Saturday, July 15, 2017

Aircraft walkaround vol.82: McDonnell F3H-2 Demon



Subject: McDonnell F3H-2 Demon (F3H-2 N and F3H-2M)
Location: F3H-2N 133566 at Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum, New York, 2015; F3H-2M 137078 at National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida,2017.
Comments: The McDonnell F3H Demon was a subsonic swept-wing United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter aircraft. The successor to the F2H Banshee, the Demon was redesigned with the J71 engine after severe problems with the Westinghouse J40 engine that was part of the original design but ultimately abandoned. Though it lacked sufficient power for supersonic performance, it complemented daylight dogfighters such as the Vought F8U Crusader and Grumman F11F Tiger as an all-weather, missile-armed interceptor until 1964. It was withdrawn before it could serve in Vietnam when both it and the Crusader were replaced on Forrestal-class and similar supercarriers by the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. McDonnell's Phantom, which was equally capable against ground, fighter and bomber targets, bears a strong family resemblance, as it was conceived as an advanced development of the Demon. The supersonic United States Air Force F-101 Voodoo was similar in layout, but was derived from the earlier XF-88 Voodoo, which also influenced the Demon's layout. The F3H-2N was an all-weather fighter powered by 9,500 lbf (42 kN) (14,250 lbf (63.4 kN) Allison J71-A-2 engine and equipped to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles of witch 239 were built.It was redesignated F-3C in 1962. The F3H-2M was a derivative of F3H-2N armed with four AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles.  Eighty were built and redesignated MF-3B in 1962.





















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