The Grumman JF "Duck" was an American single-engine amphibious biplane built by

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 ...

for 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 ...

during the 1930s. The J2F Duck was an improved version of the JF, with its main difference being a longer

float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...

.Allen 1983, p. 49.

Design and development

The Grumman JF Duck was manufactured from 1934 until 1936, when production switched to the J2F Duck and later variants.Jordan, Corey C.
"Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter Two."
''Planes and Pilots Of World War Two,'' 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011. The more obvious external appearance clue to distinguish a JF from an early J2F is the deletion of the inter- aileron strut between the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

s on the J2F; less noticeable perhaps is the J2F's slightly longer rear

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

joining fillet beneath the

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

. The Duck's main pontoon was part of the

, almost making it a flying boat, although it appears more like a standard

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

with an added float. The XJF-1 prototype first flew on 24 April 1933 piloted by Grumman test pilot Paul Hovgard.Thruelson 'The Grumman Story' 1976, p. 77.

Operational history

The JF-1 that was first ordered had the same Pratt & Whitney R-1830-62 engine as the XJF-1 prototype. The US Navy ordered 27 JF-1s with the first Ducks delivered beginning in May 1934 to Norfolk NAS. These early production series had provisions for mounting a machine gun at the rear seat facing aft, as well as a single bomb rack mounted under each wing, capable of carrying a 100 lb (45.4 kg) bomb or depth charge on each. The main float was also a Grumman design (Grumman Model "A") and like the prototype, it included retractable main landing gear, making the Duck a true amphibian. Ducks served as general/utility amphibians for photographic, target-towing, scouting, and rescue work.

Variants

;XJF-1: Prototype with 700 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1535-62 engine, one built (BuNo 9218). Grumman JF-1 Duck at NACA Langley Summer 1934

;JF-1: Production variant with 700 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-62 Twin Wasp engine, 27 built (BuNos 9434-9455, 9523-9527). ;JF-2: Variant for the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

powered by a 750 hp Wright R-1820-102 Cyclone engine, 15 built (BuNo 0266, 00371-00372, 01647, USCG V141-V155). ;JF-3: JF-2 for the U.S. Navy, five built (BuNos 9835-9839). ;Grumman G-20:Armed version of the Grumman JF-2 for export to Argentina. Eight built.Allen ''Air Enthusiast'' Twenty-three, p.78.

Operators

* Argentine Navy – Operated eight G-20s.Allen ''Air Enthusiast'' Twenty-three, pp. 47–48. ; *

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 ...

– Operated one JF-2

Specifications (JF-2)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Allen, Francis J. "A Duck Without Feathers". ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...

'', Issue 23, December 1983 – March 1984, pp. 46–55, 77–78. Bromley, Kent UK: Pilot Press, 1983.
"Specifications of American Airplanes"
''

Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

'', Volume 36, No. 4, April 1937, pp. 66–71. (Registration required) * * Thruelsen, Richard. ''The Grumman Story''. New York: Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1976. . * Treadwell, Terry. ''Ironworks: Grumman's Fighting Aeroplanes''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishers, 1990. .

External links

The Grumman J2F Duck
{{USN utility aircraft J01F Duck Grumman J01F Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Floatplanes Amphibious aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933