Grumman F3F - Citizendia

Grumman F3F
F3F-1 of VF-4 in the late 1930s.
Type	Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer	Grumman
Designed by	Leroy Grumman
Maiden flight	20 March 1935
Introduced	1936
Retired	November 1943
Primary users	United States Navy United States Marine Corps
Produced	1936-1939
Number built	147
Unit cost	$20,424 as of 1935^[1]
Developed from	Grumman F2F

The Grumman F3F was the last American biplane fighter aircraft delivered to the United States Navy. A fighter aircraft is a Military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other Aircraft, as opposed to a Bomber, which is designed An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading 20th century U Leroy Randle Grumman ( January 4 1895 - October 4 1982) was an American Industrialist and aeronautical engineer The maiden flight of an Aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1936: Events February British Marine Aircraft Ltd This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1943: Events January January 27 - the USAAF makes its first Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading 20th century U The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A biplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft with two main Wings The first powered heavier-than-air Aircraft, the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer A fighter aircraft is a Military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other Aircraft, as opposed to a Bomber, which is designed Designed as an improvement on the single-seat F2F, it entered service in 1936 and was retired from front line squadrons at the end of 1941. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

1 Design and development
2 Operational history
3 Survivors
4 Operators
5 Specifications (F3F-3)
6 References
- 6.1 Notes
- 6.2 Bibliography
7 External links
8 See also

Design and development

The Navy's experience with the F2F revealed issues with stability and unfavorable spin characteristics,^[2] prompting the 15 October 1934 contract for the improved XF3F-1, placed before F2F deliveries began. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1934: Events January January 10 - 11 - A flight of six US The contract also required a capability for ground attack, in addition to the design's fighter role. ^[1] Powered by the same Pratt & Whitney R-1535-72 Twin Wasp Junior engine as the F2F, the fuselage was lengthened and wing area increased over the earlier design. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A reduction in wheel diameter allowed greater fuselage streamlining, eliminating the prominent bulge behind the cowling of the F2F.

The prototype, BuNo. 9727, was delivered and first flown on 20 March 1935 with company test pilot Jimmy Collins making three flights that day. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1935: Events January January 11 - 12 – Amelia Earhart Two days later, six dive-recovery flights took place; on the tenth, the aircraft's pullout at 8,000 ft (2,438 m) registered 14 g on the test equipment. The aircraft broke up in midair, crashing in a cemetery and killing Collins. ^[1] A second, strengthened prototype was built, but it crashed on 9 May of the same year following the pilot's bailout during an unsuccessful spin recovery. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of In aviation a spin is an aggravated stall resulting in rotation about the center of gravity wherein the aircraft follows a downward corkscrew path The second prototype was rebuilt in three weeks, flying on 20 June 1935. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. An order for 54 F3F-1 fighters was placed on 24 August of that year, following the conclusion of the flight test program. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River

Operational history

The first production F3F-1 was delivered on 29 January 1936 to the test group at Naval Air Station Anacostia, with squadron service beginning in March to VF-5B of the USS Ranger and VF-6B of the USS Saratoga. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1936: Events February British Marine Aircraft Ltd Naval Support Facility (NSF Anacostia is a United States Naval Base in Anacostia, Washington D Construction Ranger was laid down on 26 September 1931 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co Pre-War Years 1928 – 1940 Saratoga, the first fast carrier in the Navy quickly proved the value of her type Marine squadron VF-4M received the last six in January 1937. Marine Attack Squadron 211 (VMA-211 is a United States Marine Corps attack squadron consisting of AV-8B Harrier ( V/STOL) jets.

F3F-2 assigned to NAS Anacostia

Grumman, wanting to take advantage of the powerful new 950 hp (708 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone supercharged radial engine, began work on the F3F-2 without a contract; the order for 81 aircraft was not placed until 25 July 1936, two days before the type's first flight. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A supercharger is an air compressor used for Forced induction of an Internal combustion engine. Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[2] The engine's larger diameter changed the cowling's appearance, making the aircraft look even more like a barrel, though top speed increased to 255 mph (410 km/h) at 12,000 ft (3,658 m). ^[1]

The entire F3F-2 production series was delivered in between 1937 and 1938; when deliveries ended, all seven Navy and Marine Corps pursuit squadrons were equipped with Grumman single-seat fighters. This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1938: Events Imperial Airways inaugurates scheduled service from London Further aerodynamic developments were made to an F3F-2 returned to Grumman for maintenance; it became the XF3F-3, and featured a larger-diameter propeller, among other improvements. On 21 June 1938, the Navy ordered 27 improved F3F-3s, as new monoplane fighters like the Brewster F2A and Grumman's own F4F Wildcat were taking longer to develop than had been planned. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For Félix du Temple 's invention see ''Monoplane'' (1874 Types of monoplane The main distinction in types of monoplane is WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

With the introduction of the Brewster F2A-1, the Navy's biplane fighter days were numbered. All F3Fs were withdrawn from squadron service by the end of 1941, though 117 were assigned to naval bases and used for training and utility duties until December 1943. ^[2]

A few F3Fs were used by the U.S. Army Air Force as ferry-pilot trainers, under the designation UC-103. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II.

A civilian aerobatic two-seat variant, the G-32A "Gulfhawk II," was constructed in 1938 and flown by Major Alfred "Al" Williams (Ret. ), head of Gulf Oil's aviation department.

A F3F-2 on the ramp

Survivors

A Grumman F3F-2 was ditched off the coast of San Diego on 29 August 1940 while attempting a landing on the USS Saratoga (CV-3). Events 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708) Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Pre-War Years 1928 – 1940 Saratoga, the first fast carrier in the Navy quickly proved the value of her type The fighter was rediscovered by a navy submarine in June 1988, and recovered on 5 April 1991. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. It was restored at the San Diego Aerospace Museum. San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDAM formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum is an Aviation and Space exploration museum in San Diego California, [1]

Today, four other surviving aircraft are flying, three F3F-2 models and the Gulf Oil G-32A, which were restored by Herb Tischler's Texas Airplane Factory in Fort Worth. The restorations took four years and consisted of rebuilding the G-32A, from original blueprints with tooling built at the Texas Airplane Factory. The main components of three -2 aircraft which had originally crashed in Hawaii were utilized to complete the other restorations.

Operators

United States

Specifications (F3F-3)

3-side drawing of a F3F-1

Data from Great Aircraft of the World^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 23 ft 2 in (7. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. 06 m)
Wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9. The wingspan (or just span) of an airplane or a Bird, is the distance from the left wingtip to the right wingtip 75 m)
Height: 9 ft 4 in (2. 84 m)
Wing area: 260 ft² (24. 15 m²)
Empty weight: 3,285 lb (1,490 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 4,795 lb (2,175 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Wright R-1820-22 "Cyclone" 9-cylinder radial engine, 950 hp (710 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 229 knots, 264 mph (425 km/h) at 15,250 ft (4,658 m)
Cruise speed: 150 mph (130 knots, 240 km/h)
Range: 980 mi (850 nm, 1,600 km)
Service ceiling 33,200 ft (10,120 m)
Rate of climb: 2,800 ft/min (14 m/s) at sea level

Armament

Guns:
- 1× 0. The Maximum Takeoff Weight or Maximum Takeoff Mass of an Aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot of the aircraft is allowed to attempt to take off WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion Engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central In Aviation, V-speeds or Velocity-speeds are standard terms used to define Airspeeds important or useful to the operation of Aircraft, such In Aviation, V-speeds or Velocity-speeds are standard terms used to define Airspeeds important or useful to the operation of Aircraft, such The maximal total range is the distance an Aircraft can fly between Takeoff and Landing, as limited by fuel capacity in powered aircraft or cross-country In Aeronautics, a ceiling is the maximum Density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions In Aerodynamics, the rate of climb RoC is the speed at which an Aircraft increases its Altitude. 30 in (7. 62 mm) M1919 machine gun, 500 rounds (left)
- 1× 0. The Browning M1919 is a.30 caliber Medium machine gun family widely used during the 20th century 50 in (12. 7 mm) M2 machine gun, 200 rounds (right)
Bombs: 2× 116 lb (52. This article is about the.50 caliber M2 machine gun For the.30-06 M2 machine gun see M1919 Browning machine gun. 6 kg) Mk IV bombs, one under each wing

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Cacutt, Len, ed. “Grumman Single-Seat Biplane Fighters. ” Great Aircraft of the World. London: Marshall Cavendish, 1989. p. 155-162. ISBN 1-85435-250-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c Grumman F3F. Air Group 31. Retrieved on 27 December 2006.

Bibliography

Crosby, Francis. Fighter Aircraft. London: Lorenz Books, 2002. ISBN 0-7548-0990-0.

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