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Grumman F9F Panther

first flew 1947· carrier-based fighter-bomber

🎖️ military jet retired
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Grumman F9F-2 Panther in flight c1949: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  2. 2. F9F-3 Panther with Emerson turret in flight in early 1950s: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  3. 3. Eight Grumman F9F-5 Panther of Vf-43 in flight, circa in 1954: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  4. 4. F7U-1 Cutlass in flight with F2H-2 Banshee F9F-2 Panther and F6U-1 Pirate: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  5. 5. F9F Panthers of ATU-206 at NAS Pensacola 1956: Joseph A. Gryson, U.S. Navy· Public domain
  6. 6. F9F-2 Panther of VF-52 in flight in 1953: USN· Public domain
  7. 7. Grumman F9F-2 Panther Bu 123440 USMC Hamilton 1950 (1013003909): Bill Larkins· CC BY-SA 2.0
  8. 8. Grumman F9F-5 Panther of VF-83 on catapult of USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), in 1953: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  9. 9. Grumman F9F-5P Panther of VMCJ-3 in flight: U.S. Navy· Public domain
  10. 10. Grumman XF9F-2 Panther in flight, in 1948: USN· Public domain
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Grumman F9F Panther, photo 1 of 10
1/10 U.S. Navy· Public domain

what is it?

The Grumman F9F Panther is an early carrier-based jet fighter designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Grumman. It was the first jet-powered fighter aircraft to see air-to-air combat with the United States Navy, as well as being Grumman’s first jet fighter. Development of the Panther commenced in the final months of World War II to harness the recent innovation of the jet engine.

How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · 11.6 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 932 km/htop speed
  • size 8,492 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 1,382made 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 79 years ago, in 1947.
  • Top speed is 7.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 11.6 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
1947-11-21
introduced
1949
retired
1958
status
retired
number built
1,382
role
carrier-based fighter-bomber
makers
Grumman
engines
1× Pratt & Whitney J48-P-6A
crew
1
length
11.8 m
wingspan
11.6 m
height
3.7 m
max take-off weight
8,492 kg
top speed
932 km/h
cruise speed
774 km/h
range
—
ceiling
13,045 m

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

Sources: Wikidata Q390816, Wikipedia: Grumman F9F Panther (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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