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Grumman F7F-4N Tigercat

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Grumman Aerospace Grumman F7F-4N Tigercat 

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

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History Grumman Aerospace
Grumman F7F-4N Tigercat

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.

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

Performance of the prototype and initial production aircraft met expectations; the F7F was one of the fastest piston-engine fighters, with a top speed significantly greater than single-engine USN aircraft — 71 mph faster than a Grumman F6F Hellcat at sea level.[3] Captain Fred Trapnell, one of the premier USN test pilots of the era, stated: "It's the best damn fighter I've ever flown."[4] The F7F was to be heavily-armed — 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. This speed and firepower 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.[5] The initial production series was, therefore, used only from land bases by the USMC, as night fighters with APS-6 radar.Wiki Link

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Grumman F7F-4N Tigercat

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Grumman F7F-4N Tigercat

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General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 45 ft 4 in (13.82 m)
• Wingspan: 51 ft 6 in (15.70 m)
• Height: 16 ft 7 in (5.05 m)
• Wing area: 455 sq ft (42.3 m²)
• Airfoil: root: NACA 23015; tip: NACA 23012

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Powerplant

• Empty weight:  (7,380 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: (11,666 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 2,100 hp (1,600 kW) each
• Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed fully-feathering propellers

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Specifications

• Maximum speed: Mach 2.34 (1,544 mph, 2,485 km/h) at altitude
• Range: 1,600 nmi 3,000 km)
• Combat range: (580 mi, 930 km)
• Service ceiling: (16,000 m) plus
• g limits: +7.5 g (+6.5 g  limit)
• Rate of climb: 45,000 ft/min (230 m/s) plus

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Armament

• • Guns:
    
    • 4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) AN/M3 cannon (200 rpg, wing roots)
    • 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun (400 rpg, in nose) (normal fighter versions only; replaced by radar unit in the -3N nightfighter)
  • Bombs:
    
    • 2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs, or
    • 8 x 127mm unguided rockets under wings and
    • 1 x 150 gallon fuel or napalm tank under fuselage, or
    • 1 × torpedo under fuselage (day fighter only)

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Beginning in 1949, F7Fs were flown to the then-U.S. Navy storage facility at Naval Air Station Litchfield Park, Arizona. 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.

Grumman F7F-4N Tigercat

The F-14 Tomcat was designed as both an air superiority fighter and a long-range naval interceptor.

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At the time of filming, the only recognizable star in the movie was Tom Cruise, who was known as a teen idol from 1983’s “Risky Business.”.

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