Grumman F7F Tigercat
F7F Tigercat | |
---|---|
An F7F-3P preserved in United States Marine Corps markings in flight | |
Role | heavy fighter |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Grumman |
First flight | 2 November 1943 |
Introduction | 1944 |
Retired | 1954 |
Primary users | United States Navy United States Marine Corps |
Produced | 1943–1946 |
Number built | 364 |
Developed into | Grumman XTSF |
The Grumman F7F Tigercat is a heavy fighter aircraft that served with the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) from late in World War II until 1954. It was the first twin-engine fighter to be deployed by the USN. While the Tigercat was delivered too late to see combat in World War II, it saw action as a night fighter and attack aircraft during the Korean War.
Designed initially for service on Midway-class aircraft carriers, early production F7Fs were land-based variants. The type was too large to operate from older and smaller carriers, and only a late variant (F7F-4N) was certified for carrier service.
Design and development
Based on the earlier Grumman XP-50 that was eventually canceled, the company developed the XP-65 (Model 51) further for a future "convoy fighter" concept. In 1943, work on the XP-65 was terminated in favor of the design that would eventually become the F7F.[1] The contract for the prototype XF7F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. Grumman's aim was to produce a fighter that outperformed and outgunned all existing fighter aircraft, and that had an auxiliary ground attack capability.[2] Armament was heavy: four 20 mm cannon and four 50 caliber (0.50 in; 12.7 mm) machine guns, as well as underwing and under-fuselage hardpoints for bombs and torpedoes. Performance met expectations too; the F7F Tigercat was one of the highest performance piston-engine fighters, with a top speed well in excess of the U.S. Navy's single-engine aircraft — 71 mph faster than a Grumman F6F Hellcat at sea level.[3] Captain Fred M. Trapnell, one of the Navy's premier test pilots, opined that: "It's the best damn fighter I've ever flown."[4] The Grumman F7F was originally named the "Tomcat", but this name was rejected, as it was considered too suggestive at the time.[5] The name would much later be used for the Grumman F-14.
All this was bought at the cost of heavy weight and a high landing speed, but what caused the aircraft to fail carrier suitability trials was poor directional stability with only one engine operational, as well as problems with the tailhook design.[6] The initial production series was, therefore, used only from land bases by the USMC, as night fighters with APS-6 radar.[7] At first, they were single-seat F7F-1N aircraft, but after the 34th production aircraft, a second seat for a radar operator was added; these aircraft were designated F7F-2N.
The next version produced, the F7F-3, was modified to correct the issues that caused the aircraft to fail carrier acceptance and this version was again trialled on the USS Shangri-La. A wing failure on a heavy landing caused the failure of this carrier qualification, too. F7F-3 aircraft were produced in day fighter, night fighter and photo-reconnaissance versions.[8]
A final version, the F7F-4N, was extensively rebuilt for additional strength and stability, and did pass carrier qualification, but only 12 were built.[8]
Operational history
Marine Corps night fighter squadron VMF(N)-513 flying F7F-3N Tigercats saw action in the early stages of the Korean War, flying night interdiction and fighter missions and shooting down two Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes.[9] This was the only combat use of the aircraft.
Most F7F-2Ns were modified to control drones for combat training, and these gained bubble canopies over the rear cockpit for the drone controller. An F7F-2D used for pilot transitioning also had a rear sliding, bubble canopy.[10]
In 1945, two Tigercats, serial numbers TT346 and TT349, were evaluated, but rejected by the British Royal Navy, who preferred a naval version of the de Havilland Hornet.[11]
Variants
- XP-65
- Proposed United States Army Air Forces pursuit fighter.
- XF7F-1
- Prototype aircraft, two built.
- F7F-1 Tigercat
- Twin-engine fighter-bomber aircraft, powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-22W radial piston engines. First production version, 34 built.
- F7F-1N Tigercat
- Single-seat night fighter aircraft, fitted with an APS-6 radar.
- XF7F-2N
- Night-fighter prototype, one built.
- F7F-2N Tigercat
- Two-seat night fighter, 65 built.
- F7F-2D
- Small numbers of F7F-2Ns converted into drone control aircraft. The aircraft were fitted with a Grumman F8F Bearcat windshield behind the cockpit.
- F7F-3 Tigercat
- Single-seat fighter-bomber aircraft, powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W radial piston engines and featuring an enlarged tailfin for improved stability at high altitudes, 189 built.
- F7F-3N Tigercat
- Two-seat night fighter aircraft, 60 built.
- F7F-3E Tigercat
- Small numbers of F7F-3s were converted into electronic warfare aircraft.
- F7F-3P Tigercat
- Small numbers of F7F-3s were converted into photo-reconnaissance aircraft.
- F7F-4N Tigercat
- Two-seat night-fighter aircraft, fitted with an tailhook and other naval equipment, 13 built.
Operators
Survivors
Beginning in 1949, F7Fs were flown to the then-U.S. Navy storage facility at Naval Air Station Litchfield Park, Arizona.[12] Although the vast majority of the airframes were eventually scrapped, a number of examples were purchased as surplus. The surviving Tigercats were primarily used as water bombers to fight wildfires in the 1960s and 1970s and Sis-Q Flying Services of Santa Rosa, California, operated an F7F-3N tanker in this role until retirement in the late 1980s.
- Airworthy
- F7F-3
- 80374: Tigercat N7629C LCC in Wilmington, Delaware.[13]
- 80375: Tigercat N379AK LLC in Bellevue, Washington.[14]
- 80390: Lewis Air Legends in San Antonio, Texas.[15][16]
- 80411: Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs, California.[17][18]
- 80425: Avstar Inc. in Seattle, Washington.[19]
- 80483: Historic Flight Foundation in Mukilteo, Washington.[20][21]
- 80503: Lewis Air Legends in San Antonio, Texas.[22][23]
- 80532: Lawrence Classics LLC in Bentonville, Arkansas.[24]
- On display
- F7F-3
- 80373: National Naval Aviation Museum in Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.[25]
- 80382: Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California.[26]
- 80410: Pima Air & Space Museum, adjacent to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, in Tucson, Arizona.[27]
- Under restoration
- F7F-3
- 80404: in storage at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.[28]
Specifications (F7F-4N Tigercat)
Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[29]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 (pilot, radar operator)
- Length: 45 ft 4 in (13.8 m)
- Wingspan: 51 ft 6 in (15.7 m)
- Height: 16 ft 7 in (5.1 m)
- Wing area: 455 ft² (42.3 m²)
- Empty weight: 16,270 lb (7,380 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 25,720 lb (11,670 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double Wasp radial engines, 2,100 hp (1,566 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 460 mph (400 knots, 740 km/h)
- Range: 1,200 mi (1,000 nmi, 1,900 km)
- Service ceiling: 40,400 ft (12,300 m)
- Rate of climb: 4,530 ft/min (23 m/s)
Armament
- Guns:
- 4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) AN/M3 cannon (200 rpg)
- 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun (400 rpg)
- Bombs:
Avionics
- AN/APS-19 radar
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- de Havilland Hornet
- FMA I.Ae. 30 Ñancú
- Kawasaki Ki-102
- Focke-Wulf Ta 154
- Rikugun Ki-93
- Northrop P-61 Black Widow
- Mitsubishi Ki-83
Related lists
References
- Notes
- ↑ Dorr and Donald 1990, p. 119.
- ↑ Thruelsen 1976, p. 204.
- ↑ Meyer 2002, p. 51.
- ↑ Meyer 2002, p. 54.
- ↑ Meyer 2002, p. 50.
- ↑ Meyer 2002, p. 55.
- ↑ Thruelsen 1976, p. 205.
- 1 2 Taylor 1969, p. 504.
- ↑ Grossnick and Armstrong 1997
- ↑ Gault 1973, p. 25.
- ↑ Zuk 2004, p. 129.
- ↑ Legg 1991, p. 26.
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N7629C". FAA.gov. Retrieved: 16 May 2011.
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N379AK". FAA.gov. Retrieved: 14 July 2014.
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N700F". FAA.gov. Retrieved: 16 May 2011.
- ↑ "Grumman F7F Tigercat/Bu. 80390". Lewis Air Legends. Retrieved: 23 February 2014.
- ↑ . FAA.gov. Retrieved: 28 May 2018.
- ↑ "Grumman F7F Tigercat/Bu. 80411". Palm Springs Air Museum. Retrieved: 23 February 2014.
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N909TC". FAA.gov. Retrieved: 16 May 2011.
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N6178C". FAA.gov. Retrieved: 16 May 2011.
- ↑ "Grumman F7F Tigercat/Bu. 80483". Historic Flight Foundation. Retrieved: 23 February 2014.
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N747MX". FAA.gov. Retrieved: 05 September 2013.
- ↑ "Grumman F7F Tigercat/Bu. 80503". Lewis Air Legends. Retrieved: 23 February 2014.
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N7195C". FAA.gov. Retrieved: 16 May 2011.
- ↑ "Grumman F7F Tigercat/Bu. 80373". National Naval Aviation Museum. Retrieved: 11 April 2012.
- ↑ "Grumman F7F Tigercat/Bu. 80382". Planes of Fame Museum. Retrieved: 13 December 2010. This aircraft was previously described as airworthy. As of this date (18 April 2017) it clearly is not. Stored at Planes of Fame, Chico, CA.
- ↑ "Grumman F7F Tigercat/Bu. 80410". Pima Air & Space Museum. Retrieved: 11 April 2012.
- ↑ "FAA Registry: N7626C". FAA.gov. Retrieved: 16 May 2011.
- ↑ Bridgman 1946, p. 233.
- Bibliography
- Bridgman, Leonard (ed.). "The Grumman Tigercat." Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.
- Carlson, Ted. "Semper Fi Tigercat". Flight Journal, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2008.
- Carr, Orrin I. "Fire 'Cat!" Air Classics, Vol. 12, No. 9, Sept. 1976. Canoga Park, CA: Challenge Publications, pp. 38–47.
- Dorr, Robert F. and David Donald. Fighters of the United States Air Force. London: Temple, 1990. ISBN 0-600-55094-X.
- Gault, Owen. "Grumman's Tiger Twins: The Skyrocket & Tigercat". Air Classics, Vol. 9, No. 8, Aug. 1973. Canoga Park, CA: Challenge Publications, pp. 22–27.
- Green, William. "Grumman F7F-1 – F7F-3 Tigercat". War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers) Ltd., 1961, pp. 106–108. ISBN 0-356-01448-7.
- Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Grumman F7F Tigercat". WW2 Fact Files: US Navy and Marine Corps Fighters. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1976, pp. 57–61. ISBN 0-356-08222-9.
- Grossnick, Roy A. and William J. Armstrong. United States Naval Aviation: 1910–1995. Annapolis, MA: Naval Historical Center, 1997. ISBN 0-16-049124-X.
- Legg, David. "Tigercat on camera". Aircraft Illustrated, Volume 24, no. 1, January 1991.
- Meyer, Corwin ("Corky") H. "F7F Tigercat: The Untold Story". Flight Journal, August 2002. Ridgefield, CT: AirAge Publications. pp. 48–56, 58.
- Morgan, Eric B. "Grumman F7F Tigercat F.7/30". Twentyfirst Profile, Volume 1, No. 11. New Milton, Hants, UK: 21st Profile Ltd. ISSN 0961-8120.
- Morgan, Eric B. "The Grumman Twins". Twentyfirst Profile, Volume 2, No. 15. New Milton, Hants, UK: 21st Profile Ltd. ISSN 0961-8120.
- O'Leary, Michael. "Tigercat Restoration". Air Classics, Vol. 38, No. 11, Nov. 2002. Canoga Park, CA: Challenge Publications.
- O'Leary, Michael. United States Naval Fighters of World War II in Action. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press, 1980. ISBN 0-7137-0956-1.
- Taylor, John W.R. "Grumman F7F Tigercat". Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
- Thruelsen, Richard. The Grumman Story. New York: Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1976. ISBN 0-275-54260-2.
- Zuk, Bill. Janusz Zurakowski: Legends in the Sky. St. Catharine's, Ontario: Vanwell, 2004. ISBN 1-55125-083-7.
External links
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