McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee; HMCS Bonaventure's all-weather carrier-borne fighters

Until the late 1960s, the Canadian Navy operated a modern aircraft

carrier

, it had an angled flight deck, steam catapults and fighter aircraft, the aircraft were comparable to land-based aircraft such as the CF-100, which could give a ferocious air-to-air strike with its sidewinder missiles were the McDonald F2H Banshees Canada's main maritime combat aircraft during the Second World War Canada operated one of the largest naval fleets in the world Included in this fleet were two British-built aircraft

carrier

s HMS Nabob and hms puncher post war budget Guts meant that much of this fleet would be scrapped recognizing the growing need to monitor trade routes in the North Atlantic.

The Navy decided to acquire an aircraft carrier of its own in 1946. The HMC Warrior was loaned to Canada from Great Britain, but proved inadequate for the harsh conditions. arctic conditions of the north atlantic was replaced by the

hmcs

magnifico in 1948 the

hmcs

magnifico operated fairy fireflies in the antisubmarine warfare role and hawker c furies in the fighter role the sea furies were an exceptional piston powered fighter but were becoming Quickly outclassed by its jet-powered peers, the hmcf magnifico was not equipped with the steam catapults needed to operate the heavier aircraft and was transferred back to the Royal Navy in 1956, the Canadian government purchasing the unfinished british aircraft carrier and sister ship to the majestic class hmcs. magnificent the mighty hms in 1952 for $20 million the move was aimed at maintaining a powerful navy with a strong anti-submarine warfare capability the aircraft carrier was renamed hmcs

bonaventure

but commonly known as bonnie was completed by the british to canadian specifications, this It included equipping it with steam catapults, an angled flight deck and a mirrored landing system, although small in size, the modification allowed it to operate heavier jet aircraft.

A jet replacement for the Sea Furies was now being sought. The Canadian Navy didn't really have many good options given the size of its new carrier. Contemporary carrier-based

fighters

like the Grumman F9 Cougar Grumman F9F Panther Supermarine Attacker De Havilland C Venom and Hawker Seahawk each had their benefits and limitations, However, the only candidate that would meet the RCN's requirements for large armament and all-

weather

carrier operations was the Banshee. In 1952, the RCN approved a plan to acquire 60 Banshees, but the final decision would be left to the cabinet. Canadian. They were slow to approve the deal due to tax considerations whose effect The order for the new planes came after the Banshees production line had already been closed.

Canada would now have to wait until mid-1955, when surplus Banshees were released from the US Navy. The order was reduced from 60 aircraft divided into two squadrons plus spare parts. to 39. The

banshee

s were planned to be replaced in 1965 and with the later delivery date the number of replacement aircraft expected to compensate for attrition losses was reduced. Canada received 39 used F2H-3

banshee

s from the US Navy which were delivered between November 1955. In June 1958, the single-seat Banshee had a wingspan of 12.42 metres, a length of 11.81 meters and a height of 4.32 meters. Two 14.5 kilonewton Westinghouse J-34 We-34 turbojet engines took the 5,460 kilogram fighter to its maximum speed of 771 kilometers. per hour could reach altitudes of 12,500 meters and had a climb rate of 30 meters per second could fly 2,760 kilometers in ferry configuration or 1,880 kilometers in combat configuration could carry additional fuel in removable nose tanks the all-

weather

banshee capabilities were thanks to the nose-mounted Apq-41 radar, the wings could be folded to allow them to fit into elevators leading to the hangar area aboard the aircraft carriers.

It was armed with four 20-millimeter Colt Mark 12 cannons with 250 bullets each. In ground flight it could carry around 1,360 kilograms of external stores, including bombs and rockets, in eight pylons under the wings. It had a gross takeoff weight of 9,531 kilograms in air-to-air flight. The Banshee was the first aircraft in Canada. In operating air-to-air missiles they were equipped with two heat-seeking AIM-9A sidewinders beginning in late 1959. In the all-weather interceptor role the Banshee compared very well to the land-based and Canadian-made CF-100 Canuck. biggest differences between them were armament and crew, the banshee was equipped with the highly effective aim 9a sidewinder, but it was clear, it only used the connects, on the other hand, it could deploy its 70 millimeter folding fin rockets to attack in any weather, In case of bad weather, the banshees had to resort to their 20 millimeter cannons.

The Canuck also had a second crew member to operate the radar and direct the intercept workload for the single-seat banshee pilots was much greater and proved In reduced combat effectiveness the F2H-3 Banshee also affectionately known when the Banjo entered service in 1955. The first to be formed was the VX-10 evaluation squadron for type acceptance. After acceptance, squadrons vf-870 and vf-871 began operations with 16 banshees each. Both squadrons were based at naval air station hmcs shear water in nova scotia. When not embarked on the Bonnie there, they supported the 22nd North American Air Defense Region and worked closely with the RCAF Beaver Bank Radar Station.

On 16 March 1959, the two squadrons merged with VF-870 pilots from the two squadrons making up the four. Up to six ships of the Gray Ghost Demonstration Team began in 1956 and flew at air shows around the country due to limited numbers of aircraft. The team flew operational banshees painted in their standard livery. HMCS Bonaventure was commissioned in 1957. and banshees started flying from it later. year the bonnie could carry a complement of 34 aircraft consisting of the banshees the shikorsky ho4s-3 helicopter and the cs2f anti-submarine tracker aircraft the introduction of the tracker was part of the process of reorienting operations towards anti-submarine warfare the bonnie often deployed without her full complement of banshees to be able to carry more crawlers the relatively small size of the carrier made landings challenging.

Visiting American pilots often refused to land and flew to shore bases rather than risk a crash even with the challenges that the Canadian banshees were ready 24 hours a day, rain or shine, to defend the fleet against air attacks. , HMC Bonaventure and its fighter wing were at sea during the Cuban missile crisis. They helped form the northern end of a picket line that stretched from Cuba to the North Atlantic. -submarine operations were carried out 24 hours a day, eventually tensions cooled and regular operations resumed. This was the closest Bonnie and her squad had come to seeing real combat.

Eventually, the need to operate more and more tractors would force the banshees out of Bonnie's hangars. definitively in 1962 they had been relegated to shore duty three years before their early retirement. During its seven years of service there were 12 accidents resulting in the tragic loss of seven pilots, this represented a loss of 30 percent of the fleet. Causes included a failure in the wing folding mechanism during flight catapult failure on takeoff abandonments at sea and c-fit or controlled flight toward the ground usually caused by pilot inattention or disorientation, the banshee was retired without replacement in September 1962. While brief, banshees were a powerful force multiplier with the Royal Canadian Navy during their service they provided combat cover to support anti-submarine warfare and training operations around the world.

Her withdrawal began the gradual decline of Canadian naval air power on 3 July 1970. HMC Bonaventure was decommissioned and scrapped in 1971, officially ending her operations. to the Canadian fixed-wing naval aviator who