During World War II the U.S. Navy initiated a major effort to develop jet- propelled fighters for carrier operation. Three all-jet prototypes were ordered during the war: the McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom in January 1943 (later redesignated FH-1); the Chance-Vought XF6U-1 Pirate in December 1944; and the North American Aviation XFJ-1 Fury in January 1945.1 These would be the first carrier-based aircraft produced by McDonnell and North American; Chance-Vought, of course, had a tradition of outstanding shipboard aircraft.
The twin-engine McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom aircraft flew for the first time on 26 January 1945. The plane did not undergo carrier trials, however, until 21 July 1946, seven months and 18 days after the British had flown the jet-propelled Vampire from the carrier Ocean, the first pure-jet carrier operation. While the Vampire’s flight was strictly a test, the XFD-1 Phantom carrier trials were part of U.S. Navy acceptance procedures for a service fighter. Sixty-one Phantoms were built, the progenitors of the F2H Banshee, flown in the Korean War, the F3H Demon all-weather fighter, and the F4H Phantom, one of the outstanding fighter-attack aircraft of the Cold War.
The XF6U-1 Pirate suffered engine failure on its maiden flight, on 2 October 1946. After more flight tests, in 1948 one of the three XF6U-ls became the first Navy aircraft fitted with an afterburner. Thirty F6U-ls were then ordered, one of which became an F6U-1P photo plane. The planes never entered squadron service, being rapidly overtaken by subsequent Navy fighter developments.
In many respects the FJ Fury was the star of the trio, becoming the basis of a successful line of Navy fighter-attack aircraft as well as the U.S. Air Force F-86 Sabre series. The North American NA-134 project evolved into three prototype XFJ-1 aircraft, the first of which flew on 11 September 1946. The NA-140 was developed from this design as an Air Force fighter. Like the Navy’s aircraft, this was to be a straight-wing fighter. But following intense examination of captured German research data, a swept- wing configuration was adopted for the new aircraft. The first XP-86 flew on 1 October 1947. The aircraft was impressive, and an order for 33 F-86A Sabres began the long Sabre production run. (Total F-86 deliveries to the U.S. Air Force by North American Aviation numbered 5,893 aircraft; NAA also produced 460 aircraft for allied air forces; another 1,815 F-86s were built in Canada, 112 in Australia, 221 in Italy, and 300 in Japan—a total of 8,801 aircraft.)
Meanwhile, the initial, straight-wing FJ-1 series—33 were procured including the three XFJ-1 variants—was followed by the FJ-2 with a 35° swept-back wing, which was identical to the Air Force F-86E Sabre but fitted with carrier launch/arresting hook features. And the Air Force retained six .50-caliber machine guns in contrast to the four 20-millimeter cannon fitted in all Furies after the FJ-1. The FJ-l’s thin wings, optimized for dogfighting, could not carry stores.
The FJ-2, -3, and -4 aircraft followed with lower wing loadings and provisions for carrying wing stores. The FJ-2 and -3 could carry two 400-gallon wing drop tanks. The FJ-3 featured a new wing, fuselage, rudder, engine, and landing gear. Furies designated FJ-3M could carry two Sidewinder air-to-air missiles plus the drop tanks. Meanwhile, standard FJ-3 production aircraft had the earlier two wing store points increased to six for carrying bombs up to 1,000 pounds, rocket pods, or additional drop tanks.
When FJ-3 production ended in 1956, the Navy and Marine Corps had 23 Fury squadrons. That same year the FJ-4 entered service. With a slightly more powerful Wright J65 engine than fitted in the FJ-3, the FJ-4 was larger and slightly faster at 35,000 feet.2 The first FJ-4 flew on 28 October 1954.
The FJ-4 Fury also had six wing store points but was fitted with additional armor, a low-altitude bombing system, and an improved control system for highspeed flight at low altitude. The ultimate Fury was the FJ-4B, entering service in June 1957 with 222 aircraft produced for the Navy and Marine Corps. This variant could carry up to five 540-pound Bullpup air-to-surface missiles or one nuclear weapon—the Mk 7, Mk 12, B28, or B43. Maximum ordnance payload was 4,000 pounds, including two 2,000-pound bombs.
The FJ-4 could also carry a buddy- pack refueling system. In-flight refueling could enable one Fury to extend the combat radius of another by about 50%. This procedure enabled 24 FJ-4B Furies of Marine squadrons VMA-212 and VMA-214 to undertake the first non-stop, trans-Pacific crossing by single-seat naval aircraft in October 1958.
Two FJ-4 aircraft were each fitted with a 5,000-pound-thrust AR-1 rocket in the tail; one reached Mach 1.41 and 71,000 feet. The experiments were in part a response to reports of Soviet high-altitude bomber developments as the United States sought an interceptor to counter such a strategic bomber.
In total, North American Aviation built 1,148 FJ-series aircraft, delivering the last in May 1958. While that number was small in comparison to the F-86 Sabre, which evolved from the Fury design, the FJ series proved an outstanding aircraft of the era. And, while certainly not the number one U.S. fighter aircraft by any criteria, in the 1 October 1962 redesignation of naval aircraft the FJ series became F-1 in the fighter designations.
1. The Navy also developed and operated the Ryan FR-1 Fireball, a combination piston-turbojet fighter aircraft.
2. The FJ-1 had an Allison J35 engine and the FJ-2 had a General Electric J47 engine.
