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.Mesko 2002, p. 48. 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".O'Rourke, G.G, CAPT USN. "Of Hosenoses, Stoofs, and Lefthanded Spads". United States Naval Institute Proceedings, July 1968. 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
The origins of the Banshee can be traced back to the FH Phantom, the United States Navy's first carrier-based jet fighter.Burgess 2022, p. 9. 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.Burgess 2022, pp. 10-11. 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.Mesko 2002, p. 10.Burgess 2022, p. 11.
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 more powerful engines were more fuel hungry, thus the fuselage was enlarged and strengthened to facilitate an increase in fuel capacity, which permitted a mission radius of up to 600 miles to be flown. No provisions for external stores were present on early production aircraft.
Armament comprised four cannon, the U.S. Navy's successor to the obsolete World War II-era machine guns; these were mounted underneath the redesigned nose as this positioning meant that pilots would not be blinded by muzzle flash when firing at night, which had been a problem with the Phantom. From the tenth production aircraft onwards, the Banshee incorporated an ejection seat, another feature that had been absent on the Phantom. The aircraft also incorporated a large number of improvements to various onboard systems. The cockpit was pressurized and air conditioned, while the flaps, landing gear, folding wings, canopy, and air brakes were electrically rather than pneumatically operated. The front of the windscreen was bulletproof glass that was electrically heated to prevent frost.Mills 1991, p. 227.
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.Mesko 2002, p. 12. 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.Francillon 1979, pp. 427–429.
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. During this first test flight, the aircraft demonstrated a climb rate of , twice that of the F8F Bearcat, the Navy's primary fleet defense interceptor. The flight test programme, which included carrier trials, was considered to be a success, however, various improvements and refinements to the aircraft were suggested. The U.S. Navy also permitted McDonnell to borrow one of the prototypes to assist in the development of afterburners and to test fly a modified wing design with an extended trailing edge.
During 1947, the prototype was redesignated XF2H-1 after the Navy placed an order for an unrelated jet fighter from the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had previously been assigned the manufacturer's letter D. An initial order for 56 aircraft was issued by the U.S. Navy on 29 May 1947.Francillon 1979, p. 427. During August 1949, an F2H-1 set a US Navy jet fighter altitude record of , but it wasn't enough to beat the reached by a de Havilland Vampire on 23 March 1948. This altitude record was motivated at least partially by inter-service rivalries, as the feat proved that the Convair B-36 Peacemaker strategic bombers of the United States Air Force (the existence of which had been a factor in the cancellation of the , which would have been the U.S. Navy's first "supercarrier") was vulnerable to interceptor aircraft even at its maximum altitude.Burgess 2022, pp. 11-12.Barlow 1994, p. 42.Wolk 2003, p. 163.
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 monthWagner 1982, p. 504. Compared to the XF2D-1, the F2H was a larger aircraft in practically all aspects,F2H-2 Standard Aircraft Characteristics chart dated 1 November 1949. 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.
Although the Navy was satisfied with the F2H-1, it was the more capable F2H-2 that was most widely used.Burgess 2022, p. 12. 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 "kneeling" nose gear was omitted from the F2H-2 and most subsequent Banshee variants.
Further development The F2H-2 was the basis for three sub-variants. The F2H-2B had strengthened wings and an additional pylon adjacent to the intake on the port side to allow it to carry a Mark 7 nuclear bomb or a Mark 8 nuclear bomb.Mesko 2002, p. 22. To compensate for the increased load, the F2H-2B was fitted with stiffer landing gear struts and a pilot-switchable aileron power boost.Mills 1991, p. 229. 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.Mills 1991, p. 238. 25 F2H-2Bs were built.Ginter 1980, p. 3.
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. It had a longer nose that housed a Sperry Corporation AN/APS-19 radar which required that the cannons be moved back to make room. An F2H-2N was returned to McDonnell to serve as the prototype for the enlarged F2H-3. Some F2H-2Ns retained the "kneeling" nose feature of the earlier F2H-1.Mills 1991, p. 228.
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 pilot could rotate the cameras in both vertical and horizontal planes, and the aircraft could carry a pair of underwing pods that each contained 20 flash cartridges for night photography. The camera bay was electrically heated.Mesko 2002, p. 27. 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.Polmar 2010, pp. 12–14. 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.Ginter 1980, p. 12.