Was the F3H the first US naval aircraft to have an after-burning engine??

I was a squadron mate of Dick Hallahan and Jim Matheny. By the time I got into the machine (about April 1962), I was told that the compressor blade tips had been trimmed and that chance of engine seizure in rain was remote. Trimming of course reduced compressor efficiency, hence reduced thrust available. Remarks about the J-40 are somewhat irrelevant; Navy recognized the J-40 would not do and because they wanted to get the Sparrow operational as soon as possible, they developed the J-71 w/afterburner to make the Demon work. The aircraft had sufficient power to make a safe carrier approach; I had never heard it damned for a high bolter rate. It was easy to fly; honest, no bad tendencies, but not a lot of excess thrust. Aboard Shang in 1963-64, the ship would use us for the air intercept compexes in preference to the Crusader, because of our head-on capability with the Sparrow. Of course, it was a little humiliating if you tried to keep up with a Crusader or a Vigilante.

As a shaky 1st tour pilot, the Demon was what I needed. It was stable on the glide slope, easy to land on the ship. The one A/B landing I made due to a nozzle failure was an OK 3 wire. Most of all, the confidence I gained around the ship made the transition to the Crusader a piece of cake.

I flew Demons from 4/59 to 6/62, '61 VF-53 Ticonderoga WESTPAC cruise and VF-121 instructor/LSO. Ignored in all the damning comments is the fact that Demon was the only allweather interceptor with a head-on (Sparrow) capability and acceptable radar. Forward visibility and roll rate were excellent. It was the J71 (not J40) which tended to compressor stall in visible moisture - never resolved because engine and airframe mfgs were in denial, pointing their fingers at each other. (I had one quit at 35Kft, restarted at 28Kft - "ground checks OK" writeoff! Also, the J-71 occassionally shifted two feet aft on cat shots with broken mounts (didn't produce enough thrust to keep up?)with ditching results. The night carrier landing rate bolter rate was 25%. With engine at 98% rpm on approach and high fuel consumption, the afterburner's "turkey feathers" provided thrust changes. All in all, I enjoyed flying the Demon - but was OVERJOYED to move up to Phantoms.

I flew the Demon for over three years, and was a VF-13 squadron mate of Jim Matheny. The quote that a "modified afterburner system gave power in the range needed to make safe carrier landings" is misleading. The system was designed in case the tail nozzle failed open, causing a radical loss of normal thrust. I never used it.

I flew this aircraft on its last operational deployment in VF-13 on board the USS Shagri-La in 1963. We lost two aircraft and one pilot on that deployment. The aircraft also had high fuel consumption and a relatively short reserve at landing weights.