The McDonnell Demon had two lives. The first Demon, the F3H-1, was McDonnell's first entry to the then modern era of swept wing aircraft. The Navy took a cautious attitude toward using swept wing aircraft on a carrier because the swept wing required significantly higher angle of attack on takeoff and landing and had less maximum lift.
McDonnell, then manufacturing the successful F2H Banshee and having made the first jet aircraft to be used by the fleet, the FH Phantom, proposed two configurations to the Navy. The F3H-1 here was selected over the delta wing alternative. The "Tin Demon" so-called because of the bare aluminum finish as contrasted the navy standard dark blue, is shown below before the first flight with an FH Phantom
The next photo is of the Tin Demon on the ramp.
Here the XF3H-1 in flight clearly shows the jet engine air augmentation inlet still open even in level flight. This spring-loaded device was intended to open during takeoff and other low speed operation to augment the engine air intake area. On test the door opened and stayed open in all flight phases and, ultimately, was riveted closed on all of the production machines.
The production model in standard Navy colors.
Takeoff on the first flight of BuNo 125444, August 7, 1951 from
Lambert-Saint Louis Municipal Airport. The jet engine air intake augmentation
cover is wide open, operating as it was intended to during takeoff.
