By the late 1940s turbojet technology had advanced to the point that the U.S. Navy, which already had some jet fighters in service, began converting all its carrier fighter squadron aircraft to jet power. Comprising this second generation of Navy jet fighters were the Grumman F9F Panther and the McDonnell F2H Banshee.1 The F2H was a much-improved successor to McDonnell's earlier FH-1 Phantom. The twin-engine F2H was almost twice the weight of its predecessor, had more powerful engines, and was fitted with four 20-mm cannon in place of the FH-1's four .50-caliber machine guns. Still, Herman D. Barkley and his design team retained the proven design of the earlier jet.2
The first of two XF2H-1 prototypes flew on 11 January 1947, and, like the competitor F9F, was quickly placed in production. The F2H-2 variant was slightly faster than the Panther and had an impressive range; in 1954 one flew nonstop from Los Alamitos, California, to Cecil Field, Florida-a distance of 1,900 miles-in 3 hours, 58 minutes without refueling in flight. The F2H was one of the highest-flying combat aircraft of its time with a ceiling of some 48,500 feet.
The Banshee could carry 1,000 pounds of bombs and rockets, and 200-gallon wingtip tanks were provided. The F2H-2B (later F-2B), F2H-3 (F-2C), and F2H-4 (F-2D) could each carry a single nuclear bomb.3 But the "Banjo" had a wingspan of a fraction under 45 feet, 7 feet more than the Panther. Being 40 feet long, almost 3 feet longer than the Panther, the F2H required more deck space on board ship.
By the summer of 1950 most Navy fighter squadrons had made the rapid transition from piston to turbojet aircraft. When the Korean War began in June 1950, the first U.S. carriers on the scene operated F9Fs. The arrival of the Essex (CV-9) in Korean waters late in August 1951 marked the first combat deployment of a modernized Essex-class carrier. In addition to being better suited for jet operations, she had on board Fighter Squadron (VF) 172 with F2H-2 Banshees (plus one squadron each of F9F-2 Panthers, F4U-4 Corsairs, and AD-2/4 Skyraiders, and detachments of special-mission aircraft).
The Essex arrived off Korea in the middle of Operation Strangle as U.S. air forces were attempting to prevent communist supplies and reinforcements from reaching the Korean battlefield by cutting a one-degree latitudinal belt across Korea to sever major highways along which the bulk of enemy troops and materiel was transported. The interdiction, which began on 5 June 1951, was an around-the-clock operation, with roads and potential bottle necks being hit with high-explosive bombs, delayed-action bombs set to explode in from 6 to 72 hours, napalm, rockets, and gunfire. The Essex was one of four U.S. carriers participating in the effort.
Hundreds of communist trucks were destroyed in the Air Force-Navy-Marine effort, and bridges and roads were holed and cut. Still, reconnaissance aircraft brought back disappointing news. The number of trucks moving through the belt at night was unchanged. Dirt roads and plentiful labor made highway repairs simple.
Additional F2H squadrons deployed on board carriers during the Korean War, but most Navy jet squadrons flew the Panther. Aviation historian Richard Hallion wrote:
The Banshee was ideally suited for rail interdiction. Easy to maintain, ruggedly built, and very resistant to flak damage, the F2H-2, with its twin jets, had a high rate of climb that permitted multiple attacks on a target. The plane's 30-minute endurance advantage over the Panther also impressed pilots from a flight safety standpoint. . . . After VF-172 completed its Essex tour, postwar analysis indicated that 35 percent of all the bombs dropped by the squadron had actually managed to cut a rail line. . . . the Banshees' performance and that of its pilots was extraordinary.4
In the midst of Operation Strangle, the Essex was called on to provide escort for B-29 Superfortress bombers striking the key far-northern North Korean city of Rashin, a transshipment point for Soviet war materiel. On 25 August 1951, 35 B-29s struck the city. As no allied jet fighters flying from bases in South Korea had the range, 12 Banshees and 11 Panthers from the Essex met the bombers en route. No enemy fighters were encountered on this northernmost operation by carrier fighters, and most of the 300 tons of bombs released struck the rail yards.
Beyond the fighter-bomber variant, McDonnell produced 90 F2H-2P photo aircraft. They were slightly longer and carried six cameras in place of cannon and their ammunition. Some of these photo Banshees were slated for an unusual mission. The Navy proposed using the carrier-based reconnaissance plane to overfly prospective nuclear targets in the Caucasus, Crimea, and Ukraine. Captain William C. Chapman, the Sixth Fleet's air intelligence officer in 1951-52, recalled: "The only photography we or anyone on our side had was World War II German stuff. . . . Most of it was made in winter, and all I ever saw of it was mostly white, crisscrossed maybe here and there by railroad tracks."
Under a plan called Operation Steve Brody, at least four F2H-2Ps were to be launched from a carrier operating south of Salonika in the Aegean Sea. The mission would have required the aircraft to fly for about four hours over the Soviet Union to obtain the needed coverage. The proposal for the highly sensitive mission required President Harry S. Truman's personal approval, and it was hand-carried to Washington, D.C. in May 1952. But Secretary of Defense Robert Lovett refused to take the proposal to the President.5
The Banshees, however, did overfly mainland China. Between 11 May and 12 June 1955, F2H-2Ps from Marine Composite Squadron (VMCJ, also cited as VMJ) 1 overflew Fukien Province. The unarmed photo planes, some escorted by Marine-piloted F2H-2 fighters, flew from Taiwan's Tainan airfield, seeking evidence that China was planning an amphibious assault against the island. Twenty-seven sorties under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Marion Carl were flown by the Marines, whose aircraft normally were based in South Korea.6
Beyond VF squadrons, during the 1950s Banshees were also assigned to composite squadrons (VC) that provided detachments of night fighters to carriers-mostly the F2H-4 and the fast-disappearing F4U-5N. In 1954 the Navy designated 16 fighter squadrons, one per carrier, as night and all-weather squadrons, both for the fighter and nuclear-strike roles. Most of these squadrons flew Banshees.
The Banjo served in front-line Navy squadrons until September 1959?the last being all-weather fighter squadron VF(AW)-11. A detachment from the squadron made the last deployment that year on board the antisubmarine carrier Hornet (CVS-12). A few flew in reserve units into the mid-1960s.
The aircraft also flew painted with the Maple Leaf insignia. When the Canadian Navy commissioned its final carrier, the Bonaventure (ex-HMS Powerful), in 1957, she had all U.S. aircraft, including squadrons VF-870 and VF-871 with F2H-3 Banshees. A total of 39 aircraft were transferred to Canada from 1955 to 1958. These were in service until September 1962.
F2H-series production totaled 894 aircraft, including the two prototypes. The Banshee was a superior airplane and a worthy predecessor to the outstanding F4H/F-4 Phantom that followed from the McDonnell firm.
1. The F9F Panther is described in N. Polmar, "Historic Aircraft: The Navy's Frontline in Korea," Naval History (April 2008), pp. 14-15.
2. See Rene J. Francillon, McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920 (London: Putnam, 1979), pp. 426-432.
3. The F2H series was redesignated F-2 in October 1962.
4. Richard P. Hallion, The Naval Air War in Korea (Baltimore, MD: Nautical & Aviation, 1986), pp. 129-130.
5. CAPT William C. Chapman, USN (Ret), "Steve Brody and the Banshee," Foundation [Museum of Naval Aviation] (Spring 1993), pp. 44-48; and author's discussions with Chapman. Steve Brodie-which was the correct spelling of his name-was a New York saloon keeper who, in 1886, allegedly jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge to win a wager. "To pull a Brodie" instantly became a term for doing a dangerous stunt.
6. See Marion Carl and Barrett Tillman, Pushing the Envelope: The Career of Fighter Ace and Test Pilot Marion Carl (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1994), pp. 81-85.