From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grumman F3F
Grumman F3F
Grumman F3F Design and development
The Navy’s experience with the F2F revealed issues with
stability and unfavorable spin characteristics,[2] prompt-
ing the 15 October 1934 contract for the improved
XF3F-1,
XF3F-1 placed before F2F deliveries began. The contract
also required a capability for ground attack, in addition
to the design’s fighter role.[1] Powered by the same Pratt
& Whitney R-1535-72 Twin Wasp Junior engine as the
F2F, the fuselage was lengthened and wing area increased
over the earlier design. A reduction in wheel diameter
allowed greater fuselage streamlining, eliminating the
prominent bulge behind the cowling of the F2F.
F3F-1 of VF-4 in the late 1930s. The prototype, BuNo. 9727, was delivered and first
Role Fighter aircraft flown on 20 March 1935 with company test pilot Jimmy
Collins making three flights that day. Two days later, six
Manufacturer Grumman dive-recovery flights took place; on the 10th, the air-
Designer Leroy Grumman craft’s pullout at 8,000 ft (2,438 m) registered 14 g on the
test equipment. The aircraft broke up in midair, crashing
First flight 20 March 1935
in a cemetery and killing Collins.[1] A second, strength-
Introduction 1936 ened prototype was built, but it crashed on 9 May of the
same year following the pilot’s bailout during an unsuc-
Retired November 1943
cessful spin recovery. The second prototype was rebuilt
Primary users United States Navy in three weeks, flying on 20 June 1935. An order for 54
United States Marine Corps F3F-1 fighters was placed on 24 August of that year, fol-
Produced 1936–1939 lowing the conclusion of the flight test program.[3]
Number built 147
Unit cost $20,424 (as of 1935)[1]
Operational history
The first production F3F-1 was delivered on 29 January
Developed from Grumman F2F
1936 to the test group at Naval Air Station Anacostia,
with squadron service beginning in March to VF-5B of
The Grumman F3F was the last American biplane fighter
Ranger and VF-6B of Saratoga. Marine squadron VF-4M re-
aircraft delivered to the United States Navy, and served
ceived the last six in January 1937.
between the wars. Designed as an improvement on the
Grumman, wanting to take advantage of the powerful
single-seat F2F, it entered service in 1936. It was retired
new 950 hp (708 kW) Wright R-1820 supercharged radial
from front line squadrons at the end of 1941 before it
engine, began work on the F3F-2 without a contract; the
could serve in World War II, and was first replaced by
order for 81 aircraft was not placed until 25 July 1936, two
the Brewster F2A Buffalo. The F3F which inherited the
days before the type’s first flight.[2] The engine’s larger
landing gear configuration first used on the Grumman FF
diameter changed the cowling’s appearance, making the
served as the basis for a biplane design ultimately devel-
aircraft look even more like a barrel, though top speed
oped into the much more successful F4F Wildcat. When
increased to 255 mph (410 km/h) at 12,000 ft (3,658 m).[1]
it entered combat, the Wildcat would quickly replace the
The entire F3F-2 production series was delivered in
Buffalo as the primary fighter of the Navy and Marines
between 1937 and 1938; when deliveries ended, all seven
in the first part of World War II, and continue to be pro-
Navy and Marine Corps pursuit squadrons were equipped
duced throughout the conflict.
with Grumman single-seat fighters. Further aerodynamic
developments were made to an F3F-2 returned to Grum-
XF3F-3,
man for maintenance; it became the XF3F-3 and featured
a larger-diameter propeller, among other improvements.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grumman F3F
A civilian aerobatic two-seat variant, the G-32A
"Gulfhawk II," was constructed in 1938 and flown by Ma-
jor Alfred "Al" Williams (Ret.), head of Gulf Oil’s aviation
department.
F3F-2 assigned to NAS Anacostia
F3F-3s,
On 21 June 1938, the Navy ordered 27 improved F3F-3 as A F3F-2 on the ramp
new monoplane fighters like the Brewster F2A and Grum-
man’s own F4F Wildcat were taking longer to develop
than had been planned. Survivors
A Grumman F3F-2 was ditched off the coast of San Diego
on 29 August 1940 while attempting a landing on Sarato-
ga. The fighter was rediscovered by a navy submarine in
June 1988, and recovered on 5 April 1991. It was restored
at the San Diego Aerospace Museum.[4]
Today, four other surviving aircraft are flying, three
F3F-2 models and the Gulf Oil G-32A, which were restored
by Herb Tischler’s Texas Airplane Factory in Fort Worth.
The restorations took four years and consisted of rebuild-
ing the G-32A, from original blueprints with tooling built
at the Texas Airplane Factory. The main components of
three -2 aircraft which had originally crashed in Hawaii
were utilized to complete the other restorations. One of
The better known F4F Wildcat of World War II was a mono- the resulting restorations is on display at Fantasy of
plane development of an improved F3F biplane design. This Flight in Polk City, Florida.
XF4F-3 prototype clearly shows the family lines.
With the introduction of the Brewster F2A-1, the
Operators
Navy’s biplane fighter days were numbered. All F3Fs • United States Army Air Force
were withdrawn from squadron service by the end of • United States Marine Corps
1941, though 117 were assigned to naval bases and used • United States Navy
for training and utility duties until December 1943.[2]
A few F3Fs were used by the U.S. Army Air Force as
ferry-pilot trainers, under the designation UC-103
UC-103.
Specifications (F3F-3)
Data from Great Aircraft of the World[1]
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grumman F3F
Popular culture
The F3F was featured as an "experimental fighter" in
Warner Bros’s Wings of the Navy (1939).
The F3F-2 was featured in the 1940 film Flight Com-
mand, starring Robert Taylor as a pilot whose work de-
veloping instrument landing systems helps his lost
squadron return to NAS North Island.
Perhaps the most prominent and popular record of
F3Fs is in the 1941 Technicolor film Dive Bomber, also set
at NAS North Island. This film extensively used parked
F3Fs as background, and one single aircraft in flight in
the last action scene.
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
• Avia B-534
• BF2C Goshawk
• F11C Goshawk
• Fiat CR.32
• Fiat CR.42
• Gloster Gladiator
• Polikarpov I-15
• Polikarpov I-153
Related lists
• List of fighter aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
3-side drawing of a F3F-1
References
General characteristics
[1] ^ Cacutt 1989, pp. 155–162.
• 1 pilot
[2] ^ Grumman F3F Air Group 31, 27 December 2006.
• 23 ft 2 in (7.06 m)
[3] Jordan, Corey C. "Grumman’s Ascendency: Chapter
• 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
Three." Planes and Pilots Of World War Two, 2000.
• 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Retrieved: 22 July 2011.
• 260 ft² (24.15 m²)
[4] "Underwater Treasures." US Naval Aviation Museum.
• 3,285 lb (1,490 kg)
Retrieved: 22 July 2011.
• 4,795 lb (2,175 kg)
Bibliography
• 1 × Wright R-1820-22 "Cyclone" 9-cylinder radial
• Cacutt, Len, ed. “Grumman Single-Seat Biplane
engine, 950 hp (710 kW)
Fighters.” Great Aircraft of the World. London: Marshall
Performance Cavendish, 1989. ISBN 1-85435-250-4.
• 264 mph (229 kn, 425 km/h) at 15,250 ft (4,658 m) • Crosby, Francis. Fighter Aircraft. London: Lorenz
• 150 mph (130 kn, 240 km/h) Books, 2002. ISBN 0-7548-0990-0.
• 980 mi (850 nmi, 1,600 km)
• 33,200 ft (10,120 m)
• 2,800 ft/min (14 m/s) at sea level External links
Armament • The Grumman F3F: The U.S. Navy’s Last Biplane
• Fighter
• 1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 machine gun, 500 • Fantasy of Flight’s F3F
rounds (left)
• 1× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine gun, 200 rounds
(right)
• 2× 116 lb (52.6 kg) Mk IV bombs, one under each wing
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grumman_F3F&oldid=453857277"
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grumman F3F
Categories:
• Carrier-based aircraft
• United States fighter aircraft 1930–1939
• Grumman aircraft
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