980.047.

001] Aircraft - 'F7F-3 Aircraft, Bureau Number 80373' F7F-3 Aircraft, Bureau Number 80373
Accession Number Accession Date Creator Date Created Object Desciption 1980.047.001 21/09/1980 Creator 1945 The museum's F7F-3 Tigercat, the 15th F7F-3 off the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation assembly line and one of only 250 F7F-3s built, was accepted by the U.S Navy on 24 March 1945. Four days later it joined Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 911, a replacement training squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina. It remained with VMF-911 for only a few months before flying briefly at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland. Over the course of the ensuing three years, the museum's F7F-3 served with Marine Night Fighting Squadrons (VMF(N)) 531 and 532, VMF-422, and VMF-113 at MCAS Cherry Point, MCAS Eagle Mountain Lake, Texas, and MCAS El Toro, California. Stricken in 1948, it was eventually purchased by TBM Inc. of Tulare, California and given the civilian registration number N7654C. By 1977, it had 2629:12 hours of flight time, including time as a fire fighting aircraft. Acquired my the museum in 1980, the F7F-3 flew to Pensacola, arriving on 21 September of that year. Still in civilian markings, it was placed in storage in Building 380 aboard NAS Pensacola until restored and painted in Marine Corps markings by the Naval Aviation Depot. Bethpage, New York The U.S. Navy's interest in a twin-engine carrier fighter began during the late-1930s in hopes of boosting the speeds of fighters operating off carrier decks. Though the Bureau of Aeronautics received numerous design proposals, notably the Grumman F5F Skyrocket, single-engine aircraft designs of the era more than met the required speed parameters. However, this did not mean the end of interest in the twin-engine concept for in 1942 Grumman completed a mock-up of a fighter designed to operate from the forthcoming Midway-class battle carriers scheduled for delivery in 1945. The Navy eventually took delivery of some 364 examples of what became known as the F7F Tigercat. Ironically, the airplane never deployed aboard ship, though it proved a capable night fighter, not in the hostile skies of the Pacific during World War II, but in Korea. Equipped with SCR-270 radar in a redesigned nose, two-seat F7F-3Ns operated in Marine Corps squadrons, flying night interdiction and flare-dropping missions, and shot down two North Korean aircraft. In Navy colors, the aircraft served most notably as control aircraft for the evaluation of drones, and civilian companies employed them as air tankers to combat forest fires, a role the museum's aircraft filled after its military service ended in the late-1940s. Specifications Manufacturer: Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation Dimensions: Length: 45 ft., 4 in.; Height: 16 ft., 4 in.; Wingspan: 51 ft., 6 in. Weights: Empty: 16,396 lb.; Gross: 25,720 lb. Power Plant: Two 2,100 horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W engines Creator Role

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Performance: Maximum Speed: 450 M.P.H. at 21,500 ft.; Service Ceiling: 40,700 ft.; Range: 1,900 miles Armament: Four fixed forward-firing .50-in. guns, four fixed forward-firing 20mm cannon, and provisions for two 2,000 lb. bombs Crew: Pilot Multimedia

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F7F-3 on Display jpeg 2006 View of the museum's F7F-3 on indoor static display.

[ Image Only ] Title: Museum's F7F-3 as a Fire Fighter

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jpeg 1979 F7F-3 Tigercat pictured in civilian markings while flying as a fire fighter with T.B.M. Inc.

[ Image Only ] Title: Format: Date: Description: 1980.047.001 jpeg 22/07/2010 Left Front View