MCDONNELL NAVAL JET FIGHTERS Selected Proposals and Mock-up Reports, 1945-1957

A MERICAN A EROSPACE A RCHIVE 4

Jared A. Zichek

McDonnell began studying improved versions of the F3H, including variants powered by a single Wright J67, two Wright J65s, or two GE J79 engines. Mc-Donnell submitted its Model 98B (F3H-G/H) supersonic fighter to BuAer on September 19, 1953. Unfortunately, the requirement for this type of aircraft had already been satisfied by the Grumman XF9F-9 and the Vought XF8U-1, and the proposal was rejected.

However, the Navy encouraged McDonnell to continue refining the de-sign, which would evolve into a single seat all-weather attack aircraft in Au-

Cover: Artist's impression of the Mc-Donnell Model 60, a striking but unsuc-cessful submission to the Navy's 1948 interceptor competition, which was won by Douglas D-571, later designated as the F4D Skyray. Fortunately for McDon-nell, the other design it submitted to the competition, the more conventional

The American Aerospace Archive is published periodically by Jared A. Zichek (6021 La Jolla Hermosa Ave, La Jolla, California 92037) and is printed and distributed by MagCloud (www.jaredzichek.magcloud.com). American Aerospace Archive Number 4 (ISSN 1943-9636) is copyright 2009 by Jared A. Zichek. All rights reserved. All featured text and im-ages are copyright 2009 their respective copyright holders. Reproduction of any material in part or in whole without its creator's permission is strictly forbidden. The American Aerospace Archive accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photos, art or other materials. Submissions are considered on an invitational basis only. Email your comments and suggestions to editor@aeroarchivepress.com and visit our website at www.aeroarchivepress.com.

cDonnell Aircraft Corpora-tion is primarily known for producing one the most fa-

mous aircraft of the twentieth century—the F-4 Phantom II. It was the culmina-tion of a line of aircraft which began with the XFD-1 Phantom, the first jet fighter to operate from an aircraft carrier. Sixty examples of the production version, des-ignated FH-1, would ultimately be pro-duced. This model was followed by the larger and more capable F2H Banshee, which became the first McDonnell mili-tary aircraft to see combat with the onset of the Korean War in June of 1950.

Next came the F3H Demon, the first swept wing aircraft produced by McDonnell and one of the first aircraft to be armed with missiles. The final F3H-2 variant was underpowered but fairly popular with its crews because of its superior handling at high altitudes and during carrier landings. In 1953,

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Model 58, was selected as a back-up and produced as the F3H Demon. (Artwork ©2009 Jared A. Zichek)

1) Three-view drawing of the Model 40, one of McDonnell's unsuccessful submis-sions to the June 1945 fighter competi-tion which produced the Vought F7U Cutlass. (This and all other Model 40/40A drawings from the John S. Brooks collec-tion via Tony Buttler)

2) McDonnell also submitted an alter-nate Model 40 with a V-tail. While this unconventional empennage reduces drag and structural weight, it requires a more complex control system and puts greater stress on the rear fuselage when pitching and yawing.

3) Three-view drawing of the Model 40A, in which the Westinghouse 24C-6 turbo-jets were relocated to the mid-fuselage and received air via a nose inlet. A wider and deeper fuselage was required to ac-commodate the engines.

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variants, designated by McDonnell as the XF2H-2, XF2H-3, and XF2H-4, were proposed; note that these are not the same as the F2H-2, -3, and -4 air-craft actually built, all of which featured the straight wing of the original F2H-1, along with other improvements to the basic design.

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▲ 6swept wing and tail surfaces, along with a cockpit set further forward to improve carrier take offs and landings. The wing was swept at 350, while the tail surfaces were swept at 400. Leading and trailing edge flaps were fitted to wing to improve low-speed handling. Armament con-sisted of four 20mm cannon mounted in the lower nose with 250 rounds of am-munition each.

A third variant, labeled the Model 40A, was also submitted; the pair of Westinghouse 24C-6 engines were re-located to the lower mid-fuselage and received air via a nose inlet, the overall configuration reminiscent of a MiG-9 with swept flying surfaces. The inlet lo-cation necessitated relocation of the four 20mm cannon to the upper nose, closer to the pilot. Otherwise, the Model 40A was very similar to the previous Model

40, sharing a similar wing and empen-nage..

Unfortunately for McDonnell, these studies were passed over in favor of the unconventional Vought V-346A, which became the F7U Cutlass. Given the checkered developmental and op-erational history of this aircraft, BuAer likely would have done better by select-ing a more conventional design, such as one of these McDonnell proposals. For more on these and other proposals in the competition, please seek out Tony But-tler's excellent American Secret Projects: Fighters and Interceptors 1945-1978.1

XF2H-2/-3/-4 Swept-Wing Banshee

In a report dated October 3, 1947,

McDonnell proposed a swept-wing ver-sion of its F2H-1 Banshee fighter.2 Three

6) Artist's impression of McDonnell's swept-wing Banshee proposal from Oc-tober of 1947, which mated a wing swept at 350 and a swept empennage to a F2H-1 fuselage. (This and all other images herein are scanned from documents found in RG 72 and 255 of National Archives II, unless otherwise indicated). 7) General arrangement drawing and basic characteristics of the swept-wing "XF2H-2/-3/-4" Banshee.

32) Blueprint of the arresting and catapult equipment installed on the Model 58.

33) Beautifully detailed inboard profile of the McDonnell Model 58 showing the type's major internal components.

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▲ 48 ▼ 49 ▼ 50

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48) Side view of the F3H-1 mock-up with canopy open.

49) Front view of the mock-up emphasizing the inlets and new radome, which was enlarged to accommodate an AN/APG-30 airborne intercep-tion radar.

50) Carrier approach view from the cockpit; note the crude silhouette of a landing signal officer on the wall.

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▲ 51 ▼ 5251) Left side view with access doors open.

52) Three-quarter front view of mock-up with the radar nose as-sembly removed.

Above: Artist's impression of the elegant McDonnell Model 60 on the ground. This CG model is based on plans presented herein and will hope-fully inspire other modelers and illustrators, both digital and analog, to portray the aircraft covered in The American Aerospace Archive.(Artwork ©2009 Jared A. Zichek)

October 31 to November 1, 1951, in the files of the National Archives at College Park, MD, RG 72.

10. "Mock-up Board Report for Model F3H-1P Aircraft," October 13, 1953, in the files of the National Ar-chives at College Park, MD, RG 72.

11. http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/f3_3.html12. "F3H-2 Fighter 30 Inch Diameter Radar Antenna

Study," April 29, 1957, in the files of the National Archives at College Park, MD, RG 72.

Notes and Citations:

1. Tony Buttler, American Secret Projects: Fighters & Intercep-tors 1945-1978, (Hersham: Midland, 2007), pp. 38-39.

2. "Banshee XF2H-2 and XF2H-3 Interceptor Fighters with Afterburning, Banshee XF2H-4 Fighter without After-burning," October 3, 1947, in the files of the National Ar-chives at College Park, MD, RG 72.

3. "A Summary Report of Model 58 (Interceptor Fighter)," September 15, 1948, in the files of the National Archives at College Park, MD, RG 72.

4. "Detail Specification for Model 60 (Interceptor Fighter)," September 15, 1948, in the files of the National Archives at College Park, MD, RG 72.

5. Memo, Marion O. McKinney, Jr. to the Chief of Research at NACA Langley, October 14, 1948, in the files of the Na-

tional Archives at College Park, MD, RG 255.6. "NACA Research Memorandum for the Bureau of Aero-

nautics, Department of the Navy: Free-Spinning-Tunnel Investigation to Determine the Effect of Two Nose De-signs on Spin and Recovery Characteristics of a 1/20-Scale Model of the McDonnell XF3H-1 Airplane, TED No. NACA DE 343," 1951, http://ntrs.nasa.gov/. (Type in "XF3H-1" in the search box to find other test reports con-cerning this aircraft).

7. "Mock-up Board Report for Model XF3H-1 Aircraft," Sep-tember 13, 1949, in the files of the National Archives at College Park, MD, RG 72.

8. "Mock-up Board Report for Model F3H-1 Aircraft," September 27, 1951, in the files of the National Archives at College Park, MD, RG 72.

9. "Addendum No. 1 to F3H-1 Mock-up Board Report,"