F2H Banshee Units (Combat Aircraft, No. 141)

McDonnell's F2H Banshee was a successful early-generation jet that outlasted both contemporary and more modern fighter types on the flightdecks of US Navy aircraft carriers in the 1950s. Fighting alongside the Grumman F9F Panther during the Korean War, the F2H served with fewer units during the conflict, despite the jet being considered superior to the F9F in many respects thanks to its high-altitude capabilities, radar and, eventually, nuclear weapon employment. The Banshee also proved to be a better photo-reconnaissance platform than the Panther. It served as a frontline aircraft for more than a decade in an era when jet fighters came and went with relatively short service careers. The Banshee served with 27 US Navy and US Marine Corps squadrons and three Royal Canadian Navy units.

Packed with first-hand accounts, specially commissioned profile artwork and rare archival photographs from both official and private collections, highly respected naval aviation historian Richard R Burgess explores the operational history of the aircraft in both American and Canadian service, with a particular emphasis placed on its operations in the Korean War.