The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer that was based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II, and crewed spacecraft including the Mercury capsule and Gemini capsule. McDonnell Aircraft later merged with the Douglas Aircraft Company to form McDonnell Douglas in 1967.
History
James McDonnell founded J.S. McDonnell & Associates in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1928 to produce a small aircraft for family use. The economic depression from 1929 ruined his plans and the company collapsed. He went to work for Glenn L. Martin.
He left in 1938 to try again with his own firm, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, based at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1939. McDonnell also developed the LBD-1 Gargoyle guided missile. McDonnell Aircraft suffered after the war with an end of government orders and a surplus of aircraft, and heavily cut its workforce. The advent of the Korean War helped push McDonnell into a major military fighter supply role.
thumb|An [[McDonnell FH Phantom|FH-1 Phantom in 1948]]
In 1943, McDonnell began developing jets when they were invited to bid in a US Navy contest and eventually built the successful FH-1 Phantom in the postwar era. The Phantom introduced McDonnell's telltale design with engines placed forward under the fuselage and exiting just behind the wing, a layout that was used successfully on the F2H Banshee, F3H Demon, and the F-101 Voodoo. David S. Lewis joined the company as Chief of Aerodynamics in 1946. He led the development of the legendary F-4 Phantom II in 1954, which was introduced into service in 1960. Lewis became Executive Vice President in 1958, and finally became President and Chief Operating Officer in 1962.
McDonnell made a number of missiles, including the pioneering Gargoyle and unusual ADM-20 Quail, as well as experimenting with hypersonic flight, research that enabled them to gain a substantial share of the NASA projects Mercury and Gemini. The success of the Mercury capsule led the company adopted a new logo features the capsule circling a globe with the motto "First Free Man in Space". McDonnell management dominated the merged company. It was based at McDonnell's facility in St. Louis, with James McDonnell as chairman and CEO. In 1967, with the merger of McDonnell and Douglas Aircraft, David Lewis, then president of McDonnell, was named chairman of what was called the Douglas Aircraft Division. After managing the turnaround of the division, he returned to St. Louis in 1969 as president of McDonnell Douglas.
McDonnell Douglas later merged with Boeing in August 1997. Boeing's defense and space division includes the part purchased from Rockwell (ROK) in 1986 and is based at the former McDonnell facility in St. Louis, and is responsible for defense and space products and services. McDonnell Douglas' legacy product programs include the F-15 Eagle, AV-8B Harrier II, F/A-18 Hornet, and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Products
thumb|McDonnell F2H Banshee, F3H Demon, and F4H Phantom II
Aircraft
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Model name
! First flight
! Number built
! Type
|-
|align=left| McDonnell XP-67
|align=center| 1944
|align=center| 1
|align=left| Prototype twin piston engine interceptor fighter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell FH Phantom
|align=center| 1945
|align=center| 62
|align=left| Twin jet engine fighter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell XHJH-1 Whirlaway
|align=center| 1946
|align=center| 1
|align=left| Twin piston engine helicopter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell F2H Banshee
|align=center| 1947
|align=center| 895
|align=left| Twin jet engine fighter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell XH-20 Little Henry
|align=center| 1947
|align=center| 2
|align=left| Prototype twin ramjet light helicopter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell XF-85 Goblin
|align=center| 1948
|align=center| 2
|align=left| Prototype single jet engine parasite fighter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo
|align=center| 1948
|align=center| 2
|align=left| Prototype twin jet engine fighter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell F3H Demon
|align=center| 1951
|align=center| 519
|align=left| Single jet engine fighter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell XV-1
|align=center| 1954
|align=center| 2
|align=left| Experimental single piston engine compound gyroplane
|-
|align=left| McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
|align=center| 1954
|align=center| 807
|align=left| Twin jet engine fighter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell 120
|align=center| 1957
|align=center| 2
|align=left| Experimental three ramjet light helicopter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell F-4 Phantom II
|align=center| 1958
|align=center| 5,195
|align=left| Twin jet engine fighter
|-
|align=left| McDonnell 119
|align=center| 1959
|align=center| 1
|align=left| Prototype four engine business jet
|-
<!--
|align=left| McDonnell 113
|align=center| N/A
|align=center| 0
|align=left| Unbuilt multiple turboshaft engine compound gyroplane
|-
-->
|}
Crewed spacecraft
- Mercury capsule
- Gemini capsule
- ASSET spaceplane
Missiles and drones
- ADM-20 Quail
- LBD Gargoyle
- TD2D/KDD/KDH Katydid target drone, 1942
Aircraft engines
- PJ42 pulse-jet engine
Selected projects
- McDonnell HRH, two engine compound gyroplane transport for US Marine Corps, 1950
- McDonnell HCH, two engine heavy-lift helicopter for US Navy, 1952
- McDonnell 188, four engine short takeoff and landing (STOL) transport, proposed licensed production of Bréguet 941, 1961
Leadership
President
- James Smith McDonnell Jr., 1939–1962
- David Sloan Lewis Jr., 1962–1967
Chairman of the Board
- James Smith McDonnell Jr., 1962–1967
References
Footnotes
Notes
Bibliography
- Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London:Putnam, 1979. .
External links
- McDonnell Aircraft history 1939–1945 (archived copy)
- McDonnell Aircraft history 1946–1956 (archived copy)
- McDonnell Aircraft history 1957–1967 (archived copy)
- McDonnell Gemini Space Program 1963–1966 (archived copy)
- List of all McDonnell model numbers through 1974 (PDF). Aviationarchives.net
- M.A.C. Weekly Bulletin – The Museum of Flight Digital Collections