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[1989.066.001] Aircraft - 'F3H-2M Aircraft, Bureau Number 137078' |
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F3H-2M Aircraft, Bureau Number 137078
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| Accession Number |
1989.066.001 |
| Accession Date |
09/03/1989 |
| Creator |
| Creator |
Creator Role |
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Manufacturer |
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| Date Created |
1959 |
| Object Desciption |
Accepted by the Navy on 24 May 1957, at the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation plant in St. Louis, Missouri, the museum's F3H-2M spent only a brief period of time in operational service flying with Fighter Squadrons (VF) 24, 64, and 121. With the former squadron, the aircraft was temporarily shore-based at Guam and operated from the deck of the carrier Lexington (CVA 16). Placed in storage at Litchfield Park, Arizona, in December 1959, it was stricken from the Navy aircraft inventory in 1962 with only 641 flight hours. Acquired by the museum from the Naval Air Systems Command in 1989, the aircraft was for many years displayed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Cecil Field, Florida, to which the museum placed the aircraft on loan. The F3H-2M Demon returned to NAS Pensacola in 1999 following the decision of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission to close NAS Cecil Field and following restoration and repainting it was placed in display in the markings of VF-193. |
| Notes |
The McDonnell Aircraft Company took naval aviation into the jet age in 1946 with the first shipboard operations of the FD Phantom. The successful F2H Banshee, which flew strikes over Korea, followed and furthered the positive reputation that McDonnell hoped to advance with a new design, built in response to a 1949 Navy request for a short-range jet interceptor. The result was the XF3H-1 Demon, which first flew in 1951 (a long-range interceptor version, the XF3H-1N, made its first flight in 1953). From the very beginning troubles with the Westinghouse J-40 power plant wreaked havoc on the F3H program. Between August 1952 and October 1955, 11 Demons crashed, killing 4 pilots. The frequency of accidents prompted cancellation of the F3H-1N and a congressional investigation into the Navy's procurement of jet aircraft. Nevertheless, the Navy stuck with the aircraft, changing to the Allison J-71 and eventually procuring 519 production Demons, including the F3H-2M, which was specifically designed to carry the AIM-7 Sparrow missile. The teething troubles during the early years of its development gave the airplane a bad reputation, but many pilots praised its stability around the boat and appreciated its "pleasant" flying qualities. However, it could not escape its performance limitations, namely lack of power when compared to contemporaries like Vought's F-8 Crusader and high fuel consumption that limited range and required sparing use of the afterburner. Nevertheless, between 1956 and 1964, a total of twenty-three Navy fighter squadrons flew the Demon. Though it never fired a shot in anger, the F3H helped spawn McDonnell's next fighter, the famed F4H/F-4 Phantom II, which was in part derived from a proposal for an advanced version of the Demon.
The Museum's example is one of only three surviving Demons.
Manufacturer: McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
Dimensions: Length: 58 ft., 11 in.; Height: 14 ft., 7 in.; Wingspan: 35 ft., 4 in.
Weights: Empty: 22,133 lb.; Gross: 31,145 lb.
Power Plant: One 10,000 lb. static thrust Allison J71-A-2 engine
Performance: Maximum Speed: 727 M.P.H. at sea level; Service ceiling: 42,650 ft.; Range: 1,180miles
Armament: Four fixed forward-firing 20mm cannon and four AIM-7C Sparrow III missiles
Crew: Pilot |
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