The Grumman XF5F Skyrocket was a prototype twin-engined shipboard fighter interceptor. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ordered one prototype, model number G-34, from

Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 ...

on 30 June 1938; its designation was XF5F-1. The aircraft had a unique appearance: The forward "nose" of the fuselage did not extend forward of the wing. Provisions were included for two 20 mm (0.906 in) Madsen cannon as armament.

Design and development

In 1938 Grumman presented a proposal to the U. S. Navy for a twin engine carrier based aircraft, unlike any other fighter aircraft that had ever been considered. The design was for a lightweight fighter (under 10,000 lbs maximum takeoff weight) powered by two 1,200 hp Wright R-1820 engines, with propellers geared to rotate in opposite directions to cancel out the effects of each engine's torque, promising high-speed, and an outstanding

rate of climb In aeronautics, the rate of climb (RoC) is an aircraft's vertical speed, that is the positive or negative rate of altitude change with respect to time. In most ICAO member countries, even in otherwise metric countries, this is usually expressed ...

. The XF5F Skyrocket was a low-wing monoplane with a short fuselage that began aft of the wing's leading edge with a twin tail assembly that featured a pronounced dihedral to the horizontal stabilizer. The main landing gear and tail wheel were fully retractable.Thompson, Dan
"Grumman F5F-1 Skyrocket."
''Blackhawk'', 2012. Retrieved: 18 May 2012. Grumman XF5F-1 Skyrocket

Operational history

The aircraft flew for the first time on 1 April 1940. Engine cooling problems arose in the initial flights, resulting in modification to the oil cooling ducts. Further modifications were made to the prototype including reduction in the height of the cockpit canopy, revising the armament installation to four 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in place of the cannon, redesign of the engine nacelles, adding spinners to the propellers, and extending the fuselage forward of the wing. These changes were completed on 15 July 1941. Testing by Grumman test pilot "Connie" Converse indicated "the flying qualities for the XF5F-1 were good overall. The counter-rotating props were a nice feature, virtually eliminating the torque effect on takeoff ... single-engine performance was good, rudder forces tended to be high in single engine configuration. Spin recovery was positive but elevator forces required for recovery were unusually high. All acrobatics were easily performed, and of course forward visibility was excellent." In 1941, Navy pilots tested the XF5F-1 in a fly-off against the Supermarine Spitfire,

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, Vought XF4U Corsair,

Grumman F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atlant ...

, and

Brewster F2A Buffalo The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modificatio ...

. LCDR Crommelin, in charge of the test, stated in a 1985 letter to George Skurla, Grumman president:

"for instance, I remember testing the XF5F against the XF4U on climb to the 10,000 foot level. I pulled away from the Corsair so fast I thought he was having engine trouble. The F5F was a carrier pilot's dream, as opposite rotating propellers eliminated all torque and you had no large engine up front to look around to see the LSO (landing signal officer) ... The analysis of all the data definitely favored the F5F, and the Spitfire came in a distant second. ... ADM Towers told me that securing spare parts ... and other particulars which compounded the difficulty of building the twin-engine fighter, had ruled out the Skyrocket and that the Bureau had settled on the Wildcat for mass production."Lucabaugh and Martin 1995, p. 16.

Additional changes were needed after further flight tests that were not completed until 15 January 1942. In the meantime, Grumman began work on a more advanced twin-engine shipboard fighter, the XF7F-1, and further testing with the XF5F-1 supported the development of the newer design. The prototype continued to be used in various tests, although plagued by various landing gear problems, until it was struck from the list of active aircraft after it made a belly landing on 11 December 1944.

Specifications (XF5F Skyrocket)

Notable appearances in media

The XF5F Skyrocket was the propeller fighter aircraft flown by the fictional ''

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

''s in

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

monthly title ''Military Comics'', which ran throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The XF5F remained the ''Blackhawk'' Squadron's mount until their conversion to jet aircraft in Quality's retitled ''Modern Comics'' at the start of the

jet age The Jet Age is a period in the history of aviation defined by the advent of aircraft powered by jet turbine engines, and by the social change this brought about. Jet airliners were able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older pisto ...

.Greenberger 2008, p. 54.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters''. London: Macdonald & Co.(Publishers), 1961. . * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Navy and Marine Corps Fighters''. London, UK: Macdonald and Jane's, 1976. . * Greenberger, Robert. "Blackhawk". In Dougall, Alastair. ''The DC Comics Encyclopedia''. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2008. . * Lucabaugh, David and Bob Martin. ''Grumman XF5F-1 & XP-50 Skyrocket, Naval fighters number thirty-one''. Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books, 1995. . * Morgan, Eric B. "Grumman F7F Tigercat F.7/30". ''Twentyfirst Profile, Volume 1, No. 11''. New Milton, Hants, UK: 21st Profile Ltd. ISSN 0961-8120. * Morgan, Eric B. "The Grumman Twins". ''Twentyfirst Profile, Volume 2, No. 15''. New Milton, Hants, UK: 21st Profile Ltd. ISSN 0961-8120.

External links

Unofficial Blackhawk Comics Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grumman F05F Skyrocket F05F Skyrocket 1940s United States fighter aircraft Carrier-based aircraft Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1940 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft