Manufacturer catalog
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was a St. Louis aerospace manufacturer founded by James S. McDonnell in 1939 and absorbed into McDonnell Douglas in 1967. Its military-aircraft work centered on U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force jet fighters, including the F-101 Voodoo and F-4 Phantom II, while the same industrial base also became important to early U.S. human-spaceflight programs.
2 weaponsMcDonnell Aircraft grew from James S. McDonnell's prewar St. Louis company into one of the United States' leading jet-fighter producers. Boeing's heritage material says McDonnell incorporated the company in St. Louis on July 6, 1939, and that within three decades it had become a leading producer of jet fighters and had built the first spacecraft to carry an American into orbit.
For defense-aircraft records, the McDonnell name is most closely tied to Cold War fighter and interceptor families. The National Museum of the United States Air Force describes the F-101 Voodoo as an XF-88-derived aircraft first intended as a Strategic Air Command bomber escort before shifting into tactical and air-defense roles, with 785 Voodoos built by McDonnell by March 1961. The same museum describes the Phantom II as a Navy fleet-defense fighter first flown in May 1958, later produced in more than 5,000 examples for U.S. and allied services.
McDonnell Aircraft ended as a standalone company through the 1967 combination with Douglas Aircraft Company. Boeing's executive-history material places McDonnell Aircraft Corp. in the 1939-to-1967 company-history period and describes the 1967 merger with Douglas Aircraft as the expansion that created McDonnell Douglas, the successor corporation later acquired by Boeing.
The Phantom II first flew in May 1958 as a U.S. Navy fleet-defense aircraft and later became a major U.S. and allied fighter-bomber family, with more than 5,000 examples built before production ended in 1979.
Sources: McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II
The F-101 Voodoo was a McDonnell fighter family developed from the XF-88 and redirected before production into tactical and air-defense roles; McDonnell built 785 Voodoos by the end of production in March 1961.
Sources: McDonnell F-101B VoodooJames S. McDonnell incorporated McDonnell Aircraft Corp. in St. Louis after leaving Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Co.
Sources: Boeing Aerospace Leaders - James Smith McDonnell
The F-101 made its first flight on September 29, 1954, before production versions entered USAF service in the late 1950s.
Sources: McDonnell F-101B Voodoo
The Phantom II first flew in May 1958 after development for U.S. Navy fleet defense, later becoming a large U.S. and allied fighter family.
Sources: McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II
McDonnell Aircraft merged with Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967, creating McDonnell Douglas with James S. McDonnell as chairman and chief executive.
Sources: Boeing Aerospace Leaders - James Smith McDonnell
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation existed as a standalone manufacturer from 1939 until the 1967 McDonnell Douglas merger. Later sources often use McDonnell Douglas for F-4 and successor-program context, so this profile separates pre-merger McDonnell Aircraft attribution from later McDonnell Douglas records.
Category
Crewed aircraft, drones, and loitering munitions.