McDonnell FH Phantom
| FH Phantom | |
|---|---|
| An FH-1 Phantom landing aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1946 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Carrier-based fighter aircraft |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Aircraft |
| Primary users | United States Navy |
| Number built | 62 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | August 1947 |
| First flight | 26 January 1945 |
| Retired | 1949 (USN, USMC) July 1954 (USNR) |
| Developed into | McDonnell F2H Banshee |
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The McDonnell FH Phantom is a twinjet, straight-wing, carrier-based fighter aircraft designed and first flown during late World War II for the United States Navy. As a first-generation jet fighter, the Phantom was the first purely jet-powered aircraft to land on an American aircraft carrier and the first jet deployed by the United States Marine Corps. Although only 62 FH-1s were built it helped prove the viability of carrier-based jet fighters. As McDonnell's first successful fighter, it led to the development of the follow-on F2H Banshee, which was one of the two most important naval jet fighters of the Korean War; combined, the two established McDonnell as an important supplier of navy aircraft.
McDonnell chose to bring the name back with the third-generation, Mach 2-capable McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, the most versatile and widely used Western combat aircraft of the Vietnam War era.
The FH Phantom was originally designated the FD Phantom, but this was changed as the aircraft entered production.