Bearcat series of prop aircraft

BEARCAT

SERIES OF PISTON-ENGINE AIRCRAFT

The Bearcat was designed as an advanced fighter for kamikaze defense and to to further counter the highly maneuverable Zero. Grumman originally designated the project G-58 and development started in 1943. The requirement was for a high-performance aircraft capable of operation from even the smallest carrier. The G-58 had a similar configuration to that of the F6F, but was dimensionally smaller. Grumman received an order from the US Navy on November 27, 1943, for two prototypes which were given the designation XF8F- 1. One of the initial design features, and a most unusual one, was the provision of break points in the wings, along with explosive bolts. The purpose of these was to overcome a potentially dangerous situation if the aircraft was handled too vigorously: the tips would fail at selected known points, but balance would hopefully be restored. However, this provision was abandoned at a later stage in the development program, though the wings folded only at the tips. Unlike the Hellcat, the landing gear of the Bearcat retracted inwards. The reduction in armament from six to four 50cal machine guns that resulted in a faster aircraft with a better rate-of-climb and the ability to sustain higher G-force loads than its Hellcat predecessor. Two wing pylons were each capable of carrying a 1,000lb bomb or a drop tank. Although grounded for a short time due to oil and hydraulic leaks, the F8Fs were flown extensively in training missions until the atomic bomb ended all hopes of their going into combat. The immediate result was that the Navy reduced its production contract from 2,000 F8F-1s from Grumman and 1,800 from General Motors to 770 aircraft total. During 1951, the US sent a number of Bearcats to the French Expeditionary Air Force in South-east Asia for use as ground support aircraft against the Viet Minh. With the withdrawal of the French from Indochina, the remaining examples were turned over to the South Vietnamese Air Force and were still present in August 1960 when US Army advisers arrived in Vietnam. Withdrawal of Bearcats from front-line units began in mid-1949, with the last F8F-2P going in late 1952. The "Bearcat" was the last propellor-driven aircraft used by the Blue Angels formation flying team. After its retirement from the military the Bearcat achieved great popularity as a racer, winning several events as well a breaking the German World Speed record with a speed of 483 mph.