2-839-585 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

First all-jet, aircraft carrier-based fighter plane. Single-seat, twin-engine (Westinghouse turbojets), retractable, electrically powered, tricycle landing gear. The McDonnell FH-1 Phantom was the first U.S. jet aircraft to take off from and land on an aircraft carrier, and subsequently it became the first U.S. jet fighter in operational service with both the Navy and Marine Corps. Its development during World War II was a major technological achievement that played a significant role in transforming U.S. aircraft at sea from piston power to jet propulsion.