Douglas B-18, part three

 

The Douglas B-18 was an American designed and manufactured medium bomber which was employed by the United Army Air Corps (USAAC) and the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) during the late 1930s and early 1940s.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and waged war on the USA, a new theatre of war was opened in the Pacific Ocean, with most of the B-18 bombers based overseas in the Philippines and Hawaii. Most of those based in Hawaii were destroyed on the ground during the initial Japanese attack, just like the ones based in the Philippines, and the few ones that remained, played no significant role during subsequent operations. 

The B-18 based in continental USA and the Caribbean, were deployed in a defensive role, in order to prevent any possible attack in the American mainland. However, those attacks never took place and the Boeing B-17 replaced the B-18 in the frontline service in 1942. After this, 122 B-18As were modified for anti-submarine warfare operations. The bomb aimer position was replaced by a search radar fitted inside a large radome and magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) equipment was sometimes fit in a tail boom. Those aircrafts, known as the B-18B, were deployed and used in the Caribbean on anti-submarine patrols. On 2nd October 1942, a single B-18A, piloted by Cpt. Howard Burhanna Jr. , belonging to the 99th Bomb Squadron, dropped depth charges and sank the German submarine U-512 north of Cayenne, off the shores of the French Guiana. 

In the anti-submarine role, they were replaced, in 1943 by the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, which offered much better payload and had greater range, thanks to which, the mid-Atlantic gap was finally closed.

Surviving B-18s of the USAAF were eventually used as trainers and transports within continental United States. A total of two B-18A were reformed as unarmed cargo transports and received the denomination of C-58. An improved version, named XB-22, powered by the Wright R-2600-3 radial engines was proposed, back in 1938, but it was never built as Douglas focused on the B-23 Dragon light bomber.

After the war, the remaining bombers were sold as surplus on the commercial market and some of them were used as cargo or crop-sprayers by commercial operators.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-18_Bolo

2. https://www.valka.cz/Douglas-B-18-t72780

3. http://www.aviation-history.com/douglas/b18.html

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis - Various users

Edit: Sorry, we forgot to upload the pic. The have been added now.
The MiG-15bis was used by many countries and some of them evaluated captured exemplars, like the Republic of China (Taiwan) or the USA.

• Cuba: The only American user to equip the MiG-15bis in their air force. Shortly after the end of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 the Cuban government starts negotiations with the USSR for buying armament. After some negotiations, the first 41 MiG-15bis arrived disassembled to Havana in May 1961 together with another MiG-15Rbis (the reconnaissance version), MiG-15UTI (the trainer version) and MiG-19P. During June 1961 they were assembled with the help of Soviet advisors. They were assigned to the newly created "Primer Escuadrón de caza 'Carlos Ulloa'", named after a fallen pilot who died at the Bay of Pigs invasion. They saw action patrolling the Cuban airspace during the Cuban missile crisis and some times there were even some interception flights against American fighters. Some Cuban MiG-15s were involved in the attack on the CIA ship Rex and some skirmishes until 1964 when they were replaced by the MiG-17. On Cuban hands they worked together with their more advanced models like the MiG-19 or the MiG-21, which, as they were more advanced, required better trained pilots which the Cuban Air Force lacked (they were undergoing training in Eastern bloc countries like Czechoslovakia) so, as the MiG-15bis was easier to fly, it was well liked by their pilots. Nowadays many of them are conserved in the Cuban Air Force Museum.
• Republic of China (ROC) (Taiwan): During the many clashes and dogfights of the 1950s and part of the 1960s between the ROC airforce and the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) one Shenyang J-2 (PLAAF's designation for the MiG-15bis which, unlike the MiG-15UTI it was never manufactured in mainland China) defected to Tao-Yuan, in the island of Taiwan. It was the 3rd March 1962 when the pilot Liu-Chen, belonging to the 8th Squadron, 6th Division, 16th Group, 3rd Wing departed from Lu-Qiao airport located in the city of Zhejiang to Tao-Yuan airbase in Taiwan. The aircraft was repainted in ROC's colours, was test-flown by the ROC's Air Force and nowadays it's preserved at the ROC's museum in Taipei.
• United States of America: During the course of the Korean war, a North Korean pilot, No Kum Sok, defected with his MiG-15bis from Sunan airbase (at the outskirts of Pyongyang) to Kimpo airbase in South Korea on 21st September 1953. Luckily for him, he wasn't neither chased by North Korean fighters because he was too far away when the alarm was raised nor American fighters as the radar in Kimpo was temporarily shut down and he landed the opposite way in the runaway, almost hitting a F-86 Sabre which was landing at the same time from the opposite direction. No Kum Sok was given a reward of 100.000$ offered by the Operation Moolah and he moved on to live in the USA. His aircraft was taken shortly after from Kimpo to Okinawa, in Japan, where it was repainted with USAAF markings and was test flown by Cpt. H.E. Collins and Maj. Chuck Yeager. It was later shipped to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Dayton, Ohio, after diplomat efforts to return it to North Korea turned unsuccessful and nowadays it's displayed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Sources:

1. http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/EqMiG15.html (translated)

2. http://www.hobbymastercollector.com/HA2411.html

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Moolah

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Kum-sok

5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Convair F2Y Sea Dart

The Sea Dart was Convair's candidate for a 1948 US Navy contest for a supersonic interceptor aircraft. As back in the year there was a lot of skepticism about operating supersonic aircrafts from carrier decks, the US Navy ordered many subsonic fighters. The worry has some foundations as most of supersonic designs of the time required long takeoff rolls, had high speed approach speeds and weren't easy to control, which were all troublesome factors to operate from a carrier.
Therefore, Convair's designer Ernest Stout and his team faced the challenge of putting one of their, back then, most successful designs, the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger on water skis. Their proposal attracted the attention of US Navy's authorities and they were awarded with a contract of two prototypes in late 1951 with twelve further production ones even before the prototype had flown.
The prototypes were to be powered by two afterburning Westinghouse J46-WE-2 turbojets which yielded 6100lbf (27Kn) each with the feds for the intakes mounted high above the wings to avoid ingesting spray. However, as those engines weren't available by the time the prototypes flew, they were powered by two Westinghouse J34-WE-32 which yiekded half of the power.
They were planned to be armed with four 20mm Colt Mk.12 cannons and one battery of folding-fin unguided rockets, however, not any armament was fitted to the prototypes. As the aircrafts in this order were considered as service test vehicles, an additional eight production aircrafts were ordered as well.
It was delta-winged fighter with a watertight hull and twin-retractable hydro-skis for take-off and landing. When stationed or moving slowly in the water, it floated with the trailing edge of the wings touching the water and the skis weren't extended until it reached the speed of around 10mph (16km/h) during the takeoff run.
The prototypes saw two ski configurations. The first of them mounted with just one and the second one mounted with the twin-ski configuration. The first type of configuration proved to be more successful than the second, and the testing of many ski configurations continued until 1957, even after the aircraft was put into storage.
As the US Navy was already losing interest on the type, they considered the type that maybe could fit in the internal arrangement for a submarine aircraft carrier that could carry three of these aircrafts, stored in a chamber that wouldn't protrude from the hull and they would be raised by an elevator just aft of the sail and set to take-off on their own on a smooth sea, but catapulted aft in higher sea. The project didn't go beyond the initial sketches phase as two problems weren't addressed, the hole for the elevator would've seriously weakened the structure and the load of a laden elevator would be hard to transmit to the hull structure.
The first prototype was built at Convair's San Diego, California, facility Lindbergh field and was taken to San Diego bay for testing in November 1952 and shortly later, on 14th January 1953 with E.D. "Sam" Shannon at the controls it made its first unofficial flight while the official one took place in April.
Due to the underpowered engines, the aircraft was sluggish to flight and the hydro-skis weren't as successful as expected as they created violent vibrations during take-off and landing, in spite of the shock absorbing oleo legs they were extended on. The skis were reworked and the vibration problem was partially fixed but the sluggish performance problem persisted on. It wasn't capable of supersonic speed in level flight with the J34 engines and its pre-area rule shape didn't help as it created high transonic drag.
As the results of the first prototype weren't by far the expected, the second prototype was canceled, so the first prototype was modified as a service version fitted with the J46 engines, which performed worse than expected, however, speeds above mach 1 were achieve when flying above shallow waters, making it the only supersonic seaplane up to date.
Unfortunately, on 4th November 1954 it disintegrated in midair over San Diego bay during a demonstration for officials and the press, killing its test pilot, Charles E. Richbourg who was a 31-years old US Navy veteran of the World War II. Although he was quickly rescued from the water, he didn't survive the wounds caused by the airframe breakage.
Even before the accident the Navy had been loosing interest in seaplanes as the problems with supersonic fighters on carrier decks had been overcome and the crash relegated the Sea Dart into experimental status with the subsequent cancelation of all production aircrafts. The three remaining service test examples were completed but the two final ones never flew.
Despite the fact that it was officially retired and had not flown since 1957, at least one F2Y was still in storage in 1962 and, following the Tri-Service Aircraft redesignation system, it was redesignated as Convair YF-7A.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_F2Y_Sea_Dart
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. http://www.airvectors.net/avcmast.html

Martin AM Mauler, part two

The Carrier Air Group 8 (CVG-8) was created in September 1948 as a response to the Berlin blockade, and its attack squadrons, VA-84 and VA-85, were equipped with the Mauler. In January 1949 the air group made a flyover of president Harry Truman's inauguration ceremony. The squadrons conducted their qualifications aboard the USS Midway (CV-41) with ten Maulers crashing into the safety barrier between them. The CVG-8 made a two-week cruise along the east coast of the United States before being disbanded as the Berlin blockade was ,fortunatelly, peacefully resolved.
Those of the AM-1Q electronic warfare variant, served with the Composite Squadron 4 (VC-4) which was based at NAS Atlantic City, in New Jersey and were detached in smaller groups for each atlantic fleet carrier deployment. Not very much is known about their service, but it's known that they served until 1st October 1950.
There was also a projected, never built carrier onboard delivery version, called JR2M-1 Mercury that, as the Douglas Skyraider was chosen, it was cancelled.
As the Douglas Skyraider was chosen, in spite of its smaller bombload, it had better reliability and it was easier to fly and land, so the Navy pilots preferred it. In 1950 it was decided that the Mauler would serve with shore based units only and later that year every units except for the Naval Reserve abandoned the type. It operated with reserve squadrons until 1953.
It had a crew of one pilot, two in the case of the AM-1Q, a fuel deposit of 510 US Gallons (1900 litres/ 420 Imperial Gallons), it was powered by a single 3000hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360-4 Wasp Major engine which drove a big four-bladed propeller.
Its armament was impressive as it was equipped with four 20mm T-31 with 200 rounds each and had 15 hardpoints in wings and fuselage which could carry up to 12 5inch (130mm) HVAR rockets and 3 Mark 13 Torpedoes, apart from some bombs.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_AM_Mauler
2. http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=1066
3. http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/martin_mauler.php

McDonnell Douglas XF4H-1 & F4A Phantom II

On 25th July 1955 the United States Navy ordered two XF4H-1 prototypes, and it made it's maiden flight on 27th May 1958 manned by Robert C. Little. There was a problem with the hydraulics systems at the first flight, but it was quickly solved and everything went smoothly. After the first tests, the air intakes were redesigned in order to work better.
It quickly squared off against the Vought XF8U-3 Crusader and, due to operator workload, the Navy wanted a two-seater aircraft, so on 17th December 1958 the F4H was declared as winner.
Considering the limited availability of the J79-GE-8 engines, the first production aircrafts were fitted with the J79-GE-2 and -2A engines delivering each of them 16100lbf (71.8Kn) of afterburning thrust. In 1959 it began carrier sustainability trials on board USS Independence (CV-62) that were fully completed on 15th February 1960.
There were proposals to nickname it as F4H "Satan" or F4H "Mithras", but, as they were controversial names, it was decided to nickname it "Phantom II".

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#XF4H-1_prototype
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F-101 - American users

The first F-101A was delivered to the United States Air Force on 2nd May 1957, to the 27th Strategic Fighter Wing which replaced the F-84F Thunderstreak. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13 engines which attained maximum speeds of mach 1.52 and a range of approximately 3000 milles (4828km) nonstop. It was fitted with an MA-7 fire control radar both for air-to-air and air-to-ground use. It could carry a mix of various weapons, ranging from tactical nuclear weapons, air-to-air missiles and four 20mm M39 cannons at the nose.
It set various speed records with a world speed record of 1207.6mph (1943.4 km/h) on 12th December 1957. A total of 77 F-101A were built and were gradually withdrawn from service since 1966. Some of them were reconverted into RF-101G, a reconnaissance version and served with the Air National Guard until 1972.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F-101_Voodoo
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F3H Demon

We have a double post today!
The McDonnell F3H Demon was liked by their pilots thanks to its docile handling, but, however, its endurance was marginal and it was underpowered. Usually two of the upper cannons were removed in order to make it lighter with the cannon parts faired over. Its service with the United States Navy was brief considering that combat aircraft designs were advancing really fast back then and the problems with the J40 engine delayed the Demon's introduction. By the early 1960s it had already been replaced by the Vought F-8 Crusader and the McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II. The Phantom II was initially thought as a direct follow-up of the Demon, but even if the ancestry was apparent, the commonality was virtual. An F3H-2N was used as a testbed of the Phantom II's AN/APQ-50 radar.
It was formally withdrawn from service at the end of 1964 though some of them would be flown for testing purposes in the following years. It never served with any foreign air arm and it never saw any combat. Nowadays none of them remain airworthy.

Sources:
1. http://www.airvectors.net/avdemon.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F3H_Demon
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F3H Demon

A photo reconnaissance version was proposed, under the name of F3H-2P but it was never materialized. The Demon remained as the Navy's main fighter until 1962 when it was retired from active service when the McDonnell Douglas Phantom II (which was a development of a "Super-Demon" concept) was accepted into service. It was developed during the Korean war to counter the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, it didn't claim any aerial victories with missiles or dogfights even if it flew over Lebanon and Kinmen during the Lebanon Crisis and Second Taiwan strait crisis respectively in 1958.
In 1962 the F3H Demon was redesignated as the F-3, the F3H-2N as the F-3C, the F3H-2M as the MF-3B and the F3H-2 became the F-3B.
It remained in service with the VF-161 Squadron until september 1964.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F3H_Demon
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F3H-2N Demon Part Two

Up to 519 Demons were built until the production ceased in November 1959. It was equipped with an AN/APG-51A radar which was later upgraded to the B version that had a tunable magnetron and later to the C version that featured better counter-measures in the receiver.
The standard armament was four 20mm Colt Mk.12 cannons, however in later years, the upper two ones were removed to save weight. The later production models, called F3H-2M, were prepared to be equipped and to fire the AAM-N-2 Sparrow missile and, then, later the Sidewinder air-to-air missile. Most of the times both types of missiles were fitted, the Sparrow in the inboard trails and the Sidewinder in outboard ones. The cannons weren't used in the carrier air defence role, but they were fitted and prepared when the situation (such like the Cuban Missile Crisis) required and where the aircraft might be deployed against ground targets.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F3H_Demon
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mcdonnell F3H-2 Demon

As the original Westinghouse J40 engine turned out to be disappointing, the subsequent Demons were powered by the Allison J71 engine which also powered the Douglas B-66 Destroyer and were named F3H-2N. However, the J71 engine proved to be troublesome too for an airplane of the Demon's size as it suffered from frequent flameouts and compressor stalls. The first F3H-2N flew for the first time in October 1954. There was another serious problem, the ejection seats weren't reliable enough and they had to be replaced by Martin-Baker ones, which had been becoming in the standard ones in the United States Navy due to their higher reliability, specially at low altittudes.
In spite of all those problems, the navy ordered 239 of them, which were deployed in March 1956.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F3H_Demon
2. Salamander Books - The complete Book of fighters

McDonnell F3H Demon - Part One

The McDonnell F3H Demon was the first swept-wing single-seat fighter to fly designed to be a carrier-based one. It was conceived as a day fighter two prototypes being ordered with the designation of XF3H-1 on 30th September 1949. It was designed by a team leaded by Richard Deagen and the first prototype was flown on 7th August 1951, powered by a Westinghouse J40-WE-6 engine that rated 6500 lb st (2948kgp) on dry and 9200 lb st (4173 kgp) on afterburning. Meanwhile, the requirement was revised to call for a limited all-weather capability, with the production hurried up as the F3H-1N before the prototype was tested. The first mentioned prototype was flown on 24th December 1953 and was powered by a J40-WE-8 engine that delivered 7500 lb st (3402kgp) on dry and 10500 lb st (4763kgp) on afterburner and it was armed with four 20mm cannons. As the engine was really troublesome, it ceased production after only 58 airplanes were made, and the F3H-1N never entered service with the United States Navy.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F3H_Demon

McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo

The McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo was a long-range twin-engine jet fighter aircraft with swept wings. It was designed to meet a requirement for a single-seat long range escort fighter. It was a recipient of a contract for two airplanes on 14th February 1947. It was powered by two 3000lb st (1361kgp) Westinghouse XJ34-WE-13 turbojets.
The first XF-88 flew for the first time on 20th October 1948 and it proved to be seriously underpowered forcing the second prototype to be refitted with two XJ34 WE-15 with short afterburners which boosted the maximum thrust to 4825lb (2190kgp), but performance wasn't enough yet. However, it was considered by the United States Air Force that this design had development potential and a letter of intent was issued covering further evolution on what would eventually become the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo. It was later refitted with an Allison XT-38-A-5 Turboprop in the nose and was used as a testbed for transonic and supersonic propellers and received the denomination of XF-88B.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_XF-88_Voodoo

McDonnell F2H-4 Banshee

The McDonnell F2H-4 Banshee was the last variant of the Banshee. It was equipped with a Hughes AN/APG-37 radar in the nose, and it was refitted with a more powerful Westinghouse J34-WE-38 which delivered 3600lbf (16Kn) of thrust in power. Those new engines managed to increase the top speed by 30mph (48Km/h) and increased its service ceiling to 17069 meters (56000ft). It was, otherwise, similar to the F2H-3. As the Banshee was being employed as an interim fighter, this variant was barely used by the United States Navy, which were only assigned to some squadrons.
All Banshees were gradually retired and by 1961 they had been retired both from United States Navy Reserve and United States Marine Corps Reserve.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F2H_Banshee
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee

After the cease fire of the Korean war, the United States Navy deployed the radar-equipped F2H-3 and F2H-4 as an interim fighter until the much faster Grumman F-9 Cougar, McDonnell F3H Demon and Douglas F4D Skyray could be deployed in significant numbers. These late variants of the Banshee saw, therefore, no action. However, in 1954 a Banshee made a nonstop flight all across the USA, from coast to coast in just four hours, taking-off from NAS Los Alamitos, California to NAS Cecil Field, Florida. The reconnaissance variant, the F2H-2P was the most successful variant of them all, in fact they were chose for the cancelled Operation Steve Brody, which involved the photographic reconnaissance of the Soviet airfields located close to the Black Sea coast. Later, during the first Taiwan crisis in 1954-1955 they made secret recon flights over Chinese mainland coast with escorts, departing from South Korean bases, without any opposition whatsoever.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F2H_Banshee
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnel F2H-3 Banshee

The F2H-3 was the last significant variant of the Banshee. It had an extended fuselage in order to carry a bigger fuel load and the detachable wingtip fuel tanks were also reduced. However, due to the increased internal capacity, those external ones, barely saw any use. Horizontal stabilizers were moved from the vertical tail down to fuselage incorporating that way, significal dihedral.
It was equipped with a Westinghouse AN/APQ-41 radar turning that way the Banshee into an all-weather fighter. The cannons were moved backwards and downwards, away from the nose, in order to make room for the radar and increase the ammo capacity. Four additional weapon pylons were added under the wings, making it a total of eight of them, increasing that way the bomb load. It also had provisions for aerial refuelling as it had a bolt-on, refueling probewere there was one of the cannons.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F2H_Banshee
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee B, N and P variants

The Banshee F2H-2B featured strengthened wings and an strengthned inner pylon in order to carry either a 748Kg Mark 7 nuclear bomb or a 1465kg Mark 8 one in the portside. To cope with the vastly increased load, it was fitted with stiffer landing gear struts and a pilot-switcheable power booster for the ailerons which was necessary when the pilots made a roll to the left with such heavy load. One of the 20mm cannons was removed in order to make room for additional electronics needed to arm the nuclear weapons.
The F2H-2N was a night fighter variant with a longer nose that housed an AN/APS-19 radar with the cannons moved rearwards in order to fit the radar. Apparently it wasn't used very widely and McDonnell Corporation used this variant as the basis for the next improved F2H-3 version.
The F2H-2P was a photo-reconnaissance variant with six photo cameras housed in the expanded nose and it was the first jet-powered photo reconnaissance airplane used by the United States Navy. Cameras could be rotated horizontally and vertically by the pilot using remote controls and it could carry also a pair of underwing pods with 20 flash cartridges for night photography. The camera bay was also electronically heated to prevent frost and this variant was considered to be a very valuable asset as it was very difficult to intercept thank to its speed and its maximum operational altitude.
The F2H-2P flew reconnaissance missions with the United States Marine Corps in the Korean war with success as their high altitude and speed made them a very difficult target to hit for conventional anti-air guns. It even operated with escorts from the United States Air Force when flying inside an enemy fighter area.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F2H_Banshee
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee - Part Two

The F2H-2 served in the Korean War with the United States Navy Task Force 77 and with the Unites States Marine Corps.
Thanks to its good performance at high altittude, it proved to be a good escort fighter for the United States Air Force bombers.
From mid 1950, however, due to various factors, the Banshee was exposuring to enemy fighters very easily, especially when the swept-wing Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was introduced in November 1950 which redeemed straight wing fighters obsolete. Therefore, the aerial combat was left for the better North-American F-86 Sabre, limiting this way the Banshees to operate behind enemy lines out of enemy fighter's reach. During the Korean war the Banshees didn't score any aerial victory and didn't suffer any aerial losses, but three Banshees were lost to anti-air fire.

Sources:
1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F2H_Banshee
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee

Even if the previous F2H-1 was accepted into service, it was this model that was more widely used thanks to its higher capabilities. It was powered by the newer version of the Westinghouse jet engines, the Westinghouse J34-WE-34 which had a power of 3250lbf (14.5Kn) of thrust and significally better performance. The wing was strengthened and had provisions for 200gal (760L) wingtip fuel tanks, unlike the contemporary Grumman F9F Panther, those fuel tanks were detachable. It had also two pylons under each wings to carry a load of 1580lb (454kg) and the "kneeling" nose gear was omitted from this model on.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F2H_Banshee
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F2H Banshee - Part One

The McDonnell F2H Banshee single-seat carrier-based jet fighter that served with the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps from 1948 until 1961.
It served in the Korean war and was the only jet fighter that served with the Royal Canadian Navy, where it served from 1955 until 1962.
The Banshee was a development of the previous FH-1 Phantom and its origins can be traced back to April 1945 when a mock-up, originally designated XF2D-1 was completed but it wasn't until late 1946 that the first three prototypes were completed. It made its maiden flight under the designation of XF2H-1 on 11th January 1947 in Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri.
As the first version, named F2H-1 was similar enough to the FH-1 Phantom, they were completed in August 1948, just three months after the last FH-1 Phantom rolled out from the factory. It differed from the prototype from being longer and from having bigger fuel capacity. It had different redesigned empennage with reduced vertical tailplane fairing and without dihedral from the horizontal stabilizers. WIngs and tail-thickness ratio were also reduced to increase the critical mach number and it was retrofitted with 3150lbf (14Kn) Westinghouse J34 turbojet engines as they were available.
The F2H-1 wasn't used in combat.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F2H_Banshee
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters