McDonnell F2H-2P "Banshee"
Developed from the FH Phantom, one of the Navy's earliest jets, the F2H-2 fighter jet was first built in 1950. The variant on display here is the F2H-2P, the "P" indicates photographic. It was the Navy's first jet-powered reconnaissance plane. A total of 81 were built and this particular plane was the next to last one ever constructed. The longer "duckbill" nose of the plane housed six cameras that could be rotated in flight to shoot obliquely or vertically. Because it was lighter than the heavily armed F2H-2, the F2H-2P could reach much higher altitudes. In 1949 and F2H-1 set a jet altitude record of 52,000 feet. The F2H-2P was used for photo reconnaissance backup to naval strike elements during the Korean War. Unarmed, it usually required an armed escort, particularly for post-strike damage assessment when the enemy was generally alert and agitated.