Grumman F7F Tigercat

The Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engine fighter the U.S. Navy deployed. It was fast, heavily armed and loved by the pilots who flew it, but it was too big for most carriers.

It reached the Pacific just before World War II ended and fought in only one war, as a Marine night fighter over Korea.

What Was the F7F Tigercat?

The Tigercat was a heavy fighter, a big twin-engine aircraft built to out-fly and out-gun everything else in the Navy’s inventory. It served with the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps from late in World War II until 1954.

Grumman built 364 of them between 1943 and 1946. It was designed for the big Midway-class carriers, but most Tigercats ended up flying from land bases.

Development: A Fighter Built Around Firepower

The Navy signed the contract for the XF7F-1 prototype on June 30, 1941. Grumman’s aim was a fighter that outperformed and outgunned every other fighter and could also attack ground targets.

The design grew out of the earlier Grumman XP-50 and the XP-65 “convoy fighter” concept. The prototype first flew on November 2, 1943.

The performance met expectations. At sea level the Tigercat was 71 mph faster than the Grumman F6F Hellcat, and Navy test pilot Captain Fred Trapnell called it “the best damn fighter I’ve ever flown.”

The Tigercat was briefly known as the Tomcat. The Navy dropped that name because it was thought to have the wrong overtones, and Grumman used it again decades later for the F-14.

Design and Armament

The Tigercat carried four 20 mm AN/M3 cannon in the wing roots and four .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns in the nose. In the night-fighter versions a radar unit replaced the nose guns.

Under the wings it could take two 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or eight 127 mm rockets. A single 150 gallon fuel or napalm tank, or a torpedo on the day fighters, went under the fuselage.

The night fighters carried AN/APS-19 radar in the nose. Two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radials with three-bladed, fully feathering propellers powered every variant.

The Numbers, Explained

The full specification table for the Tigercat is on this page. A few figures need context.

Published top speeds differ by source. Jane’s figures, as quoted by Wikipedia, give 400 kt (460 mph) for the F7F-4N, while the Pima Air & Space Museum prints 435 mph for the F7F-3. The panel uses the Jane’s figure.

Service ceiling is also quoted two ways. The panel lists 40,400 ft, and Pima’s museum page gives 40,700 ft. The two sources describe different variants.

The specification block describes the F7F-4N, the last variant, so figures for earlier versions will differ.

Variants

The first production version was the F7F-1, with 34 built, powered by R-2800-22W engines. A second seat for a radar operator was added after the 34th aircraft, which created the F7F-2N night fighter, with 65 built.

The F7F-3 came next, with R-2800-34W engines and an enlarged tailfin, and 189 were built. The F7F-3N night fighter followed, with 60 built, and small numbers of F7F-3s became electronic-warfare and photo-reconnaissance aircraft.

The last version, the F7F-4N, was rebuilt for extra strength and stability. Only 12 were built by Wikipedia’s count, and the National Museum of World War II Aviation counts 13.

Why the Navy Kept It Off Carriers

The Tigercat’s speed and firepower came with heavy weight and a high landing speed. It failed carrier suitability trials because it had poor directional stability with only one engine running, and because of problems with its tailhook.

A second trial with the improved F7F-3 aboard USS Shangri-La also failed, after a wing failed on a heavy landing. Only the F7F-4N passed carrier qualification.

The Navy by then preferred the Corsair and Hellcat. The Marine Corps wanted the Tigercat’s firepower for close air support, so the first production aircraft went to Marine squadrons ashore.

Did the F7F Tigercat See Combat?

Barely, and not in the war it was built for. The Tigercat arrived too late to fight in World War II.

One Marine photo-reconnaissance squadron, VMP-354, reached Guam in June 1945 and moved to Okinawa in July. In July and August 1945 it photographed possible invasion beaches in southern Kyushu for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of Japan.

The aircraft’s real combat came in Korea. Marine night-fighter squadron VMF(N)-513 flew F7F-3N Tigercats on night interdiction and fighter missions in the early stages of the war, and shot down two Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes. Wikipedia describes that as the only combat use of the type.

Most F7F-2Ns were later modified to control drones for combat training. The Royal Navy evaluated two Tigercats in 1945 and chose a naval version of the de Havilland Hornet instead.

How Many F7F Tigercats Are Left?

Surplus Tigercats were flown to the Navy’s storage site at Litchfield Park, Arizona, from 1949. Most were scrapped, but some were sold. Through the 1960s and 1970s the survivors worked mainly as wildfire water bombers, and one California operator flew an F7F-3N tanker until the late 1980s.

Wikipedia’s list of survivors names 12 airframes. Eight are airworthy, including aircraft at the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs, Palm Springs Air Museum and Lewis Air Legends in San Antonio, plus private owners. Three are on display and one is in storage.

The static examples include 80373 at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, 80410 at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson and 80382 at Planes of Fame in Chino. Pima’s own page says fewer than 10 remain, so counts vary by source and date.

Tigercat vs P-38 and Other Twins

The Tigercat is often compared with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the other famous American twin-engine fighter. The P-38 flew for the Army Air Forces. The Tigercat was a Navy and Marine design, built later and with far heavier armament.

Other twin-engine fighters of the era include the Northrop P-61 Black Widow, the Focke-Wulf Ta 154 and the Kawasaki Ki-102.

The Navy’s single-engine fighters of the same period, including the F8F Bearcat, were also Grumman designs, but they flew from the carriers the Tigercat could not use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the F7F Tigercat ever see combat?

Yes, but only in the Korean War. Marine night-fighter squadron VMF(N)-513 flew F7F-3N Tigercats on night interdiction and fighter missions and shot down two Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes. Earlier, in 1945, reconnaissance Tigercats photographed Japanese beaches but did not fight.

How many F7F Tigercats are left?

Wikipedia’s list of survivors names 12 airframes, of which eight are airworthy. The Pima Air & Space Museum says fewer than 10 remain, so the count depends on the source. Grumman built 364 in total.

How fast was the F7F Tigercat?

The panel lists a top speed of 400 kt (460 mph) for the F7F-4N, from Jane’s. The Pima Air & Space Museum gives 435 mph for the F7F-3. At sea level it was 71 mph faster than the F6F Hellcat.

Is there an F7 fighter jet?

The F7F Tigercat is a piston-engine aircraft, not a jet. The “F-7” jet is the export version of China’s Chengdu J-7, a licence-built derivative of the Soviet MiG-21. The two are unrelated.

Was the F7F Tigercat ever called the Tomcat?

The F7F was first known as the Tomcat, but the Navy dropped that name because it was considered to have excessively sexual overtones. Tomcat became the name of the Grumman F-14 in the 1970s.

Could the F7F Tigercat operate from carriers?

Only the late F7F-4N was certified for carrier service, and just 12 were built. Earlier versions failed carrier trials because of poor single-engine stability and tailhook problems, so they flew from land bases.