The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was formed on 6 July 1939 by James S. McDonnell.
Built Fairchild AT-21 gunnery trainers at Memphis, Tennessee, plant and designed XP-67 experimental twin-engined fighter in 1942. Developed first U.S. Navy twin-jet fighter, FH-1 Phantom I, which was first flown January 26,1945. Enlarged version was F2H Banshee, flown January 11,1947. F3H Demon single-engined jet fighter, maiden flight August 7,1951. XF-88 jet fighter for USAF cancelled 1950 but developed later as F-101 Voodoo, flown September 29,1954. F-4 Phantom II twin-engined missile-armed attack fighter flown May 27,1958, subsequently standard USAF, USN and USMC fighter, built also for reconnaissance and antiradar roles and widely exported; 5,057 built in U.S.A. up to June 1979, and production by Mitsubishi in Japan continued until 1981.
Merged with Douglas Aircraft Corporation Inc April 28,1967 to form McDonnell Douglas. Douglas files bankruptcy and was forced to sell at a knocked down price to McDonnell of St. Louis, which had been making handsome profits out of its F-4 Phantom, supplied to the air force in Vietnam.
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