Grumman "Cats" - F7F Tigercat, F4F Wildcat, F8F Bearcat, And F6F Hellcat

Discussing Grumman's F7F 3P Tigercats, F4F 3 Wildcat, F8F 2 Bearcat and F6F Hellcat.
Grumman's claim to fame in the aerospace field is their iconic Big Cat line of Navy fighters, dating back to the F4F Wildcat in the late 1930s. The carrier-borne fighter designs that began with the Wildcat and ended with the F-14 Tomcat of “Top Gun” fame were chiefly fighters; their names were taken from different feline species or, during the World War II years, a derivative of the “cat” name with an adjective in front of it. Grumman’s first fighters for the U.S. Navy were barrel-chested biplanes, known only as the F2F and F3F; they had no nicknames.

It is striking how few different types of the US Navy operated during World War II, particularly from carriers, and how nearly all of them were either totally brilliant or just awful.

The Grumman Aerospace Corporation now known as Northrop Grumman made history by providing combat-proven carrier fighters to the United States Navy. Each of these incredible fighter aircraft was not only advanced for their day but would have Grumman’s unique style of being named after cats that became near-synonymous with Grumman’s Navy fighters.

Join this channel to support it:
   / @dronescapes  
Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes, and their stories, and missions:    / @dronescapes  

F4F Wildcat General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.76 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA 23015; tip: NACA 23009
Empty weight: 4,907 lb (2,226 kg)
Gross weight: 7,423 lb (3,367 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,200 hp (890 kW)
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance

Maximum speed: 331 mph (533 km/h, 288 kn)
Range: 845 mi (1,360 km, 734 nmi)
Service ceiling: 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,303 ft/min (11.70 m/s)
Wing loading: 28.5 lb/sq ft (139 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.282 kW/kg (0.172 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns: 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns with 450 rounds per gun
Bombs: 2 × 100 lb (45.4 kg) bombs and/or 2 × 58 US gal (48 imp gal; 220 l) drop tanks

F7F Tigercat 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
Empty weight: 16,270 lb (7,380 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 25,720 lb (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
Performance

Maximum speed: 460 mph (740 km/h, 400 kn)
Range: 1,200 mi (1,900 km, 1,000 nmi)
Service ceiling: 40,400 ft (12,300 m)
Rate of climb: 4,530 ft/min (23.0 m/s)
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 the nose) (normal fighter versions only; replaced by radar unit in the -3N night fighter)
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 the fuselage, or
1 × torpedo under the fuselage (day fighter only)
Avionics
AN/APS-19 radar

F6F Hellcat General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 33 ft 7 in (10.24 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)
Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
Wing area: 334 sq ft (31.0 m2)
Aspect ratio: 5.5
Airfoil: root: NACA 23015.6; tip: NACA 23009
Empty weight: 9,238 lb (4,190 kg)
Gross weight: 12,598 lb (5,714 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 15,415 lb (6,992 kg)
Fuel capacity: 250 US gal (208 imp gal; 946 L) internal; up to 3 × 150 US gal (125 imp gal; 568 L) external drop tanks
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0211
Drag area: 7.05 sq ft (0.655 m2)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) with a two-speed two-stage supercharger and water injection
Propellers: 3-bladed Hamilton Standard, 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m) diameter constant-speed propeller
Performance

Maximum speed: 391 mph (629 km/h, 340 kn)
Stall speed: 84 mph (135 km/h, 73 kn)
Combat range: 945 mi (1,521 km, 821 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,530 mi (2,460 km, 1,330 nmi)
Service ceiling: 37,300 ft (11,400 m)
Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13 m/s)
Time to altitude: 20,000 ft (6,096 m) in 7 minutes 42 seconds
Lift-to-drag: 12.2
Wing loading: 37.7 lb/sq ft (184 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.26 kW/kg)
Take-off run: 799 ft (244 m)

The final production version, the F7F-4N, was extensively rebuilt for additional strength and stability, and did pass carrier qualification, but only 12 were built.
#aircraft #airplane #worldwar