MDD begins flight and weapons trials with F3H-4 Super Demon

[Chaser617]

St. Louis, 1960

McDonald Douglas Aircraft Corporation proudly rolled out their newest design for the US Navy and United States Marine Corps today, the new F3H-4 "Super Demon" light interceptor. Based on the trobled F3H-2 "Demon" All Weather Interceptor, the Super Demon has benifited greatly from the company's F4H program.

 

Improvements include replacement with the much troubled and sorely under-powered J-71 engine with the newest varient of the General Electric J-79, two of which power the F4H. Air inlets have also been enlarged to help feed this enormous and powerful engine. There is also a new radar with slightly improved capabilities, along with the replacement of the two 20mm Mk12 cannons with a single 20mm Vulcan gatling-class gun.

 

The Super Demon's main competition is the Vought F8U "Crusader" which has a similar mission profile. McDonald Douglas is sure that their newest fighter is everything the Navy wants however there is quite a bit of anxiaty expressed by Naval Aviators over this new fighter. The original Demon was seen as an aircraft more dangerous to its pilot than the enamy, and it will take quite a bit of convincing to prove that this new version is a completely different aircraft.

 

 

This aircraft is something that has been simmering in my mind ever since FoxMonter, C5 and all the others involved released the original aircraft. I have come across several references that state that there actually had been plans to re-equip the Demon with the J-79 and many who beleived that this engine change would have cured most, if not all the Demon's problems and turn it into a supurb fighter. History took a different turn, because the Navy got the wonderful F8U Crusader instead.

 

This project is being initiated to see just what sort of aircraft the Navy would have gotten with a J-79 engined Demon. It is far from being ready to be released, but, I can already say that it is a better performer.

[+Dave]

Looking good....

[Chaser617]

I need to download the templates if they're still here on CA, need to figure out if I can care over that starboard gunport, dosen't look quite right with it having two gunports and only one gun firing...