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American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is an incredible reference for anyone who is interested in any American Combat Plane History. There are 758 pages and 1700 b/w photos in this substantial labor of love by Ray Wagner, who has been passionately researching and writing about aircraft for over 50 years. Whether you are already familiar with his past works, or just discovering this accomplished author for the first time... This is the book that you've been waiting for!

If you'd like to see the book's Table of Contents ... Click here. You can also browse the entire Index Section to get an idea of the extensive amount of information that is covered within this book.

Search our site for other combat planes. A- 1 Eaton A- 4 Skyhawk A- 6 & A- 7 Air Weapons AV- 8 to A- 10 A- 20 Havoc A- 22 Martin Maryland A- 23 Martin Baltimore A- 24 Douglas A- 26 Douglas Invader Attack Planes B- 2A, F-111, F-117 Stealth B- 17 Flying Fortress B- 24 Liberator B- 25 North American B- 26 Marauder B- 29 Superfortress B- 32 Dominator B- 35 Flying Wing B- 36 B- 47 Stratojet B- 50 Boeing B- 52 Stratofortress B- 57 Canberra B- 58 Hustler Biplanes Biplanes, Army Pursuits Bombers, B- 70 to Stealth Bombers, First Big Curtiss Falcon CO- 1 DH- 4 De Havilland F3D- Douglas Skyknight F3H- McDonnell Demon F4D- 1 Skyray F4F Grumman Wildcats F- 4U Corsair F6F Grumman F7F Grumman F7U Vought F9F G. Cougar F9F G. Panther F- 16 Fighting Falcon F- 84 F- 86 Sabre F- 89 to F-94 F- 100 to F-108 First Fighters Flying Boats GAX Iraq to Afghanistan Martin Bombers Missile Era Fighters Navy Fighers Navy Flying Boats O- 2 Douglas P- 35 Seversky P- 36 to 42 Curtiss P- 38 Lightning P- 39 Airacobra P- 40 Line P- 47 Thunderbolt P- 51 Mustang Fighter P- 61 Black Widow P- 63 Kingcobra P- 79 to P-81 P- 82 Twin Mustang SB2C Helldiver TBF-TBM Avenger Thomas-Morse Torpedo Planes V- 11 Vultee XB -28 XP -48 / 77

Navy Fighters

F2H, F9F

Page 3 McDonnell F2H-2P

By August 1951, 520 more F9F-2s were made. Like the prototype, they were armed with four 20-mm M-3 nose guns with 760 rounds. Permanent 120-gallon wing tip tanks carried auxiliary fuel, which could be jettisoned in emergencies from outlets in the rear. Fuselage brakes under the nose reduced speed in descent, 140 pounds of armor and an ejection seat were provided, while wings folded upwards for stowage.

When F9F-3s replaced VF-51’s FJ-ls in May 1949, that unit became the first Panther squadron, making its first operations from the Boxer in September. The Navy’s first jet combat victories, over two Yak-9s, were scored July 3, 1950, in Korea, when 30 F9F-2s from VF-51/52 on the Valley Forge provided top cover for that carrier’s AD-4 and F4U-4B piston-engine attack missions. On November 9, 1950, an F9F-3 of VF-111 from the Philippine Sea became the first Navy jet to down an enemy jet, a swept-wing MiG-15 that used the same Rolls-Royce engine design.*

When racks were added for two 1000-pound bombs and six 5-inch rockets or 250-pound bombs, the Panther became the F9F-2B. On December 10, 1950, Marine squadron VMF-311 began ground support strikes with 24 F9F-2Bs. The Navy’s first bombing attack by a jet was by two VF-191 F9F-2Bs on April 2, 1951.

A Pratt & Whitney J48-P-2 (based on the Rolls-Royce Tay) in the F9F-5 replaced the Allison A33-A-16 used on the F9F-4. Two prototypes, both converted from F9F-2s with longer fuselages and new higher pointed tails, became an XF9F-5 flown December 21, 1949, which preceded the XF9F-4 flown July 5, 1950. They were produced in parallel after March 1951 on contracts inflated by the Korean War, with 109 F9F-4s accepted by April 1952 and 619 F9F-5s and 36 F9F-5P photo Panthers by December 1952.

McDonnell F2H-2B

The Navy accepted 1,388 Panthers, which were 715 of the 826 Navy and Marine Corps jets deployed to Korea, and flew about 78,000 combat sorties.

Douglas Skyknight
The Navy’s first jet-propelled night fighter was the two-place Douglas XF3D-1 Skyknight. A mid-wing monoplane with a pair of Westinghouse 3,000-pound thrust J34-WE-22 jets low on the fuselage sides, the XF3D-l had the then usual four 20-mm guns with 800 rounds behind and below the nose scanner. McDonnell F2H-3

Three prototypes were ordered April 3, 1946, and the first XF3D-1 flew March 23, 1948, piloted by Russell Thaw at El Segundo. Twenty-eight F3D-ls were purchased on May 11, and the first flew February 13, 1950, with J34-WE-34 jets. They were operated by VC-3 at NAS Moffett Field and VMF(N)-542 at El Toro NATC.

Over 1,000 pounds of Westinghouse APQ-35 radar included a scanner dish within the fiberglass nose and a warning device in the tail cone. The radar operator and pilot sat side by side in a pressurized cockpit from which they could escape at high speeds by bailing out through a tunnel to the fuselage’s bottom. Fittings beneath the folding wings could accommodate two 150-gallon drop tanks or 2,000-pound bombs.

Larger 4,600-pound thrust Westinghouse J46s had been specified for F3D-2s ordered on September 26,1949. Since these engines were unavailable when the first F3D-2 flew February 14, 1951, the J34-WE-36 was substituted on the 237 F3D-2 Skyknights built by October 1953. Forward protection consisted of a 70-pound armor plate and a 105-pound flack-resistant windshield.

McDonnell F2H-4

While the faster single-seat Banshee was used on carriers, the Skyknight, except for test and training work, mostly served the Marines. One Korean-based squadron, VMF(N)-513 got F3D-2s to replace the F7F-3N, and beginning on November 3, 1952, downed six enemy aircraft -the best night fighter record of the war, although this was credited more to the APQ-35 radar than to the F3Ds modest agility. Night bombing attacks on enemy positions were added in 1953.

The Navy’s first intercept by a Sparrow I radar beam-riding missile was an F6F drone hit on December 3, 1952, by a Sparrow from an XF3D-1M modified from the second prototype. Two F3D-lM and 16 F3D-2M Skyknights, modified to carry APQ-36 radar and four Sparrow Is instead of guns, completed VX-4 missile tests at Point Mugu and VMF(N)-542 became the first Sparrow missile squadron in 1954.

Electronic countermeasures were added to 35 Skyknights modified to F3D-2Q configurations, redesignated EF-10B in 1962, and flown with a jammer pod in Vietnam patrols by VMCJ-1 from April 1965 to 1969. Other aircraft retired to trainers were designated F3D-2T. The last Marine EF-10B retired in May 1970.

GRUMMAN XF9F-2

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