Grumman F8F Bearcat

The Grumman F8F Bearcat was a carrier-borne fighter which was in service with the US Navy from 1945 to 1955. It was an impressive combat aircraft, very maneuverable, and it was even faster than the F6F Hellcat. It was designed as a low to medium-altitude, piston-engine dogfighter. However, its destine was marred by the advent of the jet fighter.

Although it did not see combat action in WW2, The Grumman F8F did indeed fly combat sorties but for the French Navy against the Vietminh at the end of the French Indochina War (1946-1954) in the ground-attack role. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the US Navy decided not to commit Bearcats to combat, preferring to use the Vought F4U Corsair instead, because of the latter bomb-load capacity.

The prototype of the Bearcat, the XF8F-1, performed its maiden flight on June 25, 1944. It featured the first bubble canopy design for a navy combat aircraft. This featured improved visibility to a large degree. This prototype was equipped with the already proven Pratt & Whitney R-2800 series piston engine, with water injection. The first production aircraft was the F8F-1, which differed from the prototype in some details; to improve directional stability, a dorsal fin was added to the leading edge of the tail vertical stabilizer, and the span of the tail horizontal stabilizer was increased by 12 inches to improve longitudinal stability.

Technical Characteristics

The Grumman F8F Bearcat was a single-seat, single-engine monoplane. It was fitted with dihedral, low-wing, with square tip. Its outer third portion was foldable for carrier storage. Ailerons were located on the folding panel of wings, while the trailing edge flaps were on its fixed portion. Like the wing, the fuselage were of all-metal construction. The retractable landing gear featured long legs.

Specifications (F8F-2)

Type: naval fighter

Length: 8.38 m (27 feet, 6 inches)

Wingspan: 10.82 m (35 feet, 6 inches)

Wing Area: 22.7 square meters (244 sq. ft.)

Weight: 3,470 kg (7650 pounds)

Powerplant: one 2,250-HP, Prat & Whitney R-2800-30W, air-cooled, radial engine.

Maximum Speed: 719 km/h (447 mph)

Range: 1,770 km (1,100 miles)

Ceiling: 12,405 m (40,700 ft)

Armament: four 20-mm M3 cannons.

Below, front view of an F8F-1 variant parked at a naval airbase in California in 1946.

A Bearcat in flight from the USS Boxer carrier. Pilot: D.C. Caldwell in 1948.

 

Below, the F8F with outer wing panels folded.

 

Grumman F8F aircraft formation from Glenview Naval Air Station in 1949.