Ordered in late 1944 as the XFJ-1 in competition with proposals from Douglas and Vought, the Fury began as a straight-wing, tricycle gear fighter with a single turbojet passing through the fuselage.  The first flight of the prototype XFJ-1 took place on 11 September 1946, with the first of 30 deliveries beginning in October 1947.  Flown by Navy squadron VF-5A, the FJ-1 made the USN's first operational aircraft landing with a jet fighter at sea on 10 March 1948 aboard the USS Boxer, pioneering US jet-powered carrier operations and underscoring the need for catapult-equipped carriers. 

Ironically, the evolution of the design to incorporate swept wings would become the basis for the land-based XP-86 prototype of the US Air Force's highly successful F-86 Sabre, which then became the platform for the Navy's FJ-2.  Although the FJ-2 was capable of 676 mph, almost 100 mph faster than the jet fighters then being flown by Naval Aviators in Korea, it was still plagued with problems when operating aboard ship.  As a result, the FJ-2 was flown exclusively by Marine Corps squadrons while in front line service. Despite limits in carrier operations, the FJ-2 was among the aircraft used to evaluate the first steam catapult installed on a U.S. Navy carrier. Their service proved short-lived, as more advanced FJ-3/4 versions of the swept-wing Fury began replacing them beginning in 1957.

The FJ-4 was the final version of the swept wing Fury fighters delivered to the Navy. While the FJ-2 and -3 had been developed directly from the Air Force's famous F-86 Sabre, the FJ-4 was a complete redesign that solved many problems that plagued those earlier models in their transition to Navy ops. Further, of the 374 FJ-4s built, 222 were FJ-4B fighter-attack versions. FJ-4Bs were the first to deploy overseas with the Bullpup missile, the first mass produced guided air-to-ground weapon.  All told, North American produced 374 FJ-4/4B aircraft. 

FJ Furys still remaining in service in 1962 were redesignated F-1 as part of the Tri Service Designation Program.