McDonnell F-3 Demon

The development of the aircraft began in 1949 . The design of the "Demon" suggested that the fighter had a swept wing , while the design of the competing fighter Grumman F9F Panther originally used a straight wing , and somewhat later - a swept one. McDonnell rival firm, Douglas, has been awarded a contract to develop the Douglas F4D Skyray fighter with a delta-shaped (“triangular”) wing . Douglas F4D Skyray with a maximum speed of 1162 km / h will be the first US Navy fighter capable of flying at supersonic speed in horizontal flight. The "demon" will not be able to achieve such indicators.

F3H-2 "Demon"

Departing from the tradition of using two engines on naval aircraft, the Demon will become the only McDonnell fighter with one engine, and under pressure from the leadership of the Navy, not the most successful option was chosen - the Westinghouse J40 engine. This engine was heavily promoted by the U.S. Navy as a new-generation Navy aircraft engine with a thrust of 4.5 tons, which was three times more than the thrust of the F2H Banshee fighter engines. The Demon was the first McDonnell swept wing fighter and one of the first missile- capable fighters in the United States .

The US Navy badly needed a highly maneuverable fighter capable of accepting the challenge of the Soviet MiG-15 during the 1950-1953 war in Korea . The F3H-1N was ordered from McDonnell before the first flight of the XF3H-1 prototype, which took place on August 7, 1951 ( test pilot Robert Edholm). Fighter engine - Westinghouse J40 was a big disappointment, showing in tests only half of the expected power from him; he was "moody" and unreliable. Of the 35 F3H-1N fighters that had a J40 engine, eight crashed or crashed. The flights were stopped, and the search for a new engine began. The alleged Demon reconnaissance variant, the F3H-1P, was not built.

The best alternative was the Allison J71 engine , which was also used on the Douglas B-66 Destroyer light bomber . Subsequent modifications of the "Demon" with this engine were designated F3H-2N. The use of this engine led to the need to increase the wing area and refine the fuselage . Maintenance of the new engine became problematic due to insufficient power for aircraft of such a scale as the Demon. The engine also often ignited and had problems with the compressor . The first "Demon" with the J71 engine took off in October 1954 . Another significant problem was the reliability of the ejection seats : the first options under consideration were considered unreliable and were eventually replaced by British- Martin-Baker seats , which soon became standard ejection seats for the US Navy; They were distinguished by high reliability at low altitudes.

Despite the problems, the U.S. Navy ordered 239 F3H-2 aircraft, the first of which were deployed on aircraft carriers in March 1956 . Until November 1959, 519 Demons were built. It was the second all-weather interceptor in the fleet with a radar (the AN / APG-51 radar for air interception was first used on the F2H-4 Banshee ). The F3H-2 Demon had an AN / APG-51A radar, which was subsequently replaced by an AN / APG-51-B with a tunable magnetron , then an improved version of the AN / APG-51-C was used.

The standard armament of the F3H-2N was four 20 mm Colt Mk 12 guns . In subsequent years, to reduce the weight of the aircraft, the two upper guns were dismantled. Later modifications of the Demon - F3H-2M were equipped with equipment for launching Raytheon AAM-N-2 Sparrow air-to-air missiles , and later on the AIM-9 Sidewinder . F3H-2M aircraft could carry both missiles - Raytheon AAM-N-2 Sparrow inside the fuselage, and AIM-9 Sidewinder on external suspensions. The guns were not used in the air defense version of the aircraft carrier, but they were installed and used depending on the situation (for example, during the Caribbean missile crisis ), as well as during attacks of surface and ground targets.

Reconnaissance version of the "Demon" - F3H-2P was proposed, but was never built. The Demon (in various versions) remained the main fighter of the US Navy until 1962 , when it was replaced by the F-4 Phantom II (which was developed under the name Super Demon, and was larger and heavier than the F3H Demon version). Designed during the 1950–1953 war in Korea as a counterweight to the Soviet MiG-15 fighter, the Demons did not win a single victory in aerial combat - neither with missile weapons, nor in close combat with cannon weapons; they never participated in air battles, although these planes were used in the war in Lebanon ^{[ which one? ]} and during the crisis at the Kemoy archipelago in 1958 .

In 1962, the entire Demon fighter series was renamed: F3H became F-3, F3H-2N became F-3C, F3H-2M became MF-3B, and F3H-2 became F-3B.

The last squadron equipped with the "Demons" - VF-161 "Chargers" in September 1964 changed its F-3 to F-4 Phantom II .

Due to the excellent visibility from the cockpit, the “Demon” received the nickname “The Chair” ( The Chair ). The pilots of the “Demons” were known among marine pilots as “ Demon Drivers ”, and the technicians serving the fighters were nicknamed “ Demon Doctors ”.

• US Navy

XF3H-1

The prototype of a single fighter-interceptor. The power plant is the engine of Westinghouse Westinghouse XJ40 . Built two units.

F3H-1N

Initial production version. Single all-weather fighter, powerplant - Westinghouse engine J40-WE-22. Built 58 units.

F3H-1P

Estimated F3H-1 Scout Version. Not built.

F3H-2N

All-weather fighter. The power plant is the Allison J71-A-2 Allison engine ; the aircraft could carry missiles in the form of AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles . 239 units built. In 1962, renamed F-3C.

F3H-2M

A derivative of the F3H-2N, with the ability to carry four AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles . Built 80 units. In 1962, renamed MF-3B.

F3h-2

Single strike fighter capable of carrying AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-7 Sparrow missiles and an additional bomb load of 2730 kg. 239 units built. In 1962, renamed F-3B.

F3H-2P

Estimated option for photo intelligence. Not built.

F3H-3

Estimated version with a more powerful General Electric engine, General Electric J73 . Not built.

These characteristics correspond to the modification F-3B (F3H-2) . Data source: Standard Aircraft Characteristics ^[1] .

Specifications

• Crew : 1 (pilot)
• Length : 17.97 m
• Wing span : 10.77 m
• Height : 4.43 m
• Wing Area: 48.22 m²
• 1/4 chord sweep : 43 ° 12 '
• Wing Elongation Ratio : 2.41
• Average aerodynamic chord: 4.72 m
• Wing Profile : NACA 0006.77 wing root, NACA 0006.36 wingtips
• Chassis base: 5.76 m
• Track track : 4.85 m
• Empty weight: 9656 kg
• Curb weight: 10 453 kg
• Normal take-off weight: 15,984 kg (with 4 × AIM-7 )
• Maximum take-off weight : 17 690 kg
• Mass in battle: 14,127 kg
• The mass of fuel in the internal tanks: 4645 kg (+ 1740 kg in PTB )
• The volume of fuel tanks : 5701 l (+ 2 × 1067 l in PTB)
• Powerplant: 1 × turbofan Allison J71-A-2B
  • After- draft : 1 × 44.48 kN (4536 kgf ) (maximum)
    • normal: 1 × 38.70 kN (3946 kgf)
  • Afterburner : 1 × 64.05 kN (6532 kgf)
  • Engine Length: 7.29 m
  • Motor diameter: 1m

Flight characteristics

• Maximum speed:
  • at height: M = 0.97 at 10668 m
  • near the ground: M = 0.94
• Cruising speed : M = 0.73
• Stall Speed: 174 km / h
• Combat radius: 544 km
  • with PTB: 778 km
• Practical range: 1563 km
  • with PTB: 1993 km
• Practical ceiling : 9754 m
• Rate of climb: 59.79 m / s
• Climb time:
  • 6096 m in 7.19 minutes
  • 9144 m in 16.5 minutes
• Wing load: 331.4 kg / m²
• Thrust -to-weight ratio: 0.28 / 0.41 (at maximum / with afterburner, with normal take-off weight)
• Takeoff run: 1691 m / 739 m (at maximum / with afterburner, with normal takeoff weight)
• Mileage length: 1445 m
• Maximum operational overload : + 7.5g

Armament

• Rifle-cannon: 4 × 20 mm Mk.12 cannon with 600 rounds
• Suspension points: 6 (4 under the wing, 2 under the fuselage for the PTB)
• Guided missiles: 4 × AIM-7 or AIM-9