FH Phantom

The McDonnell FH Phantom was a twin-engined jet fighter aircraft designed and first flown during World War II for the United States Navy. The Phantom was the first purely jet-powered aircraft to land on an American aircraft carrier and the first jet deployed by the United States Marine Corps. Although its front-line service was relatively brief, it proved the viability of carrier-based jet fighters to the leadership of the US Navy. Furthermore, it was McDonnell's first successful fighter, leading to the development of the follow-on F2H Banshee, one of the two most important naval jet fighters of the Korean War.

The FH-1 Phantom was originally known as the FD-1 Phantom, and early literature on the craft shows this nomenclature. In the Navy aircraft designation scheme in use at that time the second letter designated the manufacturer of the aircraft. "D" stood for Douglas Aircraft Corporation, and the Phantom was made by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, so the designation letter had to be changed.

Design and development

In early 1943, McDonnell was invited by the U.S. Navy to cooperate in the development of a shipboard jet fighter, using an engine from the set turbojets under development by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Three prototypes were ordered on August 30, 1943 and the designation XFD-1 was assigned. Then, after evaluating a number of engine combinations, from using eight 9.5 inch (241 mm) diameter engines down to two engines of 19 inch (483 mm) diameter, a selection using the two 19 inch (483 mm) engines was found to be the lightest and simplest configuration.

An aircraft design with the engines buried in the wing root was selected to keep intake and exhaust ducts short, an arrangement that offered greater aerodynamic efficiency than underwing nacelles. Provisions for four .50-caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns were made in the nose. Adapting a jet to carrier use was a much greater challenge than producing a land based fighter because of slower landing and takeoff speeds required on a small carrier deck.

When the first XFD-1 was completed in January 1945 only one Westinghouse 19XB-2B engine was available for installation. Ground runs and taxi test were conducted with the single engine, and such was the confidence in the aircraft that the first flight on January 26, 1945 was made with only the one turbojet engine. With successful completion of tests, a production contract was awarded on March 7, 1945 for 100 FD-1 aircraft. Later the designation was changed to FH-1 as the manufacturer’s letter “D” had already been assigned to the Douglas Aircraft Company. (22 years later, long after the last FH had been delivered, McDonnell and Douglas would merge, forming McDonnell Douglas). With the end of the war, the Phantom production contract was reduced to 30 aircraft, but was soon increased to 60.

The second Phantom prototype became the first purely jet-powered aircraft to operate from an American aircraft carrier, completing four successful takeoffs and landings on July 21, 1946, from the . At the time, she was the largest carrier serving with the USN, allowing the plane to take off without assistance from a catapult. (The unconventional composite propeller-jet Ryan FR Fireball was technically the first aircraft with a jet engine to land on an American carrier, but it was designed to primarily utilize its piston engine during takeoff and landing.)

Realizing that the production of more powerful jet engines was imminent, McDonnell engineers proposed a more powerful variant of the Phantom while the original plane was still under development- a proposal that would lead to the design of the Phantom's replacement, the F2H Banshee. Although the new plane was originally envisioned as a modified Phantom, the need for heavier armament and greater internal fuel capacity eventually led to a substantially heavier and bulkier airplane that shared few parts with its lithe predecessor.

Operational history

Production Phantoms incorporated a number of design improvements, including provisions for a centerline drop tank, a strengthened airframe, an improved gunsight, a modified tail, the addition of speed brakes, and slightly more powerful engines. The first Phantoms were delivered to USN fighter squadron VF-17A (later redesignated VF-171) in August 1947; the squadron received a full complement of 24 aircraft on May 29, 1948. Beginning in November 1947, Phantoms were delivered to US Marine squadron VMF-122, making it the first USMC combat squadron to deploy jets. VF-17A became the USN's first operational jet carrier squadron when it deployed aboard on May 5, 1948.

The Phantom was one of the first jets used by the U.S. military for exhibition flying. Several Phantoms used by the Naval Air Test Center fell into the hands of a unique demonstration team called the Gray Angels, whose members consisted entirely of Marine aviators holding the rank of admiral. The team's name was an obvious play on the name of the recently-formed USN Blue Angels, who were still flying propeller-powered F8F Bearcats at the time. The "Grays" flew in various air shows during the summer of 1947, but the team was abruptly disbanded after their poorly timed arrival at a September air show in Cleveland, Ohio nearly caused a head-on low-altitude collision with a large formation of other aircraft. The VMF-122 Phantoms were later used for air show demonstrations until they were taken out of service in 1949, with the team being known alternately as the Marine Phantoms or the Flying Leather Necks.

The Phantom's service as a front-line fighter would be short-lived. Its limited range and light armament- notably its inability to carry bombs- made it best suited for duty as a point-defence interceptor. However, its speed and rate of climb were only slightly better than existing propeller-powered fighters and fell short of other contemporary jets such as the P-80 Shooting Star, prompting concerns that the Phantom would be outmatched by future enemy jets it might soon face. Moreover, recent experience in World War II had demonstrated the value of naval fighters that could double as fighter-bombers, a capability the Phantom lacked. Finally, the plane exhibited some design deficiencies- its navigational avionics were poor, it could not accommodate newly-developed ejection seats, and the location of the machine guns atop the plane's nose caused pilots to be temporarily blinded by muzzle flash when firing the guns at night.

The USN's Phantoms were widely used for carrier qualifications, but little combat training was ever carried out by the planes. The F2H Banshee and F9F Panther, both of which began flight tests around the time of the Phantom's entry into service, better satisfied the Navy's desire for a versatile, long-range, high-performance jet. Consequently, the Phantom was quickly declared obsolete and served most widely as a trainer for pilots whose squadrons were awaiting Panther or Banshee deliveries, starting in August 1948 when the Phantoms of VF-17A were dispersed to other units. The FH-1 was entirely withdrawn from USN and USMC service by late 1949, prior to the outbreak of the Korean War. The planes would see training duty with the USNR until 1954. No Phantom would ever see combat.

In 1964, a flight school restored 2 Phantoms to flying condition, intending to use them to teach civilians how to fly jets. The venture was unsuccessful and the planes were soon retired once again.

Operators

• United States Navy
• VF-17A
• United States Marine Corps
• VMF-122
• VMF-311

Specifications (FH-1 Phantom)

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Angelucci, Enzo. The American Fighter. Sparkford, Somerset: Haynes Publishing Group, 1987. ISBN 0-85429-635-2.
• Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961 (Sixth impression 1969). ISBN 0-356-01448-7.
• Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Navy and Marine Corps Fighters. London, UK: Macdonald and Jane's, 1976. ISBN 0-356-08222-9.
• Mills, Carl. Banshees in the Royal Canadian Navy. Willowdale, Ontario, Canada: Banshee Publication, 1991. ISBN 0-9695200-0-X.
• Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London, England: Putnam & Company, Ltd, 1979. ISBN 0-370-00050-1.

External links