AURORA 1/82-SCALE
GRUMMAN F9F-6 COUGAR JET FIGHTER USN VF USMC VMF KIT# 293-29 (1959)
UNBUILT PLASTIC MODEL KIT
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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar was
an aircraft carrier-based fighter aircraft for the United States Navy. Based on
Grumman's earlier F9F Panther, the Cougar replaced the Panther's straight wing
with a more modern swept wing. Thrust was also increased significantly. The
Navy considered the Cougar an updated version of the Panther, despite having a
different official name, and thus Cougars started off from F9F-6 upward.
Prototypes were quickly produced
by modifying Panthers, and the first (XF9F-6) flew on 20 September 1951. The
aircraft was still subsonic, but the critical Mach number was increased from
0.79 to 0.86 at sea level and to 0.895 at 35,000 ft (10,000 m), improving
performance markedly over the Panther. The Cougar was too late for Korean War
service, however, and thus combat effectiveness estimates of the Cougar against
potential foes such as the (likewise subsonic, but not carrier-rated) Soviet
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 necessarily remain in the sphere of conjecture.
Initial production (646
airframes) was the F9F-6, delivered from mid-1952 through July 1954. Armament
was four 20 mm (.79 in) M2 cannons in the nose and provision for two 1,000 lb
(450 kg) bombs or 150 US gal (570 l) drop tanks under the wings. Most were
fitted with a UHF homing antenna under the nose, and some were fitted with
probes for inflight refuelling. Later redesignated F-9F in 1962. Sixty were
built as F9F-6P reconnaissance aircraft with cameras instead of the nose
cannon.
F9F/F-9 Cougar is one of few
aircraft which do not have ailerons; it uses spoilers for roll control.
After withdrawal from active
service, many F9F-6s were used as unmanned drones for combat training,
designated F9F-6K, or as drone directors, designated F9F-6D. The F9F-6K and the
F9F-6D were redesignated the QF-9F and DF-9F, respectively.
F9F-7 referred to the next batch
of Cougars that were given the Allison J33 engine instead of the Pratt &
Whitney J48, a licensed-built Rolls-Royce Tay. A total of 168 were built, but
the J33 proved both less powerful and less reliable than the J48. Almost all
were converted to take J48s, and were thus indistinguishable from F9F-6s. These
were redesignated F-9H in 1962.
The F9F-8 was the final fighter
version. It featured an 8 in (20 cm) stretch in the fuselage and modified wings
with greater chord and wing area, to improve low-speed, high angle of attack
flying and to give more room for fuel tanks. 601 aircraft were delivered
between April 1954 and March 1957; most were given inflight refuelling probes,
and late production were given the ability to carry four AIM-9 Sidewinder
air-to-air missiles under the wings. Most earlier aircraft were modified to
this configuration. A number were given nuclear bombing equipment. These were
redesignated F-9J in 1962.
The F9F-8B aircraft were F9F-8s
converted into single-seat attack-fighters, later redesignated AF-9J.
A total of 110 F9F-8Ps were
produced with an extensively modified nose carrying cameras. They were
withdrawn after 1960 to reserve squadrons. In 1962, surviving F9F-6P and F9F-8P
aircraft were re-designated RF-9F and RF-9J respectively.
Modifications of F9F-8 to
convert to F9F-8P:
The modification to eliminate
the guns and related equipment and incorporate the photographic equipment and
automatic pilot and their controls and instruments has resulted in the
following changes:
Rearrangement of electronics
equipment installed in the area enclosed by the fuselage nose section,
lengthening of this section by 12 inches, and shortening of the sliding nose
section.
Rearrangement of the left and
right consoles and the main instrument panel to provide space for the controls
associated with the additional equipment.
Some minor changes of the
fuselage structure and equipment installations to provide for the necessary
ducting control for hot air from the engine compressor, which is used for
defrosting the camera windows and heating the camera compartment.
Removal of all armament and the
Armament Control System, removal of AN/APG-30 system and installation of an
additional armor plate bulkhead.
The Navy acquired 377 two-seat
F9F-8T trainers between 1956 and 1960. They were used for advanced training,
weapons training and carrier training, and served until 1974. They were armed
with twin 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and could carry a full bombs or missiles load.
In the 1962 redesignation, these were called TF-9J.
The F-9 arrived too late to see
combat in the Korean war. It replaced the F9F Panther as the standard U.S. Navy
carrier fighter in 1954.
The only version of the Cougar
to see combat was the TF-9J trainer (until 1962, F9F-8T). Detachments of four
Cougars served with US Marines Headquarters and Maintenance Squadrons
H&MS-11 at Da Nang and H&MS-13 at Chu Lai, where they were used for
fast-Forward Air Control and the airborne command role, directing airstrikes
against enemy positions in South Vietnam during 1966 and 1968.
F9F-8s were withdrawn from
front-line service in 195859, replaced by F11F Tigers and F8U Crusaders. The
Naval Reserves used them until the mid-1960s, but none of the single-seat
versions were used in the Vietnam War.
The TF-9J had a long service
with the U.S. Navy, but the proposed Cougar modification (reengined with a J52
engine) was rejected, and the Navy selected the TA-4F Skyhawk. The last Cougar
was phased out when VT-4 re-equipped on February 1974. A F9F-8T, BuNo 14276, is
displayed at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola.
The only foreign air arm to use
the F9F Cougar was the Argentine Naval Aviation, who used the F9F Panther as
well. Two F9F-8T trainers were acquired in 1962, and served until 1971. The Cougar
was the first jet to break the sound barrier in Argentina. One aircraft (serial
3-A-151) is on display at the Naval Aviation Museum (MUAN) at Bahía Blanca,
while the other was sold to an owner in United States.