Grumman F7F "Tigercat"
Model Airplane News Cover Art for xxxy
by Jo Kotula
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The Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engined fighter aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed for the new Midway-class aircraft carriers, the aircraft were too large to operate from earlier decks. Although delivered to United States Marine Corps (USMC) combat units before the end of World War II, the Tigercat did not see combat servicer. Most F7Fs ended up in land-based service, as attack aircraft or night fighters; only the later F7F-4N was certified for carrier service in the Korean War. Theywere withdrawn from service in 1954.

  

Grumman F7F "Tigercat"
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Grumman's aim was to produce a figher that out-performed and out-gunned all existing fighter aircraft with an auxiliary ground attack capability. Armament was heavy: four 20 mm cannons and four 0.50 caliber machine guns, as well as underwing and under-fuselage hardpoints for bombs and torpedoes. Performance met expectations too; the F7F Tigercat was one of the highest-performance piston-engined fighters, with a top speed well in excess of the US Navy's single-engined aircraft—71 mph faster than a F6F Hellcat at sea level. The Grumman F7F was originally named the "Tomcat" but this name was rejected as it was considered at the time too suggestive. The name would much later be used for the Grumman F-14.

Here is a video of the Grumman F7F "Tigercat":

In addition to the cover of Model Airplane News, this airplane was also featured in the WINGS "Friend or Foe" trading card series of the early 1950s

Trading card representation of the Grumman F7F "Tigercat"
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