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The aircraft's name is derived from the banshee of Celtic mythology. It was one of the primary American fighters used during the Korean War and was the only jet-powered fighter ever deployed by the Royal Canadian Navy, serving the RCN from 1955 until 1962. All except the one that landed at Pocahontas Park.The McDonnell F2H Banshee was a single-seat carrier-based jet fighter aircraft deployed by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps from 1948 to 1961. Several years after the war, the F2H-2Ps were replaced by newer planes, retired and later scrapped. The F2H-2P operated from different carriers, including the USS Valley Forge, the USS Essex and the USS Franklin D. The plane accommodated six vertical and oblique cameras and, for night photos, containers holding 20 flash cartridges were carried under each wing. The Banshee carried the bulk of the Navy and Marine Corps photo reconnaissance load in its elongated nose during the Korean War. An unarmed version of the aircraft's predecessor, the F2H-2P was equipped with two Westinghouse J34-WE-34 engines that emitted a loud wailing noise, giving the aircraft its nickname. There were only 89 F2H-2P Banshee photo reconnaissance planes built by McDonnell Aircraft Corp., the first one flying in October 1950.
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It has been on display at the museum ever since, where more than 700,000 people visit every year. Goodspeed said it took several years to chip away the concrete and restore this rare plane, carefully piecing the aircraft back together using period parts. It remained a fixture at the park until 1988, when the museum found and acquired it. Eventually its cockpit and wings were filled with concrete. "I grew up in Vero Beach and spent many an hour playing in the aircraft when it was in Pocahontas Park." Goodspeed said.Īccording to museum documents, the aircraft was first shipped to Vero Beach on a barge in 1959. Watching over it is Hill Goodspeed, the museum's historian and artifact collections manager, who, as it turns out, was also one of those children who frequented the Vero Beach playground. This Memorial Day weekend, many veterans and their families and friends will see the former piece of Vero Beach playground equipment at the museum.
#Westinghouse j34 we 34 jet series
Today, that same airplane ? the only known surviving F2H-2P Banshee photo reconnaissance version of the F2H series of aircraft ? sits proudly at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, completely restored with the markings of an aircraft flown by a Marine Squadron during the Korean War. VERO BEACH ? It has been 23 years since children in Vero Beach had a chance to climb aboard the cockpit of a jet immobilized in sand and cement in Pocahontas Park and pretend to soar through the air, fighting enemy planes. Manufacturer: McDonnell Aircraft Corporation Location: Restored in 1988 and on display at National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Service: Navy and Marine Corps photo reconnaissance aircraft during Korean War What: Only known surviving F2H-2P Banshee aircraft, formerly at Pocahontas Park