page_title: McDonnell F2H Banshee
section_title: Royal Canadian Navy
hierarchical_section_title: McDonnell F2H Banshee / Operational history / Royal Canadian Navy
caption_attribution_description: English: A McDonnell F2H Banshee of the Royal Canadian Navy at the Canada Aviation Museum (now called the Canada Aviation and Space Museum)
context_page_description: 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. 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. The aircraft's name is derived from the banshee of Irish mythology.
context_section_description: In 1951, the RCN expressed interest in replacing their obsolete Hawker Sea Furies with Banshees, drafting a $40 million deal for 60 new aircraft. Unfortunately, due to fiscal wrangling in the Canadian Cabinet, the purchase was not approved until after Banshee production had been shut down in 1953. The RCN was forced to acquire second-hand USN aircraft, 39 at a cost of $25 million. The aircraft were delivered from 1955 to 1958, and flew from HMCS Bonaventure or as NORAD interceptors from shore bases.
  In order to improve the Banshee's capabilities as a long-range interceptor, the RCN equipped the aircraft with the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile. The RCN conducted sea trials of the Sidewinder in November 1959, during which several remotely piloted drone aircraft were shot down.
  The Banshee, although initially well liked by its Canadian pilots for its flying qualities, began to suffer from problems in RCN service. A Banshee and its pilot were lost after an inflight structural failure of the folding wing mechanism, and another Banshee suffered an apparent brake failure aboard Bonaventure and rolled off the carrier's deck, falling into the ocean and drowning its pilot. The RCN would eventually lose 12 of its original 39 Banshees to accidents, a loss rate of over 30%.
  Utilization of the Banshees fell as the RCN shifted its primary focus to anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Bonaventure was too small to accommodate many Banshees while carrying a sufficient number of CS2F Trackers to conduct around-the-clock ASW patrols, so the carrier frequently left port with no Banshees aboard. Furthermore, the Canadian military was coming under increasing political pressure to cut its budget, and the increasingly obsolescent Banshees were becoming expensive to maintain as years of punishing carrier service and the harsh North Atlantic climate took their toll. The last RCN Banshees were retired without replacement in September 1962. They were the only jet-powered carrier-based fighters ever deployed by the RCN.
  Banshees were the primary aircraft of the short-lived RCN Grey Ghosts aerobatic team. The team's name was a play on the Banshee name and the RCN color scheme. The RCN's Banshee fleet was too small to maintain a special contingent of aircraft for airshow service, so the team simply flew whichever active-duty Banshees were available at the time of each show.
caption: F2H-3 Banshee on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
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