1P, 
a photographic reconnaissance version of the F3H-1N, in which the guns 
and radar were replaced by a set of cameras.  

For initial trials, the F3H-1N was powered by a Westinghouse J40-WE-8 
turbojet rated at 7200 lb.s.t. dry and 10,500 lb.s.t. with 
afterburning.  However, in the production form it was fitted with the 
J40-WE-22 or -22A engine, rated at 7500 lb.s.t. dry and 10,900 
lb.s.t. with afterburning.  Even with this engine, the F3H-1N was 
decidedly underpowered, and plans were to replace the WE-22 with 
the more powerful J40-WE-24 when it eventually became available.  

By September of 1953, it was apparent that the WE-24 engine was never 
going to materialize, and the Navy would have to be satisfied with the 
lower-thrust WE-22.  The first production F3H-1N (BuNo. 133489) took 
off on its maiden flight on December 24, 1953.  The first few F3H-1Ns 
were intended for service evaluation and carrier suitability tests.  
In early 1954, the first F3H-1N was turned over to service evaluation 
at NATC Patuxent River in Maryland.  

Production of the F3H-1N proceeded very slowly because of late 
deliveries of the J40-WE-22 engines.  The Navy service test program 
immediately ran into serious trouble.  Within the space of only a few 
days, no less than eleven accidents occurred, some of them fatal.  
Newspaper headlines and editorials screamed about the Navy having 
acquired a dangerous and deadly aircraft, one that was more hazardous 
to its own pilots than to any potential enemy.  Not only was the 
F3H-1N seriously underpowered, its powerplant was prone to inflight 
explosions and sudden failures.  Consequently, the F3H-1N was a 
completely unsafe aircraft, and was heartily disliked by its pilots.  

In spite of the troubles with the J40 engine, on February 13, 1955, a 
F3H-1N piloted by McDonnell test pilot C. V. Braun set an unofficial 
time-to-height record of 10,000 feet in 71 seconds.  

The problems with the J40 engine proved to be incurable, and the Navy 
was forced to call a halt to F3H-1N production after only 58 examples 
had been built.  Work on the F3H-1P photo-reconnaissance variant was
dropped before anything could be built, and the contract with Temco 
was cancelled in its entirety.  The Navy permanently grounded all of
its F3H-1Ns in July of 1955.  The F3H-1N debacle had cost the Navy
before anything could be built.  The F3H-1N debacle had cost the Navy 
some 200 million dollars, most of which had been spent on the 
unsuccessful J40 engine.  

The surviving F3H-1Ns were deemed completely unairworthy and were 
either used as ground trainers or scrapped.  Most never made a single 
flight.  Does anyone know if any survive today? 

The J40 experience was so devastating for Westinghouse that the 
company got entirely out of the jet engine manufacturing business 
shortly thereafter.  As for McDonnell, it did not look too good for 
that company either, and the entire Demon program seemed on the verge 
of cancellation.  However, McDonnell was able to recover some of its 
good name with the F3H-2 variant of the Demon, in which the unreliable 
J40 engine was replaced by an Allison J71.  

Serials of the F3H-1N:

133389/133488		Cancelled contract for F3H-1N to be built by Temco.
133489/133519		McDonnell F3H-1N Demon  
133521			McDonnell F3H-1N Demon  
133523/133548		McDonnell F3H-1N Demon  

Specification of F3H-1N Demon: 

One Westinghouse J40-WE-22 or -22A engine, rated at 7500 lb.s.t.  dry 
and 10,900 lb.s.t.  with afterburning.  Maximum speed 616 mph at sea 
level, 628 mph at 10,000 feet.  Initial climb rate: 10,900 feet per 
minute.  Service ceiling: 44,000 feet.  Normal range: 1130 miles.  
Weights: 18,691 pounds empty, 26,085 pounds loaded, 29,998 pounds 
maximum takeoff.  Dimensions: wingspan 35 feet 4 inches, length 59 
feet 0 inches, height 14 feet 7 inches, wing area 442 square feet.  
Armed with four 20-mm cannon.  

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   	
263 Shuman Boulevard 		Naperville, Illinois 60566-7050