Meet the McDonnell F2H Banshee US Navy Jet Fighter - 1948

worthy sire McDonald's famous phantom the first American jet fighter to takeoff from a carrier deck with the Banshee inheriting the fine basics of the Phantom there's a marked family resemblance between the tools but this sleek fighter has more of everything than its pioneer forbear greater speed greater power greater range and increased armament now while it's getting a ground inspection let's give it the once-over ourselves engines buried for maximum efficiency in the thickened wing roots of the plane near its axis their scoops gulping enough air in every minute to empty 42 railway tank cars or higher critical speeds the plane has been given a lofty thin tail while for lowered resistances the considerably thinner wings have a miraculous heart smoothness as do all the planes external surfaces Oh rapid deceleration the banshee has also been equipped with speed brakes Navy personnel will find that the compactness and efficient installation provisions of its powerful cannon show a realistic consideration for quick easy loading and servicing under combat conditions the Banshees main fuel tanks are placed directly after the cockpit in the fuselage giving easy a for swift refueling and maintenance with about twice the fuel capacity of the Phantom they furnish the Banshee a great advantage in range over its predecessor on extra long missions purple wingtip tanks may be used to give it even greater range with everything all set a MacDonald test pilot engineer is on hand to take the plane up an almost daily event for these veteran war fliers who still get a thrill from the jackrabbit getaway and speed of the jet-powered banshee ease of taxiing reflects the good ground-handling characteristics that have been built into the Banshee with the forward placement of the cockpit and its tricycle gear combining to give the pilot a close view of his surroundings the bulletproof windshield also does its part in giving the pilot excellent all-around sweep of vision like all jet planes the Banshee requires no extensive warmup period before takeoff and it's in the air within less than half a carrier deck during its climb the pilot retracts the electrically operated landing gear which is then covered with flush doors as are all the planes external mechanisms powerful as the twin westinghouse jets are the banshee cruises at normal speeds with a minimum of vibration and noise the two factors which contribute heavily to pilot fatigue but fighter planes must also be capable of the acrobatic maneuvers which are often a grim necessity in aerial combat man she pilot has them all at the tips of his fingers first a fast roll which with the aid of the power boost ailerons the big Banshee performs with all the ease and grace of a smaller plane but now our Macdonald test pilot has business elsewhere so we'll say so long until a little later while the speedy Banshee carries on with its test flight let's take a look at the plant producing the Banshee at the direction and with the invaluable aid of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics as modern as the aircraft it produces the Macdonald plant has over a million and half planes for the Gulf to which that company has devoted its entire energy organization the total peacetime personnel of the company has long surpassed the employment peak of 5,200 reached during World War two even assembled the finest aircraft manufacturing equipment in America operated by expert workmen these machines ranging in size from giant hammers to small furnaces for sweet metals use the component parts for the Banshee as well as other Navy and Air Force planes in another part of the plant the process of assembling McDonald aircraft is concentrated with jigs of every shape and dimension serving as support equipment and skilled personnel combined to finalize the Banshees hundreds of parts and join them into larger units in preparation for the final assembly of its major components a banshee nearing completion is now ready for an important operation the installation of its power plant well this is the famous j34 axial flow gas turbojet engineered by Westinghouse to the exacting requirements of high-speed jet fighters so it is fitting that we sketch briefly the development and production of the j34 by transferring our scene to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation at South Philadelphia here in the aviation gas turbine division a tradition of 54 years of pioneering and engines of all types has been continued by creating within 18 months the superbly functioning j34 requested by the Navy translating simplicity of design into the reality of whirling metal a workman inserts one of the blades which will rotate between the stationary diaphragms of the compressor before further assembly the compressor is subjected to a balance testing machine the first of an elaborate system of precision checks provided for all parts of the j34 this unerringly reveals the slightest unbalance in the completely bladed compressor spindle the compression necessary for the operation of the engine is produced in 11 stages by these airfoil shaped blades the straight through flow of air in this compressor makes possible the small frontal area so essential for compact installation and high speed fighters reliable as this engine is it will require occasional servicing that must be done rapidly under combat conditions so Westinghouse has designed a simple method of assembly consisting merely of sections which are bolted together the fuel manifold unit which regulates the crucial combustion process likewise combines simplicity with precision in its design the fuel nozzle sprays must be pitched at exactly the right angle and have the correct rate of flow so Westinghouse submits each unit to still another in its system of precision controls the fuel nozzle flow rate testing this assures that each nozzle will spray the correct amount of fuel for a proper engine operation under all conditions of flight here the combustion liner with its openings of varying sizes to admit air at proper locations for combustion and mixing is isn't built on the fuel manifold section here at the production test center men and machines examine and record every possible reaction of the engine for final judgment as to whether the standard Westinghouse elements of simplicity and design quality manufacture and precision control have been blended into a perfectly functioning unit finally the test is finished and another j34 has proved itself in every respect and again it has been conclusively proved that with no oscillating or reciprocating parts the j34 is the most powerful engine in the world for its diameter and one well matched to the Banshees sleekness speaking of that let's watch the Banshee in action driven by powerful twinjets it makes a low-level approach at the reduced speed it will be using someday for a carrier landing okay so we want to play a flattop action well we'll play two and give a wave off that's a carrier landing officer signal that a plane is not to land aboard enormous reserve power in those j30 forks plus its specialized design give the banshee the excellent low speed characteristics which will enable it to cope easily with this most critical carrier requirement and when it comes to high speed the Banshee has plenty of that too the especially designed pressurized cabin the pilot will be perfectly comfortable at the high altitudes where the Banshee achieves its maximum range the all-important question of range is also involved in another of the Banshees notable characteristics its outstanding single engine performance so let's have our pilot complete the demonstration by cutting an engine so that we can see how the Banshee handles on just one of its powerful Jets first notice there is no tendency to your since the engines are placed so close together the plane remains steady in flight the ability to operate on one engine is an invaluable safety factor in extended overwater operations the pilot puts the plane into a shallow dive in order to bring it home with even greater speed at sea level as the banshee approaches its home base the complete reliability of her single-engine operation should be very comforting to every pilot of this Navy jet fighter before saying farewell the banshee has just one more trick to demonstrate as proof that it realizes the value of every inch of space aboard a carrier this practical kneeling feature enables carrier crewmen to move another plane close in under the elevated tail thus more planes can be stacked aboard naval aviators receive the very best of equipment and training the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and Westinghouse are proud that the Navy considers the Banshee which they jointly developed of a caliber to carry on the fine traditions of a fine service

Channel: ZenosWarbirds

Views: 210,428

Keywords: McDonnell F2H Banshee, United States Navy (Organization)

Id: khVPlD2rNfc

Length: 13min 22sec (802 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 30 2013