McDonnell FH Phantom

as well as being the first jet aircraft to be deployed by the United States Marine Corps.

Developed during the latter half of World War II for the United States Navy (USN) to harness the newly-developed turbojet engine, an order for three prototype aircraft was placed in August 1943. Despite its then-unconventional propulsion, much of the airframe conformed to design conventions of the era; designed purely for aerial combat, it was unable to be used as a fighter-bomber. Development was protracted due to engine-related difficulties, chiefly the availability of the Westinghouse J30-WE-20 powerplant to fit into the prototype, delaying progress by roughly one year. The XFD-1 prototype performed its maiden flight on 26 January 1945; during subsequent flights, it became the first USN aircraft to exceed 500 mph (434 kn, 805 km/h). Originally designated the FD Phantom, this was changed as the aircraft entered production to FH Phantom. During August 1947, the first squadron equipped with the type became active. Although only 62 aircraft were ever produced, the Phantom helped prove the viability of carrier-based jet fighters and provide the USN with its first operational aircraft using such propulsion.

The availability of more powerful engines led to McDonnell proceeding with the development of the follow-on F2H Banshee which, while derived from the Phantom, shared little in terms of components due to various elements being redesigned. The arrival of the Banshee in the late 1940s led to the Phantom being promptly relegated to secondary duties, such as training pilots in preparation for operating newer jet aircraft, all examples being transferred to the United States Naval Reserve by late 1949. As such, while the Banshee became one of the two most important naval jet fighters of the Korean War, the Phantom never saw live combat. Nevertheless, both the Phantom and Banshee established McDonnell as an important supplier of naval aircraft. During the late 1950s, McDonnell chose to bring the name back with the third-generation, Mach 2-capable McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, the most versatile and widely used Western combat aircraft of the Vietnam War era.

Design and development

Early work

In early 1943, officials within the United States Navy (USN) were impressed by McDonnell's audacious XP-67 Bat prototype. Thereafter, McDonnell was invited by the USN to cooperate in the development of a shipboard interceptor; the standout feature of this envisioned aircraft was that it would be powered by a turbojet engine, which were already under development by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Three prototypes were ordered on 30 August 1943 and the designation XFD-1 was assigned.

McDonnell's design team evaluated a number of engine combinations, varying from eight diameter engines down to two engines of diameter. The final design used the two engines after it was found to be the lightest and simplest configuration. While early considerations had been made towards the incorporation of an auxiliary 'boost' engine, however, the design team were sufficiently satisfied with the power output of the base engines. Furthermore, the engines were angled slightly outwards to protect the fuselage from the hot exhaust blast. but no other high-lift devices were used. Provisions were also made for Rocket Assisted Take Off (RATO) bottles to improve takeoff performance.

Into flight

thumb|left|A U.S. Navy FH-1 of [[VF-171|VF-17A Phantom Fighters taxies to the catapult during carrier qualifications on the light aircraft carrier , in May 1948]]

When the first XFD-1, serial number 48235, was completed in January 1945, only a single Westinghouse 19XB-2B engine was available for installation. Accordingly, ground runs and taxi tests were conducted using this single engine, and such was the confidence in the aircraft that the first flight on 26 January 1945 was made with only the one 19XB-2B engine in place.