Grumman F8F Bearcat – Photos & Video

The Grumman F8F Bearcat is an American single-engine carrier-based fighter aircraft introduced in late World War II. It went on to serve into the mid-20th century in the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the air forces of other nations. It would be Grumman Aircraft’s final piston engined fighter aircraft. Modified versions have broken speed records for piston-engined aircraft, and are popular among warbird owners.

Source: Grumman F8F Bearcat on Wikipedia

The Grumman F8F Bearcat was a single-engine carrier-based fighter aircraft designed by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in the late 1940s. It was intended to be a lightweight and agile interceptor that could outperform the Japanese Zero and other enemy fighters. The Bearcat had a powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine that gave it a top speed of over 420 mph and a climb rate of 4,500 feet per minute. It also had four 20 mm cannons and could carry rockets or bombs under its wings. The Bearcat entered service with the US Navy and Marine Corps in 1945, but saw limited combat action in World War II. It was more widely used in the postwar era, especially in the Korean War and the First Indochina War, where it proved to be an effective ground-attack and close air support aircraft. The Bearcat was also exported to several foreign air forces, including France, Thailand, and South Vietnam. The last operational Bearcats were retired in the early 1960s.