Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Dr. Strangelove]

Twin-engined carrier fighter-bomber, later multi-role as attacker, nightfighter, etc.
First twin-engined fighter aircraft to enter service with USN, first carrier-based twin-engine aircraft with tricycle landing gear to go into production.



The very sleek fuselage was designed with a small cross section and the shoulder-mounted wings carried the powerful engines in nacelles, which helped to make the F7F faster than its single-engined sisters (71 mph faster than F6F Hellcat in level flight!).
The wings were hinged outboard of the engines. The tricycle landing gear was unusual at the time, with the main gear retracting rearwards into the engine nacelles and the nose gear retracting in the same fashion.



Two M2 cannons were fitted in each of the wing roots, while the four M2 Browning machine guns were mounted on the underside of the fuselage.
One 1000 lb bomb could be fitted on a hardpoint between the wing root and engine nacelle (one for each wing), or a single torpedo could be dropped from the centerline of the fuselage.

Visibility from the cockpit was good except to the sides and rear. F7Fs also boasted the best range of all naval fighter aircraft for its time.
But the all-metal construction made for a heavy aircraft with high wing loading, and pilots had to contend with a high landing speed. And like many aircraft, you could end up in an unrecoverable flat spin if you were not careful.

The Tigercat was a fast, powerful fighter aircraft and had the potential to make quite an impact in the wars of its time, had it been introduced earlier.

History

Code: [Select]

Development began in 1941; design goal was to produce an aircraft with superior firepower and performance to contemporary fighters, with secondary ground attack capabilities (easier said than done...).
This was to be accomplished by combining 4x 20mm cannons, 4x 12.7mm machine guns, several ordnance hardpoints, and 2x Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasps (same powerplant as little sister F8F Bearcat), all in the same sleek airframe.
Aircraft carriers up to that time could not support such a large plane, so they were to be used on the planned Midway-class carriers.
Originally nicknamed "Tomcat", but that was considered too racy for prudish types, so it was named "Tigercat" instead.

The USMC was so impressed with Grumman's papers that they bought 500 of them before the prototype had flown.
Contract for the project signed on 30 June 1941, and a prototype XF7F-1 first flew on 2 November 1943. Deliveries began April 1944.
Initial production batches revealed problems with the arresting hook design, and difficulty with control in the event of one engine failure.
As a result the F7F failed carrier suitability trials. These early examples were instead fitted with APS-6 radar and put to good use as land-based nightfighters by the USMC.
First generation Tigercats built through the 34th production aircraft were single-seaters, afterwards a second seat for a radar operator was added.

The next version, F7F-3, also failed carrier qualifications. The problems with early batches were rectified, but a hard landing caused a wing failure during trials, so once again the Tigercat remained out of the naval fleet.
The F7F-3 was adopted for new roles in addition to day/nightfighter - photo-reconnaissance and electronic warfare.

The final variant, F7F-4N, finally passed carrier suitability trials, but a total of only 12 examples were built.

Production of all types total 365 built.

Although delivered to USMC squadrons before the end of WWII, it was too late to see combat. Interestingly, the Marine Corps intended her for a CAS role in the Pacific island hopping campaign.
She would get her chance to fight in the Korean War with VMF(N)-513, they claimed 2x Polikarpov Po-2 with F7F-3Ns during its combat service.
They also escorted B-29s before the introduction of new jet fighters, at which time they were phased out of combat roles. Evaluated and rejected by Royal Navy snobs.
Ultimately withdrawn from service in 1954.

But she lived on, working as a firefighter until the late 80s. Today only 5-7 are still airworthy.

Variants

Code: [Select]

XP-65
    Proposed U.S. Army Air Force 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. Exchanged an onboard fuel tank for radar equipment and extra seat.
F7F-2D
    Small numbers of F7F-2Ns converted into drone control aircraft. The aircraft were fitted with an 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, 189 built. Gained more fuel tanks for 7% increased fuel capacity and an enlarged vertical stabilizer (one source claims 30% larger!), at the cost of the 4x machine guns.
F7F-3N Tigercat
    Two-seat night fighter aircraft, 60 built. Radar placed in a newly lengthened nose, where the guns used to be!
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 arrestor hook and other naval equipment, 13 built. Reinforced structure for carrier operations.

Specifications

Code: [Select]

F7F-4N

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
Avionics: AN/APS-19 radar

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:
4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) M2 cannon
4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun
2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs under wings
or
1 × torpedo under fuselage

F7F-3N 3-View



Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_F7F_Tigercat
http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=370
http://www.warbirdalley.com/f7f.htm
http://www.aviationtrivia.info/Grumman-F7F-Tigercat.php
http://forum.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/title/Prehled-verzi/t/21609 (links to pages with specs + diagrams of major variants)
http://www.uswarplanes.net/ (navigate to F7F page - it is a great resource for s/n + production info)
http://www.wings-aviation.ch/21-USNavy/000-Navy-Aircraft-neu-e.htm (navigate to F7F page - many good color profiles)

http://combatace.com/topic/69241-f7f-3n-cockpit-details/ (best source on the cockpit I could find)

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/f7f/F7F-1_80262.pdf
and
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/f7f/F7F-1_Airplane_Characteristics_Performance.pdf (the brave modders will need this wealth of technical info to complete her)

[Sid]

Beautiful aircraft, thanks for the request