McDonnell F3H Demon

The McDonnell F3H Demon was a subsonic, swept-wing, single-engined jet fighter built by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation for the United States Navy and flown from aircraft carriers. It was McDonnell's first swept-wing design and the only single-engined carrier fighter the company produced. The design began as a short-range interceptor ordered in 1948 and was reworked during the Korean War into a heavier, medium-range all-weather fighter to counter the MiG-15, which added about 7,000 pounds of weight and hurt its performance. The aircraft was planned around the Westinghouse J40 turbojet, but that engine proved unreliable and underpowered, grounded the first production aircraft and was cancelled in 1955, forcing a redesign around the Allison J71. The Demon entered operational service in March 1956 as a missile-armed all-weather interceptor, was withdrawn in 1964 without taking part in the Vietnam War, and was replaced by the F-4 Phantom II, which grew out of it. McDonnell built 519 Demons.