Grumman F7F Tigercat

what is it?

The Grumman F7F Tigercat is a heavy fighter aircraft that served with the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) from late in World War II until 1954. It was the first twin-engined fighter to be deployed by the USN. While the Tigercat was delivered too late to see combat in World War II, it did serve in reconnaissance roles. The Tigercat primarily saw action as a night fighter and attack aircraft during the Korean War.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 15.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 740 km/htop speed
• size 11.7 tmax take-off weight
• built 364made in total

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 83 years ago, in 1943.
• 🏎️Top speed is 5.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 15.7 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× 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

1943-11-02

introduced

1944

retired

1956

status

retired

number built

364

role

heavy fighter

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Grumman

engines

2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double Wasp

crew

2

length

13.8 m

wingspan

15.7 m

height

5.1 m

max take-off weight

11.7 t

top speed

740 km/h

range

—

ceiling

12,314 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.