McDonnell F2H Banshee

The McDonnell F2H Banshee (company designation McDonnell Model 24) is a single-seat carrier-based jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Aircraft. It was an early jet fighter operated by United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, as well as being the only jet-powered fighter to ever be deployed by the Royal Canadian Navy. The aircraft's name is derived from the banshee of Irish mythology.

The Banshee was developed during the mid to late 1940s. It was a derivative of the earlier FH Phantom, although the resulting aircraft would be considerably larger, more heavily armed, and furnished with far more powerful engines in the form of a pair of Westinghouse J34 turbojets. The Banshee incorporated several recent innovations, including a pressurized cockpit, "kneeling" nose landing gear and an ejection seat, which the Phantom lacked, as well as a large number of improvements to other aircraft systems. On 11 January 1947, the first prototype performed its maiden flight. During August 1948, the first F2H-1, the initial production model, was completed. The F2H-2 was the basis for three sub-variants; the nuclear-armed F2H-2B, the F2H-2N night fighter, and the F2H-2P photo reconnaissance aircraft.

Upon its introduction in late 1948, the Banshee proved to be almost slower than the latest land-based fighters, which has been largely attributed to its use of a straight wing rather than a swept wing configuration. Nevertheless, several variants were procured; the F2H-2N was the first carrier-based jet-powered night fighter flown by the U.S. Navy, albeit only in limited numbers, while the F2H-2P was also the service's first jet-powered reconnaissance aircraft. US Navy and Marine pilots often referred to the F2H as the "Banjo". It was one of the primary American fighters used during the Korean War, typically being flown as an escort fighter and reconnaissance aircraft. Radar-equipped Banshees were also used for all-weather fleet defense. Furthermore, during 1955, 27 overflights of potential Chinese staging areas were conducted by USMC Banshees in response to a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

During the mid 1950s, the U.S. Navy and USMC began retiring their Banshees in favour of newer and more capable jet aircraft, such as the swept wing Grumman F-9 Cougar and McDonnell F3H Demon, and the delta wing Douglas F4D Skyray. Several of these aircraft would be acquired by Canada for the Royal Canadian Navy as production of the Banshee was terminated in 1953. Introduced to Canadian service in 1955, the type became the sole fighter operated following the retirement of the piston-engined Hawker Sea Fury. It operated at sea from or from shore bases as NORAD interceptor aircraft. Amid a reorientation towards anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and reduced value being placed on fighter operations, as well as decreasing reliability, Canada opted to withdraw its last Banshees without any direct replacement in September 1962.

Design and development

Background

thumb|XF2D-1, later XF2H-1 in 1947

The origins of the Banshee can be traced back to the FH Phantom, the United States Navy's first carrier-based jet fighter. This predecessor had been first proposed by McDonnell in January 1943 and made its first flight on 2 January 1945. Even prior to production-standard Phantoms commencing delivery in January 1947, the company had already progressed with development of a successor. On 2 March 1945, the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics instructed McDonnell to produce three prototypes of the improved derivative they had envisioned, designated XF2D-1. The company's design team had originally intended for this aircraft to be a straightforward modification of the Phantom and thus to share many components between the two aircraft, but it promptly became clear that the new aircraft ought to possess heavier armament, greater internal fuel capacity, and several other improvements that made the original concept infeasible.

The resulting aircraft required the use of much larger and more powerful engines; the powerplant selected was a pair of newly developed Westinghouse J34 turbojets, which provided nearly double the total thrust from compared to the Phantom but, since the larger engines still had to fit within the wing roots, this required a larger and thicker wing.

The Banshee was provisioned with a "kneeling" nose landing gear that had a pair of small wheels forward of the regular nosewheel. The regular nosewheel could be retracted so that the aircraft would rest on the smaller wheels; it could taxi with its nose down, redirecting the hot jet blast upwards to pose less risk to ground crews, and to allow parked aircraft to be tucked under each other to save space. This function was usually removed from later variants as it was found to be of little practical use and caused deck handling problems. During April 1945, a mockup was completed. The project survived the numerous cancellations that came around the end of the conflict, however, the pace of development was slowed considerably, leading to the first of three prototypes not being completed until late 1946.

Into flight

On 11 January 1947, the first prototype performed its maiden flight from Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri, piloted by McDonnell test pilot Robert M. Eldholm.

thumb|F2H-1 early in its career while still undergoing testing

During August 1948, similarities to the FH-1 meant that McDonnell was able to complete the first F2H-1, a mere three months after the last FH-1 was built; service evaluations commenced that same month while the fuel capacity was increased to . The empennage was a new design, the dorsal fin was reduced, and the dihedral was eliminated from the horizontal stabilizers. The wing and tail were reduced in thickness to increase the critical Mach number and different airfoil sections were used. The F2H-1 was retrofitted with engines as they became available.

thumb|F2H-2B with extra pylon near intake for carrying a nuclear bomb

thumb|F2H-2N night fighter

thumb|F2H-2P with extended camera nose, post-1955

Although the Navy was satisfied with the F2H-1, it was the more capable F2H-2 that was most widely used. Powered by Westinghouse J34-WE-34 engines, capable of producing of thrust, it proved to be capable of significantly improved performance. The wings were strengthened to add provision for wingtip fuel tanks but, unlike those of the contemporary Grumman F9F Panther, the Banshee's wingtip tanks were detachable. A pair of armament pylons were added under each inboard and outboard wing, for a total of eight, allowing the aircraft to carry of stores, consisting of up to four bombs and four unguided rockets. The latter was necessary to control the roll to the left when a heavy nuclear bomb was carried. One cannon was removed to provide room for the electronics needed to arm the weapon. 25 F2H-2Bs were built.

The F2H-2N was the U.S. Navy's first carrier-based jet night fighter, making its first flight on 3 February 1950, although only 14 would be built.

The F2H-2P photo reconnaissance version had six cameras in a longer nose and was the US Navy's first jet-powered carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft. First flight was on 12 October 1950, and 90 were built. The F2H-2P was a valuable photo-reconnaissance asset due to its long range for a jet aircraft, high ceiling of , and speed that made it difficult to intercept even by other jet aircraft. As a result, the F2H-2P was responsible for supplying roughly 40% of the United States Air Force (USAF) Fifth Air Force's daytime reconnaissance needs.

thumb|F2H-3 with larger radar and repositioned guns and tailplane

The F2H-3 was an all-weather fighter, with a larger diameter Westinghouse AN/APQ-41 radar fitted in an longer fuselage which also increased its internal fuel load by over 50%, The weapons load was increased to and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles would be cleared for use. The F2H-3 also added provisions for aerial refueling consisting of as-needed bolt-on, in-flight refueling probe that replaced the upper port cannon. 250 were built, with the first flight being made on March 29 1952. An F2H-3P reconnaissance variant was proposed to replace the F2H-2P, but was ultimately not built. No Banshee flew under the new designations as the last examples were already in storage when the new designations came into effect.

Operational history

US Navy and Marine Corps

thumb|Banshees on in 1955

thumb|F2H making a bombing run over Korea

The F2H-2 served during the Korean War with the US Navy's Task Force 77 and the Marine Corps. On 23 August 1951, a Banshee flew the type's first combat mission in the Korean theatre from USS Essex. The F2H-2 initially proved its worth as an escort fighter for the USAF bombers supporting United Nations Command (UNC) ground forces, largely due to its favourable performance when flown at high altitude. The Banshee was able to demonstrate clear performance advantages over the Grumman F9F Panther.

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 had been almost completely annihilated by UNC fighter units. Later, North Korea and its allies were unable to operate from 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 able to carry out ground attack missions instead, especially close air support and interdiction of North Korean army supply lines.

The Banshee, like most naval jets of its generation, had a serious handicap. Naval air services, including the USN, had resisted faster, swept wing designs from fears that poor low speed flight characteristics made them unsafe to operate from aircraft carriers. Consequently, the Banshee was almost slower than the latest land-based fighters. Their obsolescence was reinforced by the introduction of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 in November 1950. Most UNC air combat missions, such as patrols over "MiG Alley", were undertaken by North American F-86 Sabres of the USAF Far East Air Forces. However, the purchase was not approved by the Parliament of Canada until 1953, by which point production of the Banshee had been terminated. Accordingly, the RCN acquired 39 second-hand US Navy F2H-3s for $25 million which were delivered between 1955 and 1958. They would be flown from or as NORAD interceptors from shore bases.

In order to improve the Banshee as an interceptor, the RCN equipped their aircraft with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. During November 1959, the RCN conducted sea trials of the Sidewinder, resulting in the successful downing of several remotely piloted drones.

Although initially well-liked by its Canadian pilots for its flying qualities, the Banshee began to suffer from problems. The RCN would eventually lose 12 of its original 39 Banshees to accidents, a loss rate of 30.8%.

Banshee utilization fell as the RCN shifted to anti-submarine warfare (ASW), which did not anticipate aerial attacks, and so there was little need for the Banshee under this doctrine. Also, due to the carrier's small size, there was no room to accommodate Banshees when Bonaventure was carrying enough Grumman CS2F Trackers to conduct around-the-clock ASW patrols, so it regularly operated without them.

Banshees were the primary aircraft of the short-lived RCN Grey Ghosts aerobatic team. The team's name was a play on the Banshee name and the RCN color scheme. The RCN was too small to dedicate aircraft for airshows, so the team flew available operational Banshees for each show.

Aside from the three former RCN Banshees that survive, RCN Banshees were cut up for scrap or burned in firefighting exercises upon their retirement.

;F2H-1

:Single-seat fighter version, two 3,000 lbf (1,400 kgf) Westinghouse J34-WE-22 turbojet engines. Initial production version, 56 built.

;F2H-2P

:Single-seat photo-reconnaissance version with lengthened nose housing six cameras, 89 built.

;XF2H-4

:Company designation Model 24M, proposed swept-wing variant without afterburners. Unrelated to the production F2H-4.

Operators

thumb|RCN Banshee banking, showing enlarged horizontal tail with extensions characteristic of the F2H-3 and -4

thumb|[[VF-171 F2H-3 landing on ]]

;

Royal Canadian Navy (F2H-3)
870 Naval Air Squadron
871 Naval Air Squadron
VX-10 (Test Squadron)

;

United States Navy
VX-3 (Evaluation) (F2H-1, F2H-4)
VF-11 (F2H-2, F2H-4)
VF-12 (F2H-2)
VF-22 (F2H-2, F2H-4)
VF-23 (F2H-3)
VF-31 (F2H-3)
VF-41 (F2H-3)
VF-52 (F2H-3)
VF-62 (F2H-2, F2H-2P)
VF-92 (F2H-3, F2H-4)
VF-101 (F2H-1, F2H-2B)
VF-114 (F2H-3)
VF-141 (F2H-3)
VF-152 (F2H-3)
VF-171 (F2H-1, F2H-2)thumb|VF-172 F2H-2 on off Korea, 1951
VF-172 (F2H-1, F2H-2, F2H-2B, F2H-4)
VF-213 (F2H-3)
VC-3 (F2H-3)
VC-4 (F2H-2B, F2H-2N,
VMF-114
VMF-122 (F2H-2)
VMF-214 (F2H-4)
VMF-224 (F2H-2)
VMF(N)-533 (F2H-4)
VMJ-1 (F2H-2P)
VMJ-2 (F2H-2P)

Aircraft on display

Surviving examples are on display in private collections and at several naval air stations and marine corps air stations in the United States as well as in Canada.

Canada

;F2H-3

BuNo 126334 – The Military Museums, in Calgary, Alberta.
BuNo 126402 – Shearwater Aviation Museum in Shearwater, Nova Scotia.
BuNo 126464 – Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.

United States

thumb|F2H-2P at the [[National Museum of Naval Aviation ]]

;F2H-2

BuNo 124988 – Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, MCAS Miramar, California.
BuNo 125052 – USS Lexington Museum, Corpus Christi, Texas.
BuNo 127693 – NAS Oceana Air Park at NAS Oceana, Virginia.

;F2H-2P

BuNo 125690 – Pima Air & Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.
BuNo 126673 – National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
BuNo 128885 – Howell Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

;F2H-4

BuNo 127663 – National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Painted as F2H-3 126419.

Specifications (F2H-3)

frameless|right|3-view line drawing of the McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee

References

Citations

Bibliography

Baugher, Joe. "McDonnell F2D-1/F2H-1 Banshee." Joe Baugher's Encyclopedia of American Military Aircraft, 3 September 2003. Retrieved: 23 January 2011.
"McDonnell Banshee." Shearwater Aviation Museum Aircraft History, 2009. Retrieved: 1 March 2009.
"McDonnell Banshee Serial Number 1263334." Naval Museum of Alberta, 2009. Retrieved: 1 March 2009.
Standard Aircraft Characteristics: F2H-3,-4 Banshee. Washington, D.C.: United States Navy, 1 May 1951.

External links

RCN Banshee 126402 at Shearwater Aviation Museum