History
In 1950, Curtiss and Wright obtained a license to build the British Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet engine. This weighed slightly more than the J47 fitted in the FJ-2, yet it offered 28% more thrust than the J47. The US Navy decided the next variant of the FJ-3 would be powered by this license-built engine.
In 1952, the Navy ordered 389 FJ-3s fitted with the new Wright J65 engine, a license-built version of the British Sapphire turbojet engine. This required changes to the air inlet to make it bigger, and the fuselage would have to be redesigned, resulting in increased ammunition for the four 20-mm cannons and additional cockpit armor.
One FJ-2 (131931) was modified to be fitted with a J65-W-2 engine for testing, and this modified FJ-2 flew for the first time on July 3, 1953. Deliveries of the FJ-3 began in December 1953, and the Navy seemed to be content with the new FJ-3 Fury.
The FJ-3 initially retained the same wing configuration as the FJ-2, but starting in 1955, it featured the 6-3 wing. It had extended leading edges by 6 inches at the root and 3 inches at the tip, which could be seen on the F-86F. This wing design improved maneuverability, although it resulted in a slightly higher landing speed due to the removal of leading-edge slats. As a result, the wing area increased from 287.9 to 302.3 square feet. The FJ-3 visually differed from the F-86F by incorporating a camber on the underside of the leading edge to enhance low-speed handling, and it increased fuel capacity within the new wing edges.
By July of 1954, 24 FJ-3s had been delivered out of the factory, and the aircraft went through the test program at the Naval Air Testing Center at Patuxent, Maryland. In September 1954, VF-173, based at Jacksonville, Florida, was the first Navy Squadron to receive the FJ-3. On May 8, 1955, the FJ-3 made its first successful carrier landings, boarding the fleet carrier USS Bennington. Another FJ-3 landed on the new supercarrier, USS Forrestal, on January 4, 1956, marking the first aircraft to board the supercarrier. The FJ-3 would see modifications in service as production continued, such as improved wings for better agility, provisions for in-flight refueling, and the capability to carry bombs, rockets, and the new AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles.
On July 1, 1955, the Navy abandoned the deep blue scheme as a standard used throughout the Korean War and adopted a grey-white scheme. This change was seen on the FJ-3 along with other naval aircraft.
However, there were problems with the J65 engine during the service. The issues were lubrication system failures during the launch or high-speed maneuvers, engine flameouts, and turbine blade failures. The turbine blade failures caused the engine to shed its blades and bounce out the sides of the fuselage. New types of blades were fitted inside the FJ-3 to rectify this problem.
Despite these problems, the Navy found the FJ-3 more successful than the FJ-2. 538 FJ-3s were built for the Navy. The FJ-3s were popular with their pilots, and they were superior to most models of the F-86, except the late F-86F and F-86H, due to the powerful engine. Starting from the 345th FJ-3 and onward, the 6-3 wings were equipped. It could hold external loads up to 1,000 lb on inboard stations and 500 lb on the outboard stations. The wings had a new leading edge that fitted extra fuel. 194 FJ-3s were modified to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and redesignated FJ-3M. The last FJ-3 was built in August 1956. Starting that year, the Navy retrofitted all its FJ-3s with probe-and-drogue air refueling systems, adding a long probe under the left wing, where they would be refueled from North American AJ-2 Savage tankers. The midair-refueling modification extended the FJ-3’s combat radius from 645 to 1237 miles.
The FJ-3 had seen action only as close air support during the American intervention in Lebanon in 1958. Other than that, the FJ-3 served a relatively short and quiet frontline career into the 1960s. In the end, the FJ-3Ms had served with the VA-172, VF-12, VF-62, VF-73, VF-84, VF-173, and VMF-334 of the Atlantic Fleet and with VF-21, VF-51, VF-121, VF-142, VF-143, VF-221, and VMF-235 of the Pacific Fleet. The FJ-3M retired from fighter duty by September 1962, with the FJ-4 fighter-bomber retiring two years later.
