This Day in Aviation History
January 26th, 1945
First flight of the McDonnell FH Phantom.
 
The McDonnell FH Phantom was a twin-engined jet fighter aircraft designed and first flown during World War II for the United States Navy. 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 with the end of the war, only 62 FH-1s were built, it helped prove the viability of carrier-based jet fighters. As McDonnell’s first successful fighter, leading to the development of the follow-on F2H Banshee which was one of the two most important naval jet fighters of the Korean War it would also establish McDonnell as an important supplier of Navy aircraft. When McDonnell chose to bring the name back with the Mach 2 class McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II it launched what would become the most versatile and widely used western combat aircraft of the Vietnam War era, adopted by the USAF and the US Navy.
 
The FH Phantom was originally designated the FD Phantom, but the designation was changed as the aircraft entered production…..
 
Source:
Wikipedia, McDonnell FH Phantom: http://gstv.us/1VmhRvU
 
YouTube, McDonnell XFD-1 FH-1 Phantom: “The Phantom” pts 1 & 2 1946 McDonnell: http://gstv.us/1VmhVfc
 
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Photo from: http://gstv.us/1VmiQw9
 
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