Author Topic: Grumman Cougar  (Read 2279 times)

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Grumman Cougar
« on: September 20, 2021, 06:43:36 PM »
The war in Korea showed that the future of jet combat aviation is behind the swept wing. Without this, it is impossible to overcome the sound barrier, and speed, as you know, is one of the most important qualities of a fighter. In March 1951, the US Navy ordered Grumman Aircraft to develop a carrier-based fighter with a swept wing.

To speed up the work, the F9F Panther was taken as a basis. The main changes affected the wing — it became swept (35°) and was equipped with flapperons instead of ailerons. Otherwise, this low-level plan remained without any special changes. The F9F-6 was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney J48-P-8 engine with a thrust of 32.2 kN. The maximum speed is 1053 km / h, the combat radius is 472 km. Armament — 4 × 20 mm guns + up to 907 kg of bombs/missiles. September 20, 1951-the first flight of the Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar carrier-based fighter.

The F9F/F-9 Cougar turned out to be more successful than its predecessor. 1988 fighters were built. In addition to the US Navy (until 1974), they were in service with the Argentine Navy (until 1971).