2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. F3F-1 4-F-7 Jax: USN· Public domain
- 2. LSO guides F3F at NAS Corpus Christi 1941: RADM. Erl Clinton Barker Gould, U.S. Navy· Public domain
what is it?
The Grumman F3F is a single-seat biplane fighter aircraft produced by the Grumman aircraft for the United States Navy during the mid-1930s. Designed as an improved F2F, it entered service in 1936 as the last biplane fighter to be delivered to any American military air arm. It was retired from front line squadrons at the end of 1941 before World War II, and replaced by the Brewster F2A Buffalo.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 9.8 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 91 years ago, in 1935.
- Top speed is 3.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 9.8 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
- Can fly 1.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1935
- introduced
- 1936
- retired
- 1943
- status
- retired
- number built
- 165
- role
- fighter aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Grumman
- engines
- 1× Wright R-1820-22 "Cyclone"
- length
- 7.1 m
- wingspan
- 9.8 m
- height
- 2.8 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,175 kg
- top speed
- 425 km/h
- cruise speed
- 241 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 10,119 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q994634, Wikipedia: Grumman F3F (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.