Warplanes of the USA: Ohio, Dayton, National Museum of the USAF: McDonnell and McDonnell Douglas aircraft

Warplane Survivors USA: Ohio, Dayton, National Museum of the USAF: McDonnell

(NMUSAF Photos)

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin (Serial No. 46-0523), C/N 1.  The McDonnell Aircraft Corp. developed the XF-85 Goblin "parasite" fighter to protect B-36 bombers flying far beyond the range of conventional escort fighters.  The "parent" B-36 would carry the XF-85 within a bomb bay, then if enemy fighters appeared, the Goblin would be lowered on a trapeze and released to combat the attackers.  Once the enemy had been driven away, the Goblin would return to the B-36, reattach to the trapeze, and be lifted back into the bomb bay.  Two test aircraft were ordered in October 1945, and flight testing with a modified B-29 began in 1948.  Test pilots could successfully launch the XF-85, but the turbulent air under the B-29 made recovery difficult and hazardous.  About half of the Goblin flights ended with emergency ground landings after the test pilot could not hook up to the B-29.  No XF-85s were ever launched or carried by a B-36.  The program ended in late 1949 when aerial refueling of conventional fighter aircraft showed greater promise.  The XF-85 was transferred to the NMUSAF in 1950.

(NMUSAF Photo)

McDonnell XH-20 (Serial No. 46-0689).  The XH-20 was essentially a test stand built to research ramjet-propelled helicopter rotor blades.  The XH-20 first flew in May 1947, but its fuel was delivered through a flexible line from tanks on the ground.  In May 1948, it made its first flight with self-contained fuel tanks.  Being a test stand, Little Henry was never intended to fly at any appreciable altitudes or distances.  While the XH-20 proved that a helicopter could use ramjet-propelled rotor blades, it was very loud and consumed fuel at a high rate.  The XH-20 on display in the NMUSAF, the only one built and flown, was obtained by the museum in 1953.

(NMUSAF Photos)

McDonnell F-101B Voodoo (Serial No. 58-0325), 13, C/N 697.  The F-101B on display in the NMUSAF served with the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, and with the 142nd Fighter Interceptor Group, Oregon National Guard.  It was flown to the museum in February 1981.

(NMUSAF Photos)

McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo (Serial No. 56-0166), AH, C/N 127.  The RF-101C on display in the NMUSAF participated in Operation Sun Run in 1957.  This Voodoo also flew vital low-altitude reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis and helped confirm that offensive missile sites in Cuba were being dismantled.  It also served in Southeast Asia with the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.  It was flown from the 153rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Mississippi Air National Guard at Key Field, Mississippi, to the museum on 27 Oct 1978.

(Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Devin M. Langer, USN Photo)

McDonnell AV-8B Harrier assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 163, launches from USS Makin Island’s (LHD 8) flight deck. Makin Island is underway off the coast of Southern California, conducting Composite Training Unit Exercise with Amphibious Squadron Five and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 14 Aug 2016.

McDonnell AV-8 Harrier (Serial No. 64-18262).

McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II (BuNo. 151424).

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Martin McGuire Photo)

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 64-0829), SA, c/n 1169.  "SCAT XXVII", 149 TFG, two MiG kills.  The USAF sent its first F-4Cs to Southeast Asia in 1965, where they flew air-to-air missions against North Vietnamese fighters as well as attacking ground targets.  The first USAF pilot to score four combat victories with F-4s in Southeast Asia was Colonel Robin Olds, a Second World War ace.  The aircraft on display is the one in which Col. Olds, the pilot, and Lt. Stephen Croker, the weapons system officer, destroyed two MiG-17s in a single day, on 20 May 1967.  In its air-to-ground role, the F-4C could carry twice the normal load of a Second World War Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.  The armament loaded on the aircraft on display in the NMUSAF is a typical configuration for an F-4C in 1967.  It consists of four AIM-7E and four AIM-9B air-to-air missiles, and eight 750-pound Mk 117 bombs.  The aircraft also carries two external fuel tanks on the outboard pylons and one ALQ-87 electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod on the right inboard pylon.

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 64-0763), SL, C/N 1059.  On loan to Air Heritage Inc, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 66-7554), "City of Fairborn I".

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 64-0683), C/N 917.  On display at the Newark AFB Museum.

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (BuNo. 151424), painted as (Serial No. 66-7660).

(NMUSAF Photo)

McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 64-1047), BH, C/N 943.

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II (Serial No. 66-7626), DO, C/N 2195, “City of Dayton III”.

(NMUSAF Photo)

McDonnell Douglas YF-4E Phantom II (Serial No. 62-12200), C/N 266.

(NMUSAF Photo)

McDonnell Douglas F-4G Phantom II (Serial No. 69-7263), "Wild Weasel", WW, C/N 3947.  F-4G Wild Weasels were modified F-4E fighters with their cannon replaced by AN/APR-47 electronic warfare equipment.  Their mission was to attack enemy air defenses, including surface-to-air missile (SAM) air defense radars.  One hundred sixteen F-4Es were rebuilt as F-4Gs for this special purpose.  Carrying AGM-88A/B/C High Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), the F-4G worked in concert with other F-4Gs or as a hunter aircraft directing fighter-bombers, such as the F-16, against SAM sites.  The F-4G carried a pilot and an Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO), who navigated, assisted with communications and coordinated attacks on the SAM sites.  The F-4G Wild Weasel first flew in 1975 and was retired in 1996.  The NMUSAF's F-4G was placed on display in September 1996.

(USAF Photo)

McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle (Serial No. 72-0119), C/N 19/A017.

(NMUSAF Photos)

McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle (Serial No. 76-0027), FF, C/N 207/A179.

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