It was a derivative of the earlier FH Phantom, although the resulting aircraft would be considerably larger, more heavily armed, and furnished with far more powerful engines in the form of a pair of Westinghouse J34 turbojets.

The Banshee incorporated several recent innovations, including a pressurized cockpit, "kneeling" nose landing gear and an ejection seat, which the Phantom lacked, as well as a large number of improvements to other aircraft systems.

Introduced to Canadian service in 1955, the type became the sole fighter operated following the retirement of the piston-engined Hawker Sea Fury.

Amid a reorientation towards anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and reduced value being placed on fighter operations, as well as decreasing reliability, Canada opted to withdraw its last Banshees without any direct replacement in September 1962.

The origins of the Banshee can be traced back to the FH Phantom, the United States Navy's first carrier-based jet fighter.

[4] On 2 March 1945, the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics instructed McDonnell to produce three prototypes of the improved derivative they had envisioned, designated XF2D-1.

[6] From the tenth production aircraft onwards, the Banshee incorporated an ejection seat, another feature that had been absent on the Phantom.

[7] The Banshee was provisioned with a "kneeling" nose landing gear that had a pair of small wheels forward of the regular nosewheel.

The project survived the numerous cancellations that came around the end of the conflict, however, the pace of development was slowed considerably, leading to the first of three prototypes not being completed until late 1946.

[6] During this first test flight, the aircraft demonstrated a climb rate of 9,000 ft/min (2,700 m/min), twice that of the F8F Bearcat, the Navy's primary fleet defense interceptor.

[7] The flight test programme, which included carrier trials, was considered to be a success, however, various improvements and refinements to the aircraft were suggested.

The U.S. Navy also permitted McDonnell to borrow one of the prototypes to assist in the development of afterburners and to test fly a modified wing design with an extended trailing edge.

[11] This altitude record was motivated at least partially by inter-service rivalries, as the feat proved that the Convair B-36 Peacemaker strategic bombers of the United States Air Force (the existence of which had been a factor in the cancellation of the USS United States, which would have been the U.S. Navy's first "supercarrier") was vulnerable to interceptor aircraft even at its maximum altitude.

[18][19] To compensate for the increased load, the F2H-2B was fitted with stiffer landing gear struts and a pilot-switchable aileron power boost.

[11][19] It had a 2 ft 10 in (0.86 m) longer nose that housed a Sperry Corporation AN/APS-19 radar which required that the cannons be moved back to make room.

[23] The pilot could rotate the cameras in both vertical and horizontal planes, and the aircraft could carry a pair of underwing pods that each contained 20 flash cartridges for night photography.

The cannons were moved back, away from the nose to accommodate the larger diameter radar while allowing for an increased ammunition capacity.

The horizontal stabilizers were lowered from the fin to the fuselage and were given dihedral, and on all but the first aircraft, large triangular fillets were added to the leading edges.

It had a Hughes AN/APG-37 radar and slightly more powerful Westinghouse J34-WE-38 3,600 lbf (16,000 N) engines that increased the aircraft's service ceiling to 56,000 ft (17,000 m).

[31] The F2H-2 initially proved its worth as an escort fighter for the USAF bombers supporting United Nations Command (UNC) ground forces, largely due to its favourable performance when flown at high altitude.

During the opening weeks of the war, the North Korean air force had been almost completely annihilated by UNC fighter units.

Naval air services, including the USN, had resisted faster, swept wing designs from fears that poor low speed flight characteristics made them unsafe to operate from aircraft carriers.

At that time of the war, surface-to-air missiles had not yet been deployed and few enemy aircraft had radar, while AA guns were ineffective against fast, high-altitude targets.

[25] During 1951, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) drafted a $40 million deal for 60 new Banshees to replace its obsolete fleet of Hawker Sea Furies.

During November 1959, the RCN conducted sea trials of the Sidewinder, resulting in the successful downing of several remotely piloted drones.

Also, due to the carrier's small size, there was no room to accommodate Banshees when Bonaventure was carrying enough Grumman CS2F Trackers to conduct around-the-clock ASW patrols, so it regularly operated without them.

[36] The Canadian military was also under pressure to reduce its budget, and the obsolescent Banshees were expensive to maintain as their age, punishing carrier service, and the harsh North Atlantic were taking their toll.