McDonnell F2H Banshee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F2H_Banshee

The McDonnell F2H Banshee was a single-seat carrier-based jet fighter aircraft
deployed by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps from 1948 to
1961. It was one of the primary American fighters used during the Korean War and
was the only jet-powered fighter ever deployed by the Royal Canadian Navy,
serving the RCN from 1955 until 1962. The aircraft's name is derived from the
banshee of Irish mythology.

The Banshee was a development of the FH Phantom, although it was being planned
before the Phantom went into production. McDonnell engineers originally intended
the aircraft to be a modified Phantom that shared many parts with the earlier
aircraft, but it soon became clear that the need for heavier armament, greater
internal fuel capacity, and other improvements would make the idea unfeasible.

The new aircraft would use much larger and more powerful engines, a pair of
newly developed Westinghouse J34 turbojets, raising thrust from the J30's 1,600
lbf (7 kN) to 3,000 lbf (13 kN) each; since the larger engines had to fit within
the wing roots, this required a larger and thicker wing with a span of 41 ft 6
in (12.65 m) rather than the Phantom's span of 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m). The more
powerful engines also used more fuel, so the fuselage was enlarged and
strengthened to increase fuel capacity. Navy leaders decided to move away from
the World War II standard .50-caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun to 20 mm (0.79 in)
cannon; four of the guns were mounted low on the nose to prevent pilots from
being blinded by muzzle flash when firing the guns at night, a problem that
vexed the Phantom with its top-mounted guns. The Banshee was designed to
accommodate an ejection seat, a capability the Phantom lacked, and it
incorporated a large number of improvements to other aircraft systems. The
cockpit was fully pressurized and air-conditioned, and the flaps, landing gear,
folding wings, canopy, and air brakes were electrically rather than
pneumatically operated. The front of the canopy was made of bulletproof glass
that was electrically heated to prevent frost.

The aircraft incorporated a novel design featu a "kneeling" nose landing gear
consisting of a pair of very small wheels forward of the regular nosewheel. The
nosewheel could be retracted so the aircraft rested on the smaller wheels,
allowing it to taxi with its tail high in the air. This was intended to ease
hangaring by allowing the aircraft to be parked with its nose under the tail of
the aircraft ahead, thereby saving space, and to enhance safety by directing the
hot jet blast upwards while taxiing. The feature was found to be of little use
operationally, however, and was omitted from later Banshee variants.


Role
Carrier-based fighter aircraft

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
McDonnell Aircraft

First flight
11 January 1947

Introduction
August 1948

Retired
30 September 1959 USN
1959 USMC
1960 USN, USMC (F2H-2P)
1961 USNR, USMCR
12 September 1962 RCN

Status
Retired

Primary users
United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
Royal Canadian Navy

Number built
895

Developed from
McDonnell FH Phantom

US Navy and Marine pilots often referred to the F2H as the "Banjo".

The F2H-2 served during the Korean War with the US Navy's Task Force 77 and the
Marine Corps.

Due to its good performance at high altitude, the F2H-2 initially proved its
worth as an escort fighter for USAF bombers, which were supporting United
Nations Command (UNC) ground forces.

From mid-1950, the F2H-2 had negligible exposure to hostile aircraft over Korea,
due to several factors. During the opening weeks of the war, the North Korean
air force was almost completely annihilated by UNC fighter units. From that
point onwards, North Korea and its allies were unable to open new airfields near
combat zones in South Korea, forcing them to operate out of air bases in China.
As a result of their air superiority throughout most of 1950, UNC squadrons were
restricted to ground attack missions, especially close air support and
interdiction of North Korean army supply lines. In addition, the Banshee, like
most jets of its generation, had a serious handicap, relative to the latest
fighters: naval air services, including the USN, had resisted faster, swept wing
designs – fearing that their characteristics at low speeds would make them
unsafe to operate them from aircraft carriers. Consequently, the Banshee was
almost 100 mph (160 km/h) slower than the latest fighter designs. The
obsolescence of all straight-wing fighters was reinforced by the introduction,
in November 1950 of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 – often covertly operated by
elite Soviet units. Most UNC air combat missions, such as patrols over "MiG
Alley", were undertaken by F-86 Sabres of the USAF Far East Air Force.
Consequently, the F2H-2 operated for virtually the entire war in areas beyond
the range of enemy fighters. During the Korean War, Banshee pilots scored no
victories in air-to-air combat, nor suffered any losses, although three F2H-2s
were lost to anti-aircraft gunfire.

Specifications (F2H-3)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 48 ft 2 in (14.68 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 9 in (12.73 m)
Height: 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Wing area: 294 sq ft (27.3 m2)
Empty weight: 13,183 lb (5,980 kg)
Gross weight: 21,013 lb (9,531 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 25,214 lb (11,437 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Westinghouse J34-WE-34 turbojet engines, 3,250 lbf (14.5 kN)
thrust each

Performance
Maximum speed: 580 mph (930 km/h, 500 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 461 mph (742 km/h, 401 kn)
Range: 1,716 mi (2,762 km, 1,491 nmi)
Service ceiling: 46,600 ft (14,200 m)
Rate of climb: 6,000 ft/min (30 m/s)

Armament

4 × 20 mm (0.787 in) Colt Mk 12 cannon, 220 rounds/gun (upper pair), 250
rounds/gun (lower pair)
8 × 60 lb (27 kg) High Explosive rockets
or6 × 500 lb (230 kg) bombs and 2 × 60 lb (27 kg) H.E. rockets
or(2 × AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles in Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) service)




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