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American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is an incredible reference for anyone who is interested in any American Combat Plane History. There are 758 pages and 1700 b/w photos in this substantial labor of love by Ray Wagner, who has been passionately researching and writing about aircraft for over 50 years. Whether you are already familiar with his past works, or just discovering this accomplished author for the first time... This is the book that you've been waiting for!

If you'd like to see the book's Table of Contents ... Click here. You can also browse the entire Index Section to get an idea of the extensive amount of information that is covered within this book.

Search our site for other combat planes. A- 1 Eaton A- 4 Skyhawk A- 6 & A- 7 Air Weapons AV- 8 to A- 10 A- 20 Havoc A- 22 Martin Maryland A- 23 Martin Baltimore A- 24 Douglas A- 26 Douglas Invader Attack Planes B- 2A, F-111, F-117 Stealth B- 17 Flying Fortress B- 24 Liberator B- 25 North American B- 26 Marauder B- 29 Superfortress B- 32 Dominator B- 35 Flying Wing B- 36 B- 47 Stratojet B- 50 Boeing B- 52 Stratofortress B- 57 Canberra B- 58 Hustler Biplanes Biplanes, Army Pursuits Bombers, B- 70 to Stealth Bombers, First Big Curtiss Falcon CO- 1 DH- 4 De Havilland F3D- Douglas Skyknight F3H- McDonnell Demon F4D- 1 Skyray F4F Grumman Wildcats F- 4U Corsair F6F Grumman F7F Grumman F7U Vought F9F G. Cougar F9F G. Panther F- 16 Fighting Falcon F- 84 F- 86 Sabre F- 89 to F-94 F- 100 to F-108 First Fighters Flying Boats GAX Iraq to Afghanistan Martin Bombers Missile Era Fighters Navy Fighers Navy Flying Boats O- 2 Douglas P- 35 Seversky P- 36 to 42 Curtiss P- 38 Lightning P- 39 Airacobra P- 40 Line P- 47 Thunderbolt P- 51 Mustang Fighter P- 61 Black Widow P- 63 Kingcobra P- 79 to P-81 P- 82 Twin Mustang SB2C Helldiver TBF-TBM Avenger Thomas-Morse Torpedo Planes V- 11 Vultee XB -28 XP -48 / 77

F7F Grumman

Page 1

Too Late For The War
The Navy launched several new fighter projects from 1941 to 1944, but none actually was in time to fight the war against Japan. On the same day, June 30, 1941, that the Navy ordered the Hellcat prototypes, it also ordered two prototypes each of the Curtiss XF14C-1 and the Grumman XF7F-l. GRUMMAN XF7F-1

Grumman’s twin-engine XF7F-l Tigercat began with Wright XR-2600-14 Cyclones like the Hellcat, but shifted to Pratt & Whitney engines.

The first Navy fighter with tricycle landing gear first flew November 2, 1943, with short shoulder-high square-tip wings that folded upwards outboard of two R-2800-27 Wasps rated as 1,600 hp at 13,500 feet. Large spinners were fitted to the three-blade Hamilton props.

The second XF7F-1 was flown March 2, 1944, with R-2800-22 Wasps giving 1,600 hp at 16,000 feet. Production aircraft would get the R-2800-22W whose water injection would yield 1,850 hp and raise the expected top speed from 412 to 427 mph. While the prototypes had no guns, production F7F-1 Tigercats had the heaviest armament yet seen on a Navy fighter.

GRUMMAN F7F-1 GRUMMAN F7F-2N

The pilot sat ahead of the wings with four .50-caliber guns mounted low in the pointed nose with 1,200 rounds. Four 20-mm guns with 800 rounds were in the wing roots. Armor protection included 283 pounds for the pilot and 94 pounds for the oil system. Fittings under the wings could carry two 1,000-pound bombs or 150-gallon drop tanks. An alternative rack under the fuselage was available for a 300-gallon tank, 2,000-pound bomb, or even a standard Mk 13-3 torpedo. This weapon had been tested for the first time on an F6F-3 fighter in June 1943, but no service fighter ever launched a torpedo in combat.

Because of concerns about how the twin-engine fighter’s weight and nose wheel would actually work on carriers, the 500 Tigercats on order were intended for land-based Marine Corps squadrons. The first of 34 F7F-1 single-seaters was delivered on April 29, 1944. Since all were provided with APS-6 radar in the nose, they were redesignated F7F-1N by the time deliveries were completed in October. Actual top speed was increased from 412 to 422 mph with War Emergency power. Performances given here from Navy documents are much more conservative than those supplied by the company.

The third Tigercat was accepted as an XF7F-2N two-seater in July 1944 with a radar operator seated behind the pilot, reducing fuel capacity. Then delivery of 65 F7F-2Ns two-seaters began October 31, 1944, with armor protection increased to 487 pounds for the crew and 101 pounds for the oil system, and eight 5-inch rockets could be added below the wings.

GRUMMAN F7F-3

New R-2800-34W Wasps and a higher fin appeared on the single-place F7F-3 first flown on March 10, 1945, with APS-6 radar, 488 pounds of armor, eight guns, and eight rockets or up to 4,000 pounds of bombs or 300 gallons in drop tanks. Cancellations limited deliveries to 144 F7F-3s by January 1946, including 61 modified in 1945 to the F7F-3P camera configuration, and one that became the XF7F-4.

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