Grumman F7F Tigercat

The Grumman F7F Tigercat was a twin‑engine fighter‑bomber built by Grumman for the United States Navy and Marine Corps during the later years of World II. First flown in June 1943, it entered service in 1944 but saw limited combat in the Pacific because its size and weight made carrier operations difficult. Designed as the Navy’s first twin‑engine carrier‑capable fighter, the Tigercat featured two powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines, a streamlined fuselage, and a tricycle landing gear that was unusual for its time. Its armament was formidable: four 20 mm cannons and four .50‑caliber machine guns in the nose, plus provisions for rockets or a bomb load up to 2 000 lb. The aircraft could reach 460 mph and had a combat radius exceeding 700 mi, giving it superior speed and range compared with single‑engine contemporaries. After the war the F7F was deployed with Marine squadrons in Korea, where its night‑fighting and ground‑attack capabilities proved valuable. Though it was quickly superseded by jet aircraft, the Tigercat demonstrated the viability of large, heavily‑armed twin‑engine fighters and influenced later designs such as the Grumman F9F Panther and the carrier‑based attack aircraft that followed.

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Grumman F7F Tigercat

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