The McDonnell F3H Demon was a subsonic swept-wing United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter aircraft. The successor to the F2H Banshee, the Demon was redesigned with the J71 engine after severe problems with the Westinghouse J40 engine that was part of the original design but ultimately abandoned. Though it lacked sufficient power for supersonic performance, it complemented daylight dogfighters such as the Vought F8U Crusader and Grumman F11F Tiger as an all-weather, missile-armed interceptor until 1964.
The McDonnell F3H Demon was a transitionary swept-wing carrier-based jet fighter that served as the predecessor to the legendary F-4 Phantom II. While the early models were plagued by a disastrously underpowered Westinghouse engine, the F3H-2M variant (later designated F-3C) fixed many of these issues with the Allison J71. The “M” stood for Missile, as this specific version was optimized to carry the first radar-guided air-to-air missiles, changing naval aerial combat from dogfighting to “beyond visual range” interceptions.
Attribute
Technical Specification (F3H-2M)
Role
All-Weather Carrier-based Interceptor
Crew
1 (Pilot)
First Flight
August 7, 1951 (XF3H-1)
Powerplant
1 × Allison J71-A-2E afterburning turbojet
Thrust
14,000 lbf (62.3 kN) with afterburner
Maximum Speed
716 mph (1,152 km/h) / Mach 0.95
Primary Armament
4 × AIM-7 Sparrow radar-guided missiles
Secondary Armament
4 × 20mm Colt Mk 12 cannons
Engineering the Missile Age
The Sparrow Missile Platform: The F3H-2M was the first operational fighter integrated with the AIM-7 Sparrow. This required a sophisticated radar system capable of “illuminating” the target for the missile’s seeker head to follow.
Large Wing Area: To maintain maneuverability at high altitudes and safe landing speeds on carriers, the Demon featured a very large wing area (over 500 sq ft). This gave it excellent “lift,” but the resulting drag limited it to subsonic speeds in level flight.
High-Cockpit Visibility: The pilot sat quite high in the fuselage with a “greenhouse” canopy that provided excellent visibility for carrier approaches—a design trait McDonnell would carry over into the Phantom.
The “Beaver Tail”: The rear fuselage tapered into a flat, wide fairing known as a “beaver tail,” which housed the arrestor hook and helped manage the aerodynamics of the afterburning exhaust.
A Difficult Birth and a Lasting Legacy
The Engine Crisis: The early F3H-1 used the Westinghouse J40 engine, which was so unreliable and underpowered that several aircraft were lost in accidents, and the Navy eventually grounded the entire fleet until the Allison J71 could be fitted.
All-Weather Capability: Despite its early troubles, the Demon was a true all-weather fighter. Its radar and automated fire control systems allowed it to operate effectively in the dark and through heavy cloud cover, a necessity for protecting the fleet.
Blueprint for the Phantom: You can see the “family resemblance” between the Demon and the later F-4 Phantom II. McDonnell used the lessons learned from the Demon’s radar integration and airframe layout to build the world-beating F-4. [Image comparing the silhouettes of the F3H Demon and the F-4 Phantom II]
Preservation: Several Demons are preserved in the United States, most notably at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York.
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