The Grumman F9F Panther is one of the United States Navy’s first successful carrier-based jet fighters, as well as Grumman’s first jet fighter. A single-engined, straight-winged day fighter, it was armed with four 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons and could carry a wide assortment of air-to-ground munitions.
The Panther was used extensively by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in the Korean War. It was also the first jet aircraft used by the Blue Angels aerobatics demonstration team, from 1949 through late 1954. The aircraft was exported to Argentina and was the first jet used by the Argentine Naval Aviation.
Total F9F production was 1,382. The design evolved into the swept wing Grumman F-9 Cougar.
DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITY
CREW: 1
SIZE: LENGTH 38 ft 10 in (11.84 m),
WINGSPAN 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m),
HEIGHT 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m),
EMPTY WEIGHT 10,147 lb (4,603 kg)
MAX TAKE OFF WEIGHT: 18,721 lb (8,492 kg)
PERFORMANCE
SPEED: 503 kn (579 mph, 932 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
SERVICE CEILING: 42,800 ft (13,000 m)
RANGE: 1,100 nmi (1,300 mi, 2,100 km)
Armament:
Guns: 4 × 20 mm cannon
Ordnance: 6x 20mm Rockets or up to 2,000 lb (910 kg) of bombs.