Grumman F8F Bearcat
Grumman F8F Bearcats prepare for takeoff
Description
Role	Naval carrier fighter
Crew	1
First flight	21 August 1944
Entered service	21 May 1945
Manufacturer	Grumman
Dimensions
Length	28 ft 3 in	8.6 m
Wingspan	35 ft 10 in	10.9 m
Height	13 ft 10 in	4.2 m
Wing area	ft²	m²
Weights
Empty	7,070 lb	3,210 kg
Loaded	lb	kg
Maximum takeoff	12,947 lb	5,870 kg
Powerplant
Engine	Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double Wasp radial
Power	2,100 hp	1,600 kW
Performance
Maximum speed	421 mph	680 km/h
Combat range	miles	km
Ferry range	1,105 miles	1,780 km
Service ceiling	38,700 ft	11,800 m
Rate of climb	4570 ft/min	1,390 m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Power/Mass	hp/lb	kW/kg
Armament
Guns	4 × 20 mm cannon
Bombs	2 × 1,000 lb bombs	2 × 450 kg bombs
Rockets	4 × 5 in (127 mm) rockets
Other

The Grumman F8F Bearcat (affectionately called "Bear") was the company's final piston engined fighter aircraft. Designed for the interceptor fighter role, the design team's aim was to create the smallest, lightest fighter that could fit around the Pratt & Whitney R2800 engine (carried over from the F6F Hellcat) and the armament of four 20mm cannon. Compared to its predecessor, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, had a 30% better rate of climb, and was 50 mph (80 km/h) faster. In comparison with the Vought F4U Corsair, the Bearcat was marginally slower but was more manuverable and climbed faster. Many features of its design were inspired by a captured Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter that had been handed over to the Grumman facilities. F8F Bearcat fighters prepare to take off from the USS Valley Forge. ... Pratt & Whitney R-2800 The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was an aircraft engine, and part of the long-lived Wasp family. ... The Grumman logo The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading producer of military and civilian aircraft of the 20th century. ... Components of a typical, four stroke cycle, DOHC piston engine. ... The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was an aircraft engine, and part of the long-lived Wasp family. ... The Grumman F6F Hellcat started development as an improved F4F Wildcat, but turned into a completely new design sharing a family resemblance to the Wildcat but with no shared parts. ... Chance Vought F4U Corsair The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a fighter aircraft that saw service in World War II and the Korean War. ... Focke-Wulf Fw 190A in flight. ...

The F8F prototypes were ordered in November 1943 and first flew on 21 August 1944, a mere nine months later. The first production aircraft was delivered in February 1945 and the first squadron was operational by 21 May, but World War II was over before the aircraft saw combat service. 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as...

Postwar, the F8F became a major Navy fighter, equipping 24 fighter squadrons. Often mentioned as one of best (if not the best) handling piston-engine fighters ever built, their performance was such that they outmatched even many early jets, but that advantage was eventually eclipsed; the Grumman F9F Panther and McDonnell F2H Banshee largely replaced it in USN service. The Grumman F9F Panther was the manufacturers first jet fighter and the US Navys second. ...

Other nations that flew the Bearcat included the French and Thai air forces. French aircraft saw combat service in French Indochina as fighter-bombers in the early 1950s. French Indochina was a federation of French colonies and protectorates in Southeast Asia, part of the French colonial empire. ... // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ...

A small number of Bearcats survive; approximately eleven are airworthy, eight are restored for static display and approximately a dozen are wrecks or restoration projects. Bearcats have been fairly popular in air racing, and one, Rare Bear owned by Lyle Shelton is the holder of the record as the "fastest propeller-driven aircraft in the world" (averaged over a 3km course) at 528.33 mph (850.26 km/h), set in 1989. However, this claim should more correctly be expressed as the "fastest piston-engined, propeller-driven aircraft in the world". The propeller-driven but turboprop powered Russian Tupolev Tu-20 Bear bomber is faster.-1... A schematic diagram showing the operation of a turboprop engine. ... The Tupolev Tu-95 (NATO reporting name Bear) is the most successful Tupolev strategic bomber and missile carrier from the times of the Soviet Union. ...

On August 25, 1946 the Blue Angels transitioned to the Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat and introduced the famous "diamond" formation.

Image File history File links Blue_Angels_Bearcats. ... Image File history File links Blue_Angels_Bearcats. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... US Navy Blue Angels in tight diamond formation. ...

Trivia

• When asked his favorite aircraft to fly, Neil Armstrong's immediate and unequivocal answer was, "Bearcat."

Neil Alden Armstrong (born August 5, 1930) is a former American test pilot and astronaut who was the first man to walk on the Moon. ...

Related content

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

F8F Bearcat

Designation sequence: Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

F5F - F6F - F7F - F8F - F9F - F10F - F11F The Grumman XF5F Skyrocket was a prototype of a twin-engine shipboard fighter interceptor to which Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation applied the model number G-34. ... The Grumman F6F Hellcat started development as an improved F4F Wildcat, but turned into a completely new design sharing a family resemblance to the Wildcat but with no shared parts. ... The Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engined fighter aircraft design to enter service with the United States Navy. ... The Grumman F9F Panther was the manufacturers first jet fighter and the US Navys second. ... The Grumman F10F Jaguar was a prototype swing-wing fighter aircraft offered to the US Navy in the early 1950s. ... The F-11 Tiger was a United States Navy fighter aircraft of the late 1950s and early 1960s. ...

Related lists:

• List of military aircraft of the United States
• List of fighter aircraft

External links: This list of military aircraft of the United States includes prototype, pre-production and operational types. ... A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ...

• Aircraft.co.za - The Complete Aviation Reference