Aéronavale F3H-2M Demons

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McDonnell F3H-2M Demon - Flotille 12F, Aéronavale, 1962

 

The McDonnell F3H was one of the most promising fighter projects of the early 1950's but by 1954 the programme had virtually ground to a halt with a three-month grounding due a spate of crashes and inflight explosions stemming from the Westinghouse J40 engine problems that were also affecting other US Navy aircraft projects. By 1955 early F3H production aircraft were coming off the assembly line without engines and used as ground instructional training aircraft but the first flight of the Allison J71 powered F3H soon injected some confidence in the programme and, although the J71 was not exactly trouble free, it was a vast improvement over the J40.

 

Despite this turmoil Aéronavale officials visited St. Louis with a view to purchasing the F3H for their forthcoming Clemenceau-class aircraft carriers and as a replacement for the SNCASE Aquillon (De Havilland Venom) on which they had cut their jet teeth a few years earlier. Initial plans to similarly licence-build the F3H were quickly shelved however due to a scaled-down order for just 36 aircraft and all Aéronavale F3H's were produced by McDonnell and delivered during 1957 and 1958 where they equipped Flotille 12F and Flotille 14F. However, delays in the French aircraft carrier programme meant that they were not embarked aboard the Clemanceau until 1962 and the Foch until early 1964 but remained in Aéronavale service until 1969 a full five years after the type was retired by the US Navy.