The Grumman F9F Panther is one of 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 ...

's first successful carrier-based jet fighters, as well as

Grumman 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 ...

’s first jet fighter. A single-engined, straight-winged

day fighter A day fighter is a fighter aircraft equipped only to fight during the day. More specifically, it refers to a multi-purpose aircraft that does not include equipment for fighting at night (such as a radar and specialized avionics), although it is some ...

, it was armed with four

cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

and could carry a wide assortment of air-to-ground munitions. The Panther was used extensively by the U.S. Navy and

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. It was also the first jet aircraft used by the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glide ...

demonstration team, from 1949 through late 1954. The aircraft was exported to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and was the first jet used by the

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

. Total F9F production was 1,382. The design evolved into the swept wing

Grumman F-9 Cougar The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar is a carrier-based fighter aircraft for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Based on Grumman's earlier F9F Panther, the Cougar replaced the Panther's straight wing with a more modern swept wing. Th ...

Design and development

Grumman G-75 (XF9F-1) mfr 891062-3 (GHC via RJF) (18356559201)

Development studies at Grumman for jet-powered fighter aircraft began near the end of

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 ...

as the first jet engines emerged. In a competition for a jet-powered

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

for the United States Navy, on 3 April 1946 the

Douglas F3D Skyknight The Douglas F3D Skyknight (later designated F-10 Skyknight) is an American twin-engined, mid-wing jet fighter aircraft manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California. The F3D was designed as a carrier-based all-weath ...

was selected over Grumman's G-75, a two-seater powered by four

Westinghouse J30 The Westinghouse J30, initially known as the Westinghouse 19XB, was a turbojet engine developed by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It was the first American-designed turbojet to run, and only the second axial-flow turbojet to run outside German ...

s. The Navy's

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

(BuAer) also issued a contract to Grumman for two G-75 prototype aircraft on 11 April 1946, being given the Navy designation XF9F-1, in case the Skyknight ran into problems. Grumman soon realized the G-75 was a dead end, but had been working on a completely different, single-engine day fighter, the G-79. In a bureaucratic maneuver, BuAer did not cancel the G-75 contract, but changed the wording to include three prototypes of the entirely different G-79. It became the Panther. The prototype Panther, piloted by test pilot Corky Meyer, first flew on 21 November 1947. American engines available at the time included the

Allison J33 The General Electric/Allison J33 is a development of the General Electric J31, enlarged to produce significantly greater thrust, starting at and ending at with an additional low-altitude boost to with water-alcohol injection. Development Th ...

and

Westinghouse J34 The Westinghouse J34, company designation Westinghouse 24C, was a turbojet engine developed by Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division in the late 1940s. Essentially an enlarged version of the earlier Westinghouse J30, the J34 produced 3,000 ...

, but these were not considered sufficiently reliable, so the Navy specified the imported

Rolls-Royce Nene The Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine. The Nene was a complete redesign, rather than a scaled-up Rolls-Royce Derwent"Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited 1989, , p.111 w ...

turbojet, which was also more powerful, at of thrust. Production aircraft would have a Nene, built under license by Pratt & Whitney as the J42. Since there was insufficient space within the wings and fuselage for fuel for the thirsty jet, permanently mounted wingtip fuel tanks were added, which incidentally improved the fighter's rate of roll. The F9F was cleared for flight from aircraft carriers in September 1949. During the development phase, Grumman decided to change the Panther's engine, selecting the

Pratt & Whitney J48 The Pratt & Whitney J48 (company designation JT7 Turbo-Wasp) is a turbojet engine developed by Pratt & Whitney as a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Tay. The Tay/J48 was an enlarged development of the Rolls-Royce Nene (Pratt & Whitney ...

-P-2, a license built version of the Rolls-Royce RB.44 Tay. The other engine that had been tested was the Allison J33-A-16. The armament was a quartet of 20mm guns, the Navy having already switched to this caliber (as opposed to the USAAF/USAF which continued to use .50 caliber M2/M3 guns). In addition, the Panther was soon armed with underwing air-to-ground rockets and up to of bombs. F9F-3 Panther with Emerson turret in flight in early 1950s

F9F-3 Panther with Emerson turret in flight in early 1950s

From 1946, a swept-wing version was considered and after concerns about the Panther's inferiority to its MiG opponents in Korea, a conversion, known as Design 93, resulted in a swept-wing derivative, the

F9F Cougar The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar is a carrier-based fighter aircraft for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Based on Grumman's earlier F9F Panther, the Cougar replaced the Panther's straight wing with a more modern swept wing. Thr ...

, which retained the Panther's designation number.Taylor 1969, p. 506. In 1949, the Panther was considered by the Australian government, as a possible locally-built replacement for the

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once- domesticated animals, the ...

Mk 23 and

De Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

then operated by the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF). The other designs considered initially were an Australian design, the CAC CA-23 (an unconventional, twin-jet

all-weather fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

) and the

Hawker P.1081 The Hawker P.1081, also known as the "Australian Fighter" was a prototype United Kingdom, British jet aircraft from the mid-twentieth century. The single example built was destroyed in a crash in 1951. Design and development In 1949, the Roya ...

. By mid-1950, however, RAAF Mustangs were in action in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and seen as highly vulnerable to the

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

. An immediately available stop-gap in the shape of the Gloster Meteor F.8 was operated by the RAAF in Korea from July 1951. (After its less-than-satisfactory performance against MiGs, the Meteor was replaced from 1954 by the

CAC Sabre The CAC Sabre, sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CA-27, is an Australian variant of the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre fighter aircraft. The F-86F was redesigned and built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). Equipping five ...

– an Australian-built, up-engined variant of the F-86.)

Operational history

US Navy

The Grumman Panther was the primary US Navy and USMC jet fighter and ground-attack aircraft in the

. The Panther was the widest used Navy jet fighter of the war, flying 78,000 sorties. F9F-2s, F9F-3s and F9F-5s, as rugged attack aircraft, were able to sustain operations during intense anti-aircraft fire. The pilots also appreciated the air conditioned cockpit, a welcome change from the humid environment of piston-powered aircraft. On 3 July 1950,

Lieutenant, junior grade Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

Leonard H. Plog, of

VF-51 VF-51, Fighter Squadron 51 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy known as the "Screaming Eagles". It was originally established as VF-1 on February 1, 1943, redesignated as VF-5 on July 15, 1943, redesignated as VF-5A on November 15, 1946, ...

, flying an F9F-3 scored the first US Navy air victory of the war by shooting down a propeller-powered

Yak-9 The Yakovlev Yak-9 (russian: Яковлев Як-9) is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and succ ...

. Despite their relatively low speed, Panther pilots also claimed seven Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s, for the loss of two F9Fs. The first MiG-15 was downed on 9 November 1950, by

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

William (Bill) Amen of

VF-111 Fighter Squadron 111 (VF-111), also known as the ''Sundowners'', was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy. Originally established as Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) on 10 October 1942, it was redesignated as VF-11A on 15 November 1946, redesign ...

flying an F9F-2B, during a

UN Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, and the first a ...

attack on the

Sinuiju Sinŭiju (''Sinŭiju-si'', ; known before 1925 in English as Yeng Byen City) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North P'yŏngan province. Part of ...

bridges, near the mouth of the Yalu River. Two more MiG-15s were downed on 18 November 1950. In a unique feat on 18 November 1952, Lt Royce Williams of VF-781, flying off destroyed four MiGs, in one 35-minute encounter, during a series of air strikes against the North Korean port of

Hoeryong Hoeryŏng () is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It is located opposite Jilin Province, China, with the Tumen River in between. Sanhe (三合鎮), in Longjing City, is the closest Chinese town across the river. Hoeryŏng is the b ...

. This combat is little-known due to the involvement of the US

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collect ...

(NSA) – the existence of which was then top secret – in planning the mission; the MiGs were intercepted as a result of intelligence provided by the NSA. After losing contact with his wingman, Williams was alone in a dogfight with six MiG-15s; after landing on ''Oriskany'', his Panther had 263 hits by cannon shells or fragments, and was beyond repair. Williams' victories were notable since the four MiGs were flown by

Soviet Naval Aviation Soviet Naval Aviation (AV-MF, for ''Авиация военно-морского флота'' in Russian, or ''Aviatsiya voyenno-morskogo flota'', literally "aviation of the military maritime fleet") was the naval aviation arm of the Soviet Na ...

pilots: Russian sources confirmed Williams' claims, 40 years later, stating the pilots lost were Captains Belyakov and Vandalov, and Lieutenants Pakhomkin and Tarshinov. Future astronaut Neil Armstrong flew the F9F extensively during the war, although he ejected from one of the aircraft after it was brought down by a wire strung across a valley in 1951. Future astronaut John Glenn and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

all-star baseball player

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1 ...

also flew the F9F as Marine Corps pilots. Panthers were withdrawn from front-line service in 1956, but remained in training roles and with U.S. Naval Air Reserve and U.S. Marine Air Reserve units until 1958. The Navy's

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

flight demonstration team used the Panther for four years, beginning in 1951. The Panther was the Blue Angels' first jet. Some Panthers continued to serve in small numbers into the 1960s. From September 1962, surviving operational Panthers were designated F-9 within the new combined US tri-service designation system.

Argentine Navy

The only foreign buyer of the Panther was the

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

, which bought 28 ex-USN F9F-2B aircraft in 1957; the first 10 arrived in 1958. Only 24 aircraft were put in service, the rest were used as spares. The first flight of an Argentine Panther was in December 1958, and the last aircraft was put in service in January 1961. The catapults on the then only Argentine carrier, ARA ''Independencia'', were considered not powerful enough to launch the F9F, so the aircraft were land-based. However, in July 1963 a Panther (serial 0453/3-A-119) landed on ''Independencia'' as part of trials; becoming the first jet to land on an Argentine aircraft carrier. Argentine Navy F9F-2 Panthers saw combat in the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt, bombing and strafing a column of the Army 8th Tank Regiment which was advancing on the rebelling

Punta Indio Naval Air Base Punta Indio Naval Air Base ( es, link=no, Base Aeronaval Punta Indio, ) is a military airport operated by the Argentine Naval Aviation, located in the countryside northeast of Verónica, a town in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina. The ...

. The attack destroyed several

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

tanks, at the cost of one F9F Panther shot down. The Argentine Panthers were involved in the general mobilization during the 1965 border clash between Argentina and Chile but no combat occurred. They were taken out of service in 1969 due to the lack of spare parts and replaced with Douglas A-4Q Skyhawks. The Argentine Navy also operated the F-9 Cougar.

Variants

;XF9F-2 :Prototypes, two built ;F9F-2 :First production version, powered by Pratt & Whitney J42 engine, 567 built. ;F9F-2B :Version fitted with underwing racks for bombs and rockets. As all F9F-2s were brought up to this standard, the B designation was dropped. ;F9F-2P :Unarmed

photo-reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imagery ...

version used in Korea, 36 built. ;XF9F-3 :Prototype for the F9F-3, one built. ;F9F-3 :

powered version produced as insurance against the failure of the J42, with all converted to the J42 later; redesignated F-9B in 1962, 54 built. ;XF9F-4 :Prototypes used in the development of the F9F-4, two built. ;F9F-4 :Version with longer fuselage with greater fuel load and powered by J33 engine. Most re-engined with J42s. F9F-4s were the first aircraft to successfully employ pressurized

bleed air Bleed air is compressed air taken from the compressor stage of a gas turbine upstream of its fuel-burning sections. Automatic air supply and cabin pressure controller (ASCPCs) valves bleed air from high or low stage engine compressor sections. Lo ...

, tapped from the engine's compressor stages, and blown across the surface of the slot flaps, simulating a higher airspeed across the control surface, and thus achieving a decrease in stalling speed of for takeoff and on power approach for landing; re-designated F-9C in 1962, 109 ordered, all completed as F9F-5s. ;F9F-5: :Variant of F9F-4, but powered by

engine, 616 built. Re-designated F-9D in 1962. ;F9F-5P :Unarmed photo-reconnaissance version, with longer nose; redesignated RF-9D in 1962, 36 built. ;F9F-5K :After the F9F Panther was withdrawn operational service, a number of F9F-5s were converted into unmanned target drone aircraft; redesignated QF-9D in 1962. ;F9F-5KD :Radio controlled drone director conversions for F9F-5K drones; redesignated DF-9E in 1962.

Operators

; * Argentine Navy -

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

; *

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Surviving aircraft

Argentina

;On display ;;F9F-2B *0421/3-A-106 (Argentine Navy) - Gate guardian at

Puerto Belgrano Naval Base Port Belgrano Naval Base ( es, Base Naval Puerto Belgrano - BNPB) is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires. It is named after the brigantine ''General Bel ...

(''Base Naval Puerto Belgrano'' - BNPB) at Bahía Blanca, Argentina. *0425/3-A-113 (Argentine Navy) - Being restored at Argentine Naval Aviation Museum ('' :es:Museo de la Aviación Naval Argentina'' - MUAN) at Bahía Blanca, Argentina. *0452/3-A-111 (Argentine Navy) - Gate guardian at

(''Base Aeronaval Punta Indio'' - BAPI) near La Plata, Argentina. *0453/3-A-118 (Argentine Navy) - Displayed at National Naval Museum ('' :es:Museo Naval de la Nación'') at Tigre, Argentina.

United States

;Airworthy ;;F9F-2B Addison, TX, USA - panoramio (5)

*123078

Cavanaugh Flight Museum The Cavanaugh Flight Museum is an aviation museum in Addison, Texas, with a non-profit 501(c)(3) status for aviation educational. Mission The Museum promotes aviation education, research and American aviation heritage. Further, the Museum pro ...

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Addison is situated to the immediate north of the city of Dallas, with a 2020 census population of 16,661. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipali ...

. ;On display ;;F9F-2 *123050 -

National Naval Aviation Museum The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. *123557 - VFW Post 1621 in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jan ...

. *123612 -

NAS Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...

Air Park,

Naval Air Station Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. *123652 -

Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is a United States Marine Corps aviation museum currently located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California. The museum contains exhibits and artifacts relating to the history and legacy of ...

, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. *125183 -

Pima Air & Space Museum The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus oc ...

, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. *127120 -

Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum The Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum in Horsham, Pennsylvania is a museum dedicated to preserving the aviation history of the Greater Delaware Valley including NAS Willow Grove and Harold F. Pitcairn. It is owned and operated by the Delaware Val ...

at the former

NAS JRB Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove or NASJRB Willow Grove was a Naval Air Station owned by the U.S. Navy and located in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States four miles (6 km) northwest of the cen ...

Horsham, Pennsylvania Horsham is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,842 at the 2010 census. Horsham is located entirely within Horsham Township, and it is home to the Horsham Air Guard Station at the form ...

. ;;F9F-2B *123526 -

National Museum of the Marine Corps The National Museum of the Marine Corps is the historical museum of the United States Marine Corps. Located in Triangle, Virginia near MCB Quantico, the museum opened on November 10, 2006, and is now one of the top tourist attractions in the st ...

, adjacent to

Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeas ...

Triangle, Virginia Triangle is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,188 at the 2010 census. It is bounded to the south by the Marine Corps Base Quantico, which surrounds the town of Quantico. Geogr ...

. ;;F9F-4 *125180 - Lion's Park in Costa Mesa, California. ;;F9F-5 *bureau number unknown (incorrectly marked as 141136) -

USS Midway Museum The USS ''Midway'' Museum is a historical naval aircraft carrier museum located in downtown San Diego, California at Navy Pier. The museum consists of the aircraft carrier . The ship houses an extensive collection of aircraft, many of which we ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

*125295 -

Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum The Valiant Air Command, Inc. Warbird Museum (VAC) is located at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Brevard County, just south of Titusville, Florida. The VAC contains vintage aircraft and a hangar with a restoration area. The VAC also has a M ...

Space Coast Regional Airport Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually conside ...

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census. Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and ...

. *125992 - Aviation Heritage Park in

Bowling Green, KY Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

. *126226 -

Combat Air Museum The Combat Air Museum is a non-profit aviation museum at Topeka Regional Airport (Forbes Field) in Shawnee County, near Topeka, Kansas. The museum is dedicated to the creation of facilities and resources for the education of the local and regional ...

adjacent to Forbes Air National Guard Base at

Topeka Regional Airport Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

(former

Forbes AFB Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...

) in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

. *126275 -

Battleship Memorial Park Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships including the and . USS ''Alabama'' and USS ''Drum'' are both Nation ...

in Mobile, Alabama. ;;F9F-5P *126277 - The Air Museum,

Planes of Fame Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum in Chino, California,World Wa ...

, in

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chi ...

. ;Under restoration or in storage ;;F9F-2 *123054 - under restoration at

Yanks Air Museum The Yanks Air Museum is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization and museum dedicated to exhibiting, preserving and restoring American aircraft and artifacts in order to show the evolution of American aviation, located at Chino Airport in Chino, Cal ...

. *123092 - in storage for restoration at USS John F. Kennedy Museum in North Kingston, Rhode Island. *123420 - in storage at

Fantasy of Flight Fantasy of Flight is an aviation museum in Polk City, Florida. It opened in November 1995, to house Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that, until Hurricane Andrew damaged many in 1992, were housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florid ...

Polk City, Florida Polk City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,562 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,422. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistic ...

. ;;F9F-5 *125467 - in storage by private owner in Bulverde, Texas."FAA Registry: N1332F."
''faa.gov'' Retrieved: 27 July 2021.

Specifications (F9F-5 Panther)

Notable appearances in media

The F9F Panther was featured in the 1954 Korean War film ''

The Bridges at Toko-Ri ''The Bridges at Toko-Ri'' is a 1954 American war film about the Korean War and stars William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, and Robert Strauss. The film, which was directed by Mark Robson, was produced by Paramount Pictur ...

'' starring

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

, Mickey Rooney and

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

, and in '' Men of the Fighting Lady'' starring

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

and Keenan Wynn. In the 1990 movie,

The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutt ...

, footage of an F9F crashing into the fantail of the

USS Midway (CV-41) USS ''Midway'' (CVB/CVA/CV-41) is an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. Commissioned 8 days after the end of World War II, ''Midway'' was the largest ship in the world until 1955, as well as the ...

is used in place of an F-14A, which crashes into the

USS Enterprise (CVN-65) USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is a decommissioned United States Navy aircraft carrier. She was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Danby, Peter A. ''United States Navy Serials 1941 to 1976''. Merseyside Aviation Society, Liverpool, England, 1977. . * Francillon, René J. ''Grumman Aircraft since 1929''. London :Putnam, 1989. . * Grossnick, Roy and William J. Armstrong. ''United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1995''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Historical Center, 1997. . * Hardy, Michael John. ''Sea, Sky and Stars: An Illustrated History of Grumman Aircraft''. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1987. . * Kott, Richard C. "Attack from the Sky". in Marolda, Edward (ed.). ''The United States Navy in the Korean War''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2007. . * Meyer, Corwin H. "Grumman Panther". ''Flight Journal'', October 2002. * Schnitzer, George. '' Panthers Over Korea''. Baltimore, Maryland: Publish America, 2007. . * Sullivan, Jim. ''F9F Panther/Cougar in action''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1982. . * Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Navy Aircraft since 1911''. London: Putnam, 1976. . * Taylor, John W.R. "Grumman F9F Cougar". ''Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present.'' New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. . * Winchester, Jim, ed. "Grumman F9F Panther". ''Military Aircraft of the Cold War'' (The Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2006. .

Online sources

* *

External links

U.S. Navy Naval Aviation News article on the F9F Panther

July 23, 1951 F9F Panther crash on USS ''Midway''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grumman F09F1 Panther F09F1 Panther 1940s United States fighter aircraft Single-engined jet aircraft Low-wing aircraft Carrier-based aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947 Cruciform tail aircraft

Design and development

Operational history

US Navy

Argentine Navy

Variants

Operators

Surviving aircraft

Argentina

United States

Specifications (F9F-5 Panther)

Notable appearances in media

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

Online sources

Further reading

External links