McDonnell F3H Demon

The McDonnell F3H Demon was a single-engine, swept-wing carrier-based jet fighter that served the U.S. Navy from the mid-1950s into the early 1960s. McDonnell's first swept-wing design, it first flew in August 1951. Early F3H-1 versions were plagued by the underpowered and unreliable Westinghouse J40 engine, which caused fatal crashes and forced a redesign; the successful F3H-2 was re-engined with the Allison J71 and entered service in 1956.

As a subsonic all-weather fighter, the Demon was armed with cannon and, significantly, the AIM-7 Sparrow radar-guided missile, making it one of the Navy's first true missile-armed interceptors. Though it never matched the speed of later supersonic fighters, the Demon gave good service as a fleet defender. McDonnell built 519 Demons, and the design directly led to the company's hugely successful F-4 Phantom II. The Demon retired from frontline service in 1964.