McDonnell F2H Banshee

The McDonnell F2H Banshee, known inside the company as the Model 24, was a single-seat carrier-based jet fighter built by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. It grew out of the earlier FH Phantom but became a considerably larger and more heavily armed aircraft, powered by a pair of Westinghouse J34 turbojets and carrying four 20 mm cannon. The first prototype flew on 11 January 1947 and the first production F2H-1 was completed in August 1948. It added a pressurized cockpit, an ejection seat and a kneeling nose landing gear. Sub-variants included the nuclear-armed F2H-2B, the F2H-2N night fighter and the F2H-2P photo reconnaissance aircraft. Banshees flew as escort and reconnaissance aircraft in the Korean War, and the type was also the only jet fighter ever deployed by the Royal Canadian Navy, which withdrew its last examples in September 1962. Its straight wing left it almost 100 mph slower than the best land-based fighters of its day.