Mockup of the proposed U.S. Navy McDonnell F3H-G/H. In 1953, McDonnell Aircraft began work on revising its F3H <i>Demon</i> fighter, seeking expanded capabilities and better performance. The company developed several projects including a variant powered by a Wright J67 engine, and variants powered by two Wright J65 engines, or two General Electric J79 engines. The J79-powered version promised a top speed of Mach 1.97. On 19 September 1953, McDonnell approached the United States Navy with a proposal for the <i>Super Demon</i>. Uniquely, the aircraft was to be modular — it could be fitted with one- or two-seat noses for different missions, with different nose cones to accommodate radar, photo cameras, four 20 mm cannon, or 56 FFAR unguided rockets in addition to the nine hardpoints under the wings and the fuselage. The Navy was sufficiently interested to order a full-scale mock-up of the F3H-G/H. It depicted the different sizes of the Wright J65 and General Electric J79 afterburners, with the J79 on the right side of the mockup and the J65 on the left. The further development led directly to the F4H <i>Phantom II</i>.
U.S. Navy
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://collections.naval.aviation.museum/emuwebdoncoms/pages/doncoms/AdvQuery.php">U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation</a> photo No. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://collections.naval.aviation.museum/emuwebdoncoms/pages/doncoms/Display.php?irn=34394&amp;QueryPage=%2Femuwebdoncoms%2Fpages%2Fdoncoms%2FAdvQuery.php">1996.253.7320.028</a>