Grumman F8F "Bearcat"
Model Airplane News Cover Art for June, 1946
by Jo Kotula
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The Grumman F8F Bearcat (affectionately called "Bear") was an American single-engine naval fighter aircraft of the 1940s. It went on to serve into the mid-20th Century in the United States Navy and other air forces, and would be the company's final piston engined fighter aircraft.

Photos of the Grumman F8F "Bearcat"
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Designed for the interceptor fighter role, the design team's aim was to create the smallest, lightest fighter that could fit around the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine. Compared to its predecessor, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, had a 30% better rate of climb and was 50 mph faster. It was also considerably smaller in size, as it was designed to be operated from small escort aircraft carriers, something the big Hellcat rarely did. Thus the F8F Bearcat was intended mainly as a replacement for the obsolete F4F Wildcat still the mainstay fighter of the many wartime escort carriers.

Here is a video of the Grumman F8F "Bearcat" in action:

In addition to the cover of Model Airplane News, this airplane was also featured in the WINGS "Friend or Foe" trading card series of the early 1950s

Trading card representation of the Grumman F8F "Bearcat"
Click Here to see all 200 cards in the series
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Click Here for more information about the Grumman F8F "Bearcat".

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