F2H-2P Photo Banshee - Baton Rouge

[wcarroll]

Hello all, my first post to the WIX forums.

I am wondering if anyone knows anything about the F2H-2P Photo Banshee located in Baton Rouge, LA? BuNo is 128885. This aircraft has been in Howell Park as long as I can remember. I played on it as a kid in the early 1970's so it has been there for at least 37 years or so. I check on it periodically and have found that the park and the airplane have been spruced up a bit. I know this is a rare aircraft... The Naval Museum in Pensacola claims to have the last existing F2H-2P, but here is another survivor.





Does anyone know any history of this aircraft or how or when it came to be at the park?

Thanks!
Wes

[Chris Brame]

Welcome to WIX, Wes! The Banshee has always been a favorite of mine, even when it's got the photo nose. Not only amazing that generations of kids haven't destroyed this one by crawling all over it (no, I don't mean you!), but also it is sitting on its gear on a hardstand instead of on its belly in a sandbox or on a plinth. Thanks for sharing it!

[Chris]

Welcome to the club!!! Great stuff. Reminds me of the F3D Skynight we used to play on at Del Valle park in Lakewood California before they stuck it up on a pole. I never got shot down while flying it.

[Rogue]

I also played in/on the F2H-2P in Howell Park.
That was back when it still had a stick and you could get in the cockpit and camera bay.

IIRC there is still a P-80A in the BREC system.

[TimAPNY]

Very cool!

Tim

[wcarroll]

Thanks for the responses! The Banshee was looking pretty sad up to about two years ago when somebody started fixing it up. I assume it was somebody within the BREC Park system that did the work, or maybe it was contracted out. The tip of the nose and the canopy were missing and the camera windows were gone. I think the replacements are fiberglass. I don't know how accurate the markings are, but it appears that some kind of research was done before painting. Somewhere I have some slides that my dad took of me and some other kids playing around the airplane around 1969 or 1970. I'll have to see if I can dig them out and take a look.

That was back when it still had a stick and you could get in the cockpit and camera bay.

Rogue - There was a stick, throttle, and minimal other controls when I used to get in the cockpit, but no instruments were left. If I recall, you could get into the camera bays from the cockpit area by crawling under what would have been the instrument panel. I think the wingtip tanks were still there back then. Can you tell me where the P-80A was located? I will try to check up on it too.

[Holedigger]

How about F2H Banshee (BuNo 126417) in a children’s park, Oteen, North Carolina? This is a listing from a newsletter from 04 by everyone's favorite, TIGHAR. Sorry (don't want to start a brouhaha here). Just asking, as this is the only spot I found mention of another example this bird "in the wild".

[wcarroll]

I think I located the P-80A that Rogue mentioned in his post:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=30.527581,-91.174612&spn=0.000848,0.001341&t=h&z=19

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=30.527486,-91.175143&spn=0,359.998659&z=19&layer=c&cbll=30.527419,-91.175216&panoid=a52GfE-kh0l68PsaBi4avA&cbp=12,110.04,,1,-3.58

In Jordan Park in Baton Rouge.

[Rogue]

That is correct.


Somewhere I have the Serial number, I know its a P-80B from the 51st FG.

W, I'd love to see your pics of the F2H-2P.

We used to access the camera bay from the side access panels.
It wasn't very safe.

[Barrie MacLeod]

The Banshee I played on was F2H-3 126402 at Shearwater Naval Air Station in Nova Scotia, Canada.

402 first served with the U.S.N. at VF-23 Moffett Field and on the Essex in November 1953 to March 1954.
Then FASRON 119 at Sanglay Point.
O&R San Diego. FASRON 10 Moffett. VF-194 Moffett and Oriskany spring 1956.
O&R Quonset and stricken 14 March 1957. Then Royal Canadian Navy and onboard Canada's aircraft carrier of the time H.M.C.S. Bonaventure until September 1962. Now in the Shearwater Aviation Museum.

Last edited by Barrie MacLeod on Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Barrie MacLeod]

126402 in the Shearwater Aviation Museum and painted as the CO's aircraft in VF-870.

[communicationintern]

Hello. I am a Communication Intern for the Recreation and Park Commission of East Baton Rouge Parish (BREC). I am writing a story concerning the F2H-2P Banshee located in Howell Community Park and the P-80 B located in Anna T. Jordan Park in Baton Rouge, La.

I appreciate the information you guys have provided thus far, but was hoping we could dig a little deeper. If anyone knows more about the history, acquisition, etc. of these planes, please reply. Also, a few of you have noted that you used to play on the equipment, specifically in Howell Park. I am very interested in speaking with you about your experiences with these fine pieces of equipment.

If you have additional information or would like to contribute to this feature story, please respond to this post or e-mail me at communicationintern@brec.org.

Thank you for your time.

[Cubs]

How about F2H Banshee (BuNo 126417) in a children’s park, Oteen, North Carolina? This is a listing from a newsletter from 04 by everyone's favorite, TIGHAR. Sorry (don't want to start a brouhaha here). Just asking, as this is the only spot I found mention of another example this bird "in the wild".

I thought that aircraft was a T-2 Buckeye???