The first naval fighter able to achieve Mach 1 on the level, Grumman’s Tiger had potential, but was never to have the success of the rival F8U Crusader, and had but a brief front line service life. The design was originally contracted for in the spring of 1953, at a time when the USN desperately needed a new swept-wing fighter able to meet Soviet aircraft on an equal footing. The F9F-9 design was on paper an extrapolation of the F9F Cougar, but in reality was a quite different aircraft, with the intakes moved to the sides of the area ruled fuselage, and a completely new wing used.
The prototype YF9F-9 began flight testing in July 1954, and orders for production F11Fs were shortly forthcoming, but by the time that Tigers started reaching squadrons in 1957, the type’s day was nearly done. The USN, faced with countering the threat of Soviet bombers armed with standoff missiles, had little need for a lightweight day fighter, especially as it was buying the higher performance F8U Crusader at the time. Only six front line squadrons were equipped with F11Fs, and these were quickly replaced as F8Us were delivered. Tigers flew as advanced trainers into the 1960s, and the Blue Angels kept theirs until 1968.
The Tiger’s short career with the USN notwithstanding, Grumman still had hopes of selling the F11F overseas, and flew a pair of F11F-1 Super Tigers to demonstrate what the design could be developed into. With their General Electric J79 engines, the Super Tigers were capable of Mach 2, but efforts to sell the type to Japan lost out to Lockheed’s F-104.
F11F Bibliography:
“Design Highlights of New Navy Grumman Tiger” Aviation Week August 30, 1954 p.9
Ad for Rollway Bearings, featuring a formation of four Blue Angels F11Fs Aviation Week December 7, 1959 p.9
Jacques Niot “Tiger, Tiger” Scale Aviation Modeller International 09-2006 building the Fonderie Miniatures 1/48 scale kit as an aircraft of VF-21.
Tony Buttler American Secret Projects: Fighters & Interceptors 1945-1978 p.115-116: model photos depicting Super Tiger concepts
Tommy H. Thomason U.S. Naval Air Superiority: Development of Shipborne Jet Fighters 1943-1962 p.208: closeup of an F11F from the upper rear; p.247: side by side shot of F11F BuNo 141798 next to the Super Tiger demonstrator