The Grumman F7F Tigercat epitomizes ingenuity as part of the drive toward military aviation in the mid-20th century. This heavy fighter aircraft served with the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps from the latter stages of World War II until 1954 and was the first twin-engine fighter to be deployed by the USN. Although it came too late to see combat in World War II, the Tigercat built a reputation during the Korean War as a night fighter and attack aircraft.
Although designed for use on the new Midway-class aircraft carriers, the F7F Tigercat was far too large for earlier carrier decks. Most of the early models built thus flew from land bases. This aircraft was powerfully armed, with four 20 mm cannons and four 0.50 in 12.7 mm machine guns, besides underwing and under-fuselage hardpoints for carrying bombs and torpedoes.
Especially noteworthy was the F7F-3 version, with two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W radial piston engines. It was a single-seat fighter-bomber variant, constructed to rectify deficiencies found in earlier models, which included poor directional stability when flying with one engine operative and faults with the tail-hook design. It faced several challenges during carrier suitability trials.
Early in the Korean War, the United States Marine Corps night fighter squadron VMF(N)-513 flew the F7F-3N Tigercats. The sorties seen by these aircraft included night interdiction and fighter missions. Two Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes were shot down by them. That remained the only instance of combat for the Tigercat.
The Tigercat’s operational history also includes service as a drone controller in combat training. Many F7F-2Ns were converted for this purpose with bubble canopies over the rear cockpit for the drone controller. An F7F-2D also saw use as a transition trainer and had a rear sliding, bubble canopy.
In 1945, the British Royal Navy did test two Tigercats but rejected them in favor of a navalized version of that de Havilland Hornet. However, the Tigercat found its niche role post-military service. Starting in 1949, scores of F7Fs were flown to the US Navy storage facility at NAS Litchfield Park in Arizona. While most airframes were shredded, some found new life as water bombers fighting wildfires in the 1960s and 1970s. Sis-Q Flying Service of Santa Rosa, California, flew an F7F-3N tanker,bfd until its retirement in the late 1980s.
Today, many F7F Tigercats are still flying, while others are mounted in museums across the United States. These surviving aircraft speak to the singular place the Tigercat holds in the annals of aviation history, really bringing together fearsome firepower with twin-engine design challenges in a carrier-based fighter.
The Grumman F7F Tigercat has had a very significant place in the history of military flying, simply because it was such a powerful, speedy, and versatile aircraft, representing technological achievements and operational challenges at the time.