The F9F Panther was Grumman’s first jet fighter, with its prototype making its first flight in November 1947. Early production aircraft lacked wingtip fuel tanks, which were added shortly after testing began and extended the aircraft’s range by allowing it to carry an additional 240 gallons of fuel. The Panther required a catapult launch from aircraft carriers, and fuel limitations restricted most combat missions to about 90 minutes. Panthers went on to fly the majority of Navy and Marine Corps jet combat sorties during that conflict.
Aircraft Specifications
Physical Description
All-metal, single-seat, straight-wing jet fighter with wingtip fuel tanks and a single engine fed by wing-root air intakes.
Crew: 1
Length: 37 ft 3 in
Wingspan: 38 ft
Height: 11 ft 4 in
Weight (empty / max takeoff): 9,303 lbs / 18,721 lbs
Powerplant: One Pratt & Whitney J48-P-8 turbojet engine, 5,750 lbs of thrust
Range: 1,353 miles
Service ceiling: 42,800 ft
Weapons
Armament: Four 20 mm cannons.
Ordnance: Could carry two 500 lb bombs and eight 5-inch rockets, up to 2,000 lbs total.
Key Accomplishments
Flew the Navy’s first carrier-based airstrikes of the Korean War, launching from the USS Valley Forge. Notable aviators who flew the Panther in Korea were Lt. Neal Armsrong, USN, Col John Glenn, USMC, and Capt. Ted Williams, USMC
F9F Panthers made up 87 percent of all Navy and Marine Corps jets flown in the Korean War, flying a combined 78,000 sorties and delivering more ordnance than any other jet aircraft in that conflict.
Was the first jet aircraft flown by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration team.
This aircraft (Bureau #127120) spent most of its operational life at the Naval Air Development Center in Johnsville, Pennsylvania, supporting test programs before its retirement in 1962.
Build Date
May 1951
Manufacturer
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
Dates of Service
1951 – 1962
Country of Origin
United States
Inventory Number
Bureau #127120
Credit
Owned by the Museum.
Display Status
This aircraft spent the majority of its service life at the Naval Air Development Center in Johnsville, Pennsylvania, supporting research and test programs. It was stricken from service in June 1962 and subsequently purchased by Philadelphia attorney Arthur Alan Wolk, who had it restored for static display before donating it to the Museum in 1986.
Status: On display.
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