Story and photos by Todd, EAA 1571783, and Kelley Whitaker, EAA 1571782
Todd, EAA 1571783, and Kelley Whitaker, EAA 1571782, of WhitPics Media had the opportunity to attend the 2024 Central Coast AirFest in Santa Maria, California, this fall. The sky was filled with warbirds from years gone by as well as new and modern fighter aircraft that protect the U.S. today. Planes of Fame Air Museum had its F8F Bearcat at the show, and WhitPics was able to coordinate an air-to-air photo mission with the airplane. John Maloney maneuvered the Bearcat with ease around our Baron 58, piloted by Scott Slocum, aerial coordinator. The photos with this summary are from our photo mission and the National Naval Aviation Museum where we volunteer.
The museum’s F8F Bearcat is a unique aircraft. It is comprised of parts from several aircraft. In 1947, Grumman, with Navy approval, built two civilian models of the F8F. The Grumman G-58A was built for Maj. Alford Williams to be used for his precision flying and dive-bombing demonstrations for the public. Sponsored by the Gulf Oil Company, the aircraft was named “Gulfhawk IV” and painted in the company colors of orange and black. The aircraft was severely damaged in a 1949 landing incident. Planes of Fame Air Museum acquired the fuselage from this aircraft, and by combining parts from a number of other F8F Bearcats, was able to create this prime example of an F8F-2.
The last and most powerful of Grumman’s prop-driven fighters, the F8F Bearcat has been described as an engine with a saddle on it. Born of experience gained by study of fighter operations from carriers, the F8F was built smaller and 2,000 pounds lighter than its F6F predecessor, despite being designed around the big Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine. The most powerful single-engine aircraft ever built, the F8F out-performed all others in all aspects of combat maneuverability. Too late for World War II, it was used by the French in French Indochina (later Vietnam) in 1953.
Initially ordered by the Navy in November 1943, the XF8F-1 first flew in August 1944. The XF8F-1 yielded a climb rate of 4,500 feet per minute, and a top speed of 424 mph. Armed with four .50-caliber guns in the wings, the fighter could also carry two 1,000 pound bombs or two drop tanks. By October 1944, the Navy had ordered 2,023 of the new F8F-1s from Grumman, and an additional 1,876 from the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors, the latter designated F3M-1s. Production aircraft were equipped with the P&W R-2800-34W engines and boasted a slight increase in fuel capacity.
Deliveries began in May 1945 with the first aircraft going to Fighting Squadron (VF) 19. V-J Day brought cancellation of the GM contract, however, and reduced the buy from Grumman to 770 aircraft. By 1948, 24 Navy squadrons had been equipped with Bearcats. Later, Grumman received a contract for 126 F8F-1Bs, those aircraft armed with four 20-mm cannons versus the .50-caliber guns of the F8F-1. Of that lot, 15 F8F-1Bs were completed as F8F-1N night fighters, equipped with a radar pod under one wing.
In 1948, the F8F-2 was introduced, incorporating, in addition to the four 20-mm cannon arrangement, a revised engine cowling, taller fin and rudder, and other modifications. Grumman built 293 F8F-2s along with 12 night fighter F8F-2Ns and 60 photo reconnaissance F8F-2Ps, an example of the latter on display as part of the museum collection. A unique feature of the test model was the explosive wingtip. Should the pilot exceed 8.5 gs, explosive charges would blow off the outer three feet of each wing to prevent a total wing failure. Because the wing tips could not be made to break off simultaneously, however, the system was abandoned and never incorporated in production aircraft.