Grumman F7F Tigercat: Airailimages Warplane Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- The big Grumman F7F Tigercat was the Navy's first production twin-
engine propeller-driven fighter and first production tricycle gear fighter. Expanding on earlier prototype fighters, the F7F arrived as World War II was ending and the jet age was dawning. The Tigercat made a good showing as a 435 mph fighter, but its days were numbered. The Marine Corps took F7F nightfighters into combat over Korea. Designed to carry heavy ordnance, Tigercats were suited to use as civilian air tankers from the late 1950s into the 1970s. A handful of former firefighting Tigercats have been restored and as this video is released, Tigercats may still be seen on the airshow circuit. Here's a look at several of this cat's nine lives in rare photos, film, and video. Give this video a Thumbs Up and subscribe to the Airailimages Channel on TH-cam to see more of our special Warplane Review programs. Thanks.
A NOTE ABOUT RANGE PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS: In the video, we used typical sources to come up with comparison speeds and ranges for the F7F-3, the P-51D, and the P-47N. Subsequent research shows why this topic is fraught with inconsistency. Our original source for the P-47N said range was 800 miles; a different Air Force document says "combat radius" for the P-47N is 800 miles, but "combat range" is 1,705 miles (with both figures in nautical miles). Likewise, the range for the P-51D is likely to go considerably higher with drop tanks.
Here's a look at an issue of Airailimages Video Magazine; take a look: • AIRAILIMAGES VIDEO MAG...
#f7ftigercat
Don't miss the A-20 Warplane Review from Airailimages: th-cam.com/video/WG3K0rG-EJ0/w-d-xo.html
My father was Gordon Israel and he was the project engineer on the F7F and I still have one of the three original proposal models hanging in my living room, the F7F was dads favorite airplane of all that he had worked on from his own Red head, Mr Mullagan, The SAAC 23 (Learjet )to the B1 Bomber, the last Airplane he worked on. thank you for a great prestation my Dad would be proud.
And thank you for your kind words, and for adding your family story. That's really special. Gordon Israel has a great list of aircraft that he contributed to.
Wow, Tigercat and B1 :o That's pretty incredible - and I'm very jealous of that proposal model you've got lol.
You can hear the pride you have in your father AWESOME
Thank you sir for sharing this story about your dad. You must be incredibly proud of him and rightly so. I love airplanes and flying as well as history. This story of your father will be remembered.
Deepest respect for you father sir. Thank you very much for sharing this story and piece of aviation history. What it must been like to be this man’s son.
One of the most beautiful warbirds I've ever seen.
We agree!
No wonder.... It is from Grumman, and named CAT.
Agreed!
It's mind-boggling how beautiful the Tigercat is.
I love the thin and sleek fuselage, this bird is a beauty, especially in flight and seen from the front, wow. Great video for a rare machine.
What a beautiful aircraft, beautiful, fast and deadly.
I always believed the P-51D was the most gorgeous plane ever built, until the first time I saw a picture of an F7F. I was 14 years old. The orange tanker paint scheme is beautiful. Such a sleek and smooth plane. Beutiful and deadly.
Thank you for watching and for commenting. Yes, the F7F is a beauty.
The Tigercat is probably the most beautiful prop driven plane Grumman has ever produced, as their previous aircraft while legendarily tough and reliable (earning the company the monicker Grumman Ironworks) were functional looking.
My dad was an engine mechanic in the pacific and he couldn’t believe the tigercat, loved it
That thing is GORGEOUS
Boy, they sure knew how to build 'em then.
Love all of the "cats".
Yup!
This has to be one of the sweetest sounding airplanes I've ever heard! Thanks for this video!
You are very welcome.
You are absolutely correct. The sound of the engines is even more impressive than the stunning looks of the plane.
The F7F and the P51 are to me the absolute most beautiful aircraft produced during the WWII years. The lines of both are fantastic. For a twin like this to be so clean it’s looks bely it’s size. Thanks for the great footage.
You are very welcome. Thanks for watching.
Beautiful plane 2 years to late. It's look's so graceful from any angle.
Fantastic. I worked for Sis-Q flying service 1963 thru 1965 as gofer apprentice mechanic, fuel service an even mixed slurry and ran the reload pit during fire missions.
There were 2 belly tanks operated on the F7f ‘s kritzberg and the Stevenson the first kritzberg tank held 1000 gallons the rest we’re capable of 1200 gallons but were reduced to 1000 by a balk head installed in the AFF of the tank. This was done to prevent the aircraft from sitting down on the tail skid or tail hook. As the aircraft sat loaded on contract the thicker ( borate or bentonite clay) would settle and the CG would move aft then the aircraft would drop down on the skid ( you can see the airplanes in Korea parked in this position for security in the weather) this CG was within limits for flight but looked funny on the tanker bases.
The Stevenson tank held 830 gallons.
When we installed the bulkhead we had the Siskiyou county weights and measures come out and certify the tanks.
Sis-Q operated 4 tigercat’s during the period I worked there with all 3 of the tanks I mentioned
Thanks for adding that great detailed history. I'm going to add that to my notes about air tankers. And thanks for watching.
Thanks I have some photos from back then and I can give some history of the the aircraft I worked on some still survive if you are Interested.
My gramp's worked for sis-q back then
AS a young Marine mechanic my father got to sit in the back seat of a Tigercat during a test flight. Thrill of a lifetime.
Thanks for watching, and for adding your family story.
Growing up, my favorite models were the Spitfire, Mosquito, F-86 Sabre, Black Widow, Focke-Wulf Fw 190, P-38, and P-47 Thunderbolt... I'm surprised I never built a model of the Tigercat!
Well, there's still time to build one now! Hey, thanks for watching.
This aircraft has not been kitted very often. In 1/72 scale i think only by Monogram many years ago. This kit can still be found now and again. In 1/48 scale there is an old Revell kit around sometimes reboxed by other brands. There is no modern kit. A remarkable gap in the market.
The most beautiful piston plane ever.
One of the few up there with the P-38 Lightnings. Like them, it just _looks_ right.
Yes, a Tigercat is a majestic sight in flight, or even parked on the ground. Thanks for watching.
One of my favorite all time Warbirds. To bad they couldn't have seen action in WWll, they would have been very impressive!
one of the most incredible airplanes from a company known for producing incredible airplanes!
Yes -- the Tigercat is a beauty in the air and on the ground, with great performance pushing the limits of piston fighters.
Easily the best show on the F7F! This has it all, from a good bit of history to some great footage. What a beauty plane..
Thank you very much for watching, and for your kind comments.
Two big ass radial engines, two big props, body like a fighter jet = Sexy airplane.
Such a modern looking aircraft for the time it was designed. When you look at planes from 1931 to this in 1941 it's really incredible.
Yes, a great design capitalizing on what was known around the end of the piston-engine fighter era. Thanks for watching!
Always loved the f-7 and f-8..."sorry" they didn't see ww2, so to speak. Anyway it's always nice to see quality video of either, and this is the nicest collection of f-7f video I've ever seen...(for what that's worth...). Outstanding airailimages !!! Thankyou so much. You are responsible for making available so many wonderful aviation goodies ! -Kevin
Thank you very much for your gracious comments.
I love the F7F 2 N Tigercat. My Uncle flew in one in the backseat the GIB and radar operator from the USS Midway back in the late 40's and early 50's in the US Navy. As a child he would always talk to me about the flights he was on and I loved listening to him and my Dad talk about this. My Dad was a Marine on the ground 44 to 60 in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam.
Thanks for watching, and thanks for commenting.
I am confused as to how your dad flew a f7f 2 off of the Midway back in the 40's when the only f7f that was carrier qualified was the f7f-4 and there were only 12 of that model built and they went to vmf -513 and 513 was never deployed on the Midway. Vmf - 513 was based out of Japan . The -4 model did not get carrier qualified till 1951 and they were all pulled out of service around June of 1954. Just curious if your father had some sort of special time machine that he took a -4 model back in time to fly it off of the U.S.S. Midway ?
This is an exceptional video. THANK YOU!!!
Glad you liked it!
Those two radial engines looks like biceps on Popeye. I concur, beautiful.
I've long held that the F7F is one of the best looking airplanes of all time, right up there with the P-51. =PC=
Sleek, slim, and powerful. Thanks for watching.
I witnessed an excellent aerial display of an F-7 at Reno in 2017. The hair is still standing up on my neck to this day! Five *****.
That engine sound is like music.
Yes -- the two most musical warbirds I can think of are the F7F and P-38. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I saw Bad Kitty fly at an air show and they are awe inspiring.
Always love a good look, along with some history on WWII aircraft. Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome! Thanks for watching.
I am pleased to see the F-7. There is little promotion of a fine airplane !
Thanks for watching!
I’ve long liked the lines of the F7F3’s. The growl of those twin R2800 P&W’s, the amazing climb rate and inherent maneuverability made for a very good twin in my opinion. The airplane has a machismo like no other. Thank you for a great video of one of my favorites. The Tigercat! WOW 🤩 WHAT AN AIRPLANE! 👍❤️
First time I saw a Tigercat, it was an air tanker fighting a fire near Ukiah, California. Beautiful even with a big slipper retardant tank slung onto the fuselage. Thank you for watching, and for commenting.
5 months later. I just couldn’t resist a ‘rerun’ of this wonderful video. They say a second helping is better. The Tigercat is such a pleasing airplane to take in. Visually pleasing and the visceral snarl of those R-2800’s never fails to raise the hair on my arms. I’d love to go for a ride in one. It seems very maneuverable for a heavy twin engine fighter and must have a good roll rate. I love watching an F7F perform aerobatics.Thank you again for this video and the many other aviation videos.
A great video. Done better than a number of others I've watched. Well done.
Thank you very much for your gracious comments.
I would like to see a comparison of the P-38 to the F-7F. The P-38 is still my favorite. Thanks for the video, a very good history of an outstanding aircraft.
And the P-38 will be a topic of a future Airailimages Warplane Review...
That’s what I was thinking
Not better or worse, different. The P38 had counter rotating engines, which gives it one of the best at stall behaviors of any of the WW2 fighters (and at a very low speed), and under combat flap setting it's one of the most maneuverable planes out there. One of the only planes with boosted ailerons of the time (late J+). F7F wasn't really designed as a fighter as much of it was an interceptor, which it would excell at. Great climb, great dive, much heavier armement than the single engine fighters of the timeframe. With 3 more 20mm over the P38 it's gun armament was deadly. These attributes all make for a great night fighter, which was what it did the most in combat. It would have been a great kamakaze interceptor, which I think was a role it was intended to fill, and paired with the much shorter range / low altitude Bearcats and excellent mid-high alt F4U-4/5s would have been a formidable group in the Pac had the war went further toward 46.
I just asked Greg of Greg's Aircraft essentially this same question.
This plane is only equaled in beauty by the Mosquito Bomber . Beautiful beautiful plane .
seachers The Tigercat was a more beautiful, faster, cleaner than a mosquito !! !
From the same stable as the Mosquito, the De Havilland Sea Hornet was cleaner and even faster than the superb Grumman Tigercat.
One of the most beautiful aircraft ever buiit.
Also thank Grumman for designing and building such a beautiful plan. Great Video, I like the shots of the F7F and TBM Air Tankers at Ukiah. Stayed at a motel across the street from the Airport and saw the F7F and TBM take off at the same time.
Thank you for watching, and adding your comments.
The Tigercat - two of the most powerful engines available installed on the smallest possible wing to lift the weight and a fuselage just large enough to house the crew and armament.
Lovely sleek looking plane. Thanks.🇬🇧
You are welcome. Thanks for watching.
Nicely done video. Beautiful airplane. My first Foreman at Grumman started his career building F7F's. RIP, Kenny.
avec ses 2 énormes moteurs et son fuselage si fin, quel look!! je l'ai vu 2 fois en meeting
en France dans les années 80, big souvenir!!! j 'adore vos vues d'atterrissage de l'arrière
merci beaucoup
Vous êtes toujours la bienvenue!
The most beautiful piston engined aircraft (civil or miltary) I have ever seen - I saw one fly for a while at Duxford in the UK in the 1990's - absolutely amazing anthe engine noise wow !!!!
The American Mosquito, just a bit too late into the war for which it was developed.
I still remember the first time I saw one in a museum as a kid, even then I was awestruck with its beautiful design. I would say this is easily the best looking twin-radial ever built. The Hughes H-1 probably gets the nod for single engine, and the Super Connie for quad.
We were so lucky that the firefighting operations existed in the 50s - I crew a TBM Avenger which was pictured in the fire video portion, and it's likely that neither of these planes would still exist had they not found a job to do back then.
Ugh the Tigercat - just an enigma of the warbird world. Ive seen everything in person flying around the airshow circuits with the TBM; Mosquitoes, 109s, etc, - never an F7F. :'(
Has always Mr Johnsen a fantastic video. Thank you for being a veteran. And thank you for the air rail images channel. May God bless you always.
Thank you for your kind words. And just to be clear, I was an Air Force civilian employee who had the opportunity to participate in worldwide missions, so I don't have veteran status, but I thank veterans too!
@@airailimages I am a proud Marine veteran and I thank you for your service in any capacity. The civilian support groups are essential to any mission. God bless you and your family.
Excellent choice of video clips, particularly the Reno sequences and the other air show flying. I've heard it said that airplanes that "look" right tend to fly right. Spitfire, P-51, Sea Fury, et al. That's not to say that some looked good on the ground but didn't make it past prototype. But the F7F looks fast, is fast. Really well done vid. Thanks.
Thank you for your comments. Yes, the Tigercat has that neat blend of looks and performance.
Thanks, my favorite of all time
Glad you enjoy it!
WHAT A FANTASTIC VIDEO AND CHANNEL !! WOW .. KEEP UP THE AWESOME WORK !!
Thank you very much. We appreciate it!
Fred Johnson. In closing I wanted to again say thank you for this captivating video and the other great videos that you’ve produced. It’s through these videos that I live out that unrequited dream of flight. All the best to you sir. God bless you. 🛫
Thank you very much for your kind and gracious words. It is my pleasure to make videos and stories like this, and I am happy that you enjoy them.
Excellent production.
Much appreciated!
Beautiful presentation. today I got it for xplane12 simulator and flied it a lot. Such a brilliant design and pleasure to fly
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and commenting.
You taught me so much about this aircraft I knew very little about. Thank you.
Thank you for watching and for commenting. This stuff is fun!
What a BEAUTIFUL ✈️
Yes it is!
The coolest dual engine plane ever.....I wish it would have arrived in time for ww2 because it would have been a legend I bet.
The Grumman Tigercat is such a sleak looking Aircraft love that beautifully airodinamic body and the twin engines quite a powerful machine. I had no idea the wings could fold. But I should've known that as it's a Navy and Marines Aircraft. Super TigerCat!👍✌️🇭🇲🦘🐨❤❤❤
Thank you for watching and commenting. Yes, the Tigercat is a great-looking design at the end of the piston-engine fighter era.
Definitely an aircraft that few know about, and a wonderful design. Shame it had such a short service life with the military. Now I’ve go to do some research!
Thanks for watching!
A very well done mini documentary.
Thank you very much for watching and for commenting.
@@airailimages great music in the video....perfect for the subject.
That is one hell of a nice looking plane.
Another good F7F video. Wing Installation at Planes of Fame.
Worked with one at the Minter Field Air Show.👍🇺🇸❤
Bet that was a good gig.
Love those round engine airplanes
Great video and very informational !
I'm a die hard Mossie fan but that thing is gorgeous and very capable.
brustar and the Tiger cat was faster than a Mosquito !!!!
Ahh...yes....the skies above Bethpage Long Island were once alive with the sounds of P&W 2800s...hard to believe Grumman left Long Island 26 years ago...
Such a beautiful airplane
Yes it is. Thanks for watching and commenting.
The test bed for
the sallying-forth-nose F-7F "Tigercat" was
the no-nose XF-5F (optimistically named) "Skyrocket" 1:35
Elegance
“FIRST CLASS”
VIDEO👍🏼👌🏽
LOVE IT😊🙏🏻🇺🇸🦅
Thank you very much!
Beautiful aircraft, beautiful video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Beautiful
Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video. 👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Although all of these aircraft listed and their specifications are very impressive...vary few people seem to remember the Do335 Pfeil (Dorner 335 Arrow) which had a pusher propeller and a conventional puller propeller. It was a twin engine, and had both inline, inside the fuselage. One in front of the cockpit, the other behind.
It had a top speed of 474mph.
Incredible for it's day.
*I'm not an expert, or a historiographer.*
☀️😎🇺🇸☀️
Top speed is only one component, also at what altitude that top speed is achievable. For example the Tigercat's is at 22k feet, the 335 is similar, but a Bearcat would likely outrun both at sea level because of supercharger gearing. Also the 335 had low maneuverability from all accounts, so even the Tigercat would have likely performed better. Especially with the much lower climb rate the 335 had.
That speed of 474 was never verified, and was thought to be an estimate
Great video, thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Nice! Luv that plane, thank you
You are welcome. Thanks for watching. Oshkosh coming up soon...
For me the F7F was the best viewing of the series but it deserved to have a version with PT 6 jet engines...
I noticed that in comparison of the F-7F, P-51D and P-47N there's no mention of the P-38L, the first and finest twin engined fighter of the war.
Is this going to be a series? Looks awesome!
Thank you. Yes, more Warplane Reviews in the pipeline...
Cool Video
Thanks for watching and commenting.
My favorite American multi engine plane
Understandable! Thanks for watching.
Nice sci-fi looking WWII fighter.👍
Wow, just...wow. Really nice presentation of my favorite Grumman cat. Thank you! (Edit: new sub!)
Dang never heard of the tigercat or bearcat In all my 57 years. Heard of the others cats because of ww2.
Glad you found it! Thanks for watching.
@@airailimages here I thought I was a plane person... but only like the popular planes ie ww1 and ww2 planes "GASP" throws back of hand to forehead... noooooo. Faints... lol
beingsneaky been under a big rock for 57 years ??????
The tiger-cat never saw carrier service because Hangar space requirements
You could either use the available Hangar space for three hellcats or two tiger-cats
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it
My grandfather was the owner of Kreitzberg Aviation!
I have a lot of respect for the pioneers in aerial firefighting. And thanks for watching.
@@airailimages Absolutely! My father is confident that the yellow F7F featured in the tutorial video was one of my grandfather's planes. His name was George F Kreitzberg.
Both the F7F Tigercat and F8F Bearcat were superlative aircraft but had the great misfortune to have hit the fleet at the very end of WWII and never saw combat. Had they both been introduced a year or more earlier they might have had a hand in shortening the war in the Pacific.
It is disappointing to see that all the airshow/air race F7F's are the two seaters.
When you get in this aircraft it would be like putting on a fine tailor-made suit. Love the view Of the front of this plane.
Hello airilimages!
We are doing a mini series of the grumman cats on our instagram, this year we were in Oshkosh and we would like to ask for your permission, to use some excerpts from this F7F tigercat documentary, we will give the proper credits and put the link of this video on our instagram.
Beautiful aircraft nicely presented. I have two questions. 1. What was the armament of the fighter version? 2. Were any of them converted to turboprop?
The F7F-3 carried four 20mm and four .50-cal. guns. I have never heard of any turboprop conversions -- interesting idea. Thanks for watching and commenting.
TP's wouldn't have sounded as sweet.
If I had only one knock on the bird, it really needed ejection seats.
Been nice to have had them available in 1941.
During WW2, Grumman must have had naked pics of Nimitz and someone, in order to have such a stranglehold on Navy planes..lol
It would be helpful to check the date on the performance figures and whether or not the soure was for internal use or available to the general public.
The performance of active duty American aircraft is usually higher than the publicly stated figures.
I can remember when the F7Fs were parked in CA for boratte bombers
I saw one at an air show at Chino in California and fell in love with it instantly. I never knew about them but what appealed to me was the almost obscene fuselage - like the figure of one of those terminally beautiful anorexic fashion models with an impossibly slender body. You'd love to have one for your girlfriend but just _knew_ she was high maintenance!
I Want one, where's mine???!!!!!
It must have been a difficult plane to land on the small, straight "Essex" carrier-decks. In the event, were they only used post-war from land bases ?
The only f7f models that were carrier qualified were the -4 model and there were only 12 of that model and they all went to vmf -513 and were never deployed on any carrier. They did see extensive action in Korea. Combat records in pencolia show that they -4 night fighter model is credited with shooting down 9 migs during the Korean War
I wonder how the F7F would have performed vs the Europe Axis.
I wonder how it would have done with a liquid cooled engine with cowling for streamlining. Maybe over 500mph?
beingsneaky What liquid cooled engine put out the power of the R2800???
The Iron Works made the BEST PLANES EVER
If it looks right.
Yes -- and I think it got even better looking with the shape of the taller tail. Thanks for watching!