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Walkaround #1058

F2H-3 Banshee Wingfold

These photos were taken by Barrie MacLeod The wing fold on F2H-3 and F2H-4 Banshees is vertical NOT angled in over the aircraft.   I have no idea why our Canadian national aviation museum did this.   The Banshee in Calgary and the one in the Shearwater Museum are correct.  If modellers pose their wingfolds to match the Banshee in the  Canadian national aviation museum, then their model will be incorrect.  More info below

Click on images below to see larger images

Banshee at YAW	Banshee wing up	cockpit left side	cockpit left side

I am an ex-air traffic controller.  I grew up in Halifax watching the Canadian Navy Banshees flying.  I have numerous Canadian Navy photos of the F2H-3s and photocopies of the Pilot Notes and other things.  The photocopies are quite faded after 40 years and not suitable to publish.  The only two that are half way decent I have attached.   The photo of a Canadian Banshee I attached is a Canadian Navy photo # BN601.   It is just the first one I grabbed to show the wing fold is in fact vertical.  It is aircraft 126469 coming up on the elevator onboard Canada's aircraft carrier of the time H.M.C.S. Bonaventure in April 1957.  I am also attaching a fairly recent photo I took of the Banshee in the Shearwater Museum.  The earlier model Banshee wings did fold in past the vertical.  I just looked at a few web sites and there are photos of U.S.N. F2H-3/4 Banshees on deck with wings folded on the Coral Sea site.  One site I looked at has an F2H-2P labeled as a -3 so that is confusing.  Best thing is to look through Steve Ginter's NAVAL FIGHTERS # 2  n the Banshee series.  I do not have the wing fold drawings in the binder, just a note saying put wing fold back here after I took it out to copy for   ??  The IPMS-USA Quarterly Journal for 1977, Vol.12 No.3 has drawings of the landing gear and seat.  Their drawings of RCN Banshees show the belly refueling pack which the RCN aircraft did NOT have.

Cheers.  Barrie

Coral Sea 1960s