#McDonnell F3H-1N Demon

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No other Option

Douglas experienced a similar problem with the Skyray but overcame it by powering the F4D with the J57. The engine chosen to power the F3H was not entirely up to McDonnell. The Navy specified the J40 for the Demon. At the time, the Navy had nothing with which to counter the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15. In fact the Navy was so concerned about the MiG-15 that they decided to award a contract for the F3H-1N even before the XF3H-1 flew for the first time- powered by a J40 engine, during August of 1951. The Navy went so far as to award a contract to Temco in Dallas to license build an additional 100 Demons. Operational Demons did not begin evaluation until January of 1953. And those evaluations were deadly.

[airmanisr]

F3H-1N Demon BuNo 133489 by G. Verver Via Flickr: First McDonnell F3H-1N Demon BuNo 133489 inflight, circa 1954.

[aviationhistory]

McDonnell F3H-1N Demon, BuNo 133490, suffers engine fire during test flight out of Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, Maryland. Airframe tumbles, and crashes at sea. LCDR N. J. Smith III ejects at 14,000 ft, 480 kts.

[planeshots]

McDonnell F3H-1N Demon. "The first production U.S. Navy McDonnell F3H-1N Demon (BuNo 133489), in 1955. The F3H-1 was ordered before it s first flight to counter the Soviet MiG-15. However, only 58 aircraft were built and most never flew, because the Westinghouse J40 engine. The aircraft was seriously underpowered and the J40 was prone to inflight explosions and sudden failures. All F3H-1Ns were permanently grounded in July 1955 and the surviving airframes were either used as ground trainers or scrapped. 133489 first flew on 24 December 1953 and was used for service evaluation at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland (USA), in 1954."

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G. Verver Following

McDonnell F3H-1N Demon BuNo 133520

McDonnell Aircraft Corp. F3H-1N Demon BuNo 133520, #62, modified during construction as F3H-2N development aircraft inflight. First flight 11 January 1955, crashed 23 February 1955 near Lambert airport, Saint Louis, MO during a factory test flight killing the pilot.

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G. Verver Following

F3H-1N Demon BuNo 133489

First McDonnell F3H-1N Demon BuNo 133489 inflight, 04 February 1954. Official U.S. Navy photo.

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U.S. Navy - McDonnell F3H-1N DEMON

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F3H-1N Demons

Unknown F3H-1N Demons at McDonnell Aircraft Coporation, December 1955.

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F3H-1N Demons

Unknown F3H-1N Demons at McDonnell Aircraft Coporation, December 1955.

[airmanisr]

McDonnell F3H-1N Demon BuNo 133520 by G. Verver Via Flickr: McDonnell Aircraft Corp. F3H-1N Demon BuNo 133520, #62, modified during construction as F3H-2N development aircraft inflight. First flight 11 January 1955, crashed 23 February 1955 near Lambert airport, Saint Louis, MO during a factory test flight killing the pilot.