The Widgeon was a military utility version of the four-five-seat commercial Model G-44 amphibian. The four seat G 44 Widgeon was test flown by LeRoy Grumman himself and Bud Gilkes on June 28, 1940. It first went into service with the US Coast Guard as the J4F-1 in 1941 and as the J4F-2 with the US Navy in the following year. It also served with the USAAF (as the OA-14) and with the RCAF and Royal Navy as the Gosling. In 1946 the G-44A appeared incorporating a number of improvements, including a deeper bow, step vents to improve hydrodynamics and modified internal equipment. The Widgeon originally seated four, but the G-44A was built with five seats, and some have been converted to seat six with the middle row of seats facing aft and their backs against the wheel wells. Grumman built 76 G44As. Production of the Widgeon, with 200 hp Ranger inline engines, totalled more than 200.
Société de Aéro-Navale / SCAN of France built 40 aircraft as the SCAN 30, after the war circa 1956, most of which had their 149kW Ranger L-440-5 engines replaced by 223kW Lycoming R-680s. McKinnon Enterprises converted more than 70 Widgeons into Super Widgeon executive transports powered by two 201kW / 270 hp Lycoming GO-460-B1D engines. Gannet Aircraft at Sun Valley, California, in late 1950s produced a modified version of Grumman Widgeon amphibian known as Super Widgeon and powered by two 300 hp Lycoming engines. The company used SCAN 30 airframes (license-built in France) for initial conversions.
G-44A Engines two 200 hp Ranger 6-440-C5 Wingspan: 40 ft Length: 31 ft 1 in Height: 11 ft 5 in Wing area: 245 sq.ft Empty wt. 3,240 lb Gross wt. 4,525 lb Fuel capacity 108 USG Top speed 153 mph. Cruise 65%: 138 mph. Initial climb rate 700 fpm. Range 920 sm. Ceiling 14,60 ft.
Société de Aéro-Navale G-44A Engines: 2 x 270h.p. Lycoming GO-480-B1D, 260 hp. Wing Span: 40′ 0″ Length: 31′ 1″ Height: 13ft (4 m) Speed: 153 mph Seats 4-5
J4F-2 Crew: 5 Engine: 2 x Ranger L-440C-5, 149kW Max take-off weight: 2040 kg / 4497 lb Empty weight: 1447 kg / 3190 lb Wingspan: 12.19 m / 39 ft 12 in Length: 9.47 m / 31 ft 1 in Height: 3.48 m / 11 ft 5 in Wing area: 22.76 sq.m / 244.99 sq ft Max. speed: 246 km/h / 153 mph Cruise speed: 222 km/h / 138 mph Ceiling: 4450 m / 14600 ft Range: 1480 km / 920 miles
McKinnon Super Widgeon G-44 Engines: 2 x Lycoming GO-480-B1D, 270 hp. Seats: 6. Wing loading: 22.4 lb/sq.ft. Pwr loading: 10.2 lb/hp. Max TO wt: 5500 lb. Empty wt: 4000 lb. Equipped useful load: 1401 lb. Payload max fuel: 321 lb. Range max fuel/ 75% cruise: 915 nm/5.7 hr. Service ceiling: 15,000 ft. Max cruise: 143 kt. Stall: 54 kt. 1.3 Vso: 70 kt. ROC: 1500 fpm. SE ceiling: 5000 ft. Min field length – land: 1200 ft. Fuel cap: 648/1080 lb.
Gannet Super Widgeon Engines: 300 hp Lycoming R-680-E3 Wingspan: 40 ft Length: 31 ft 1 in Height: 11 ft 5 in Wing area: 245 sq.ft Empty weight: 3800 lb Loaded weight: 5500 lb Useful load: 1700 lb Max speed: 190 mph Cruise speed: 170 mph ROC: 1850 fpm Range: 1000 mile Fuel capacity: 158 USgallons Water take-off: 10 seconds
The G 34 had potential applications with the Air Force as well and as the Type G 45 ordered as a back up to the Lockheed XP 49 in November 1939. A land based version of the shipboard XF5F-1 was offered to the US Army Air Corps as the G 46 while the prototype naval fighter was still under construction, and this was ordered as the XP 50 on 25 November 1939. The XP 50 was essentially similar to its shipboard counterpart, apart from having a lengthened nose to accommodate the nosewheel member of a tricycle undercarriage, and, powered by two turbo¬ supercharged Wright R 1820 67/69 engines, was intended to carry an armament of two 20 mm cannon and two 0.5 in (12,7¬ mm) machine guns.
The prototype XF5F-1 had a number of modifications, the most noticeable being an extension of the fuselage nose so that it terminated forward of the wing. Although failing to win a production order, the XF5F-1 soldiered on until withdrawn from use in December 1944, having done some useful work as a development prototype for the more advanced Grumman F7F. A land-based version of Grumman’s design interested the US Army Air Force, which ordered a single XP-50 prototype.
First flown on February 18 1941 at Bethpage, the XP 50 (40 3057) was powered by a pair of 1,200hp (893kW) R 1820-67s and had a longer nose, tricycle landing gear and turbocharged engines. Its potential seemed tremendous, with good manoeuvrability, excellent pilot view even astern, two 20-mm and two 0.5-in guns, plus bombs, a range of 1,250 miles, ceiling of over 40,000 ft and speed of 424 mph. This came to nothing, the planned P-65 pro¬duction version being com¬promised by the need also to meet navy requirements with the equivalent F7F, and in any case Grumman’s resources were being stretched to the limit. An in flight explosion of the turbosupercharger on May 14 1941 forced test pilot Bob Hall to bail out and with the loss of the prototype, this pro¬gramme also being aban¬doned in favour of the more advanced XP 65 (G 51), which, in the event, was also to be discontinued.
XP-50 manufacturer’s estimates Engine: 2 x Wright R-1820-67/-69 Max speed, 424 mph (682 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7 620 m). Range, 585 mls (941 km) at 317 mph (510 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3 050 m). Time to 20,000 ft (6 095 m), 5.0 min. Empty weight, 8,307 lb (3768 kg). Max loaded Weight, 13,060 lb (5 924 kg). Span, 42 ft 0 in (12,80 m). Length, 31 ft 11 in (9,73 m). Height, 12 ft 0 in (3,66 m). Wing area, 304 sq ft (28,24 sq.m). Armament: two 20-mm and two 0.5-in guns, plus bombs. Crew: 1
Ordered as a prototype on 30 June 1938 by the US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, the XF5F-1 was of radical concept in that it was intended as a twin engined shipboard fighter, and this at a time when the first single engined shipboard fighter monoplanes were only just commencing flight test. Conceived as the G 34 Skyrocket, the XF5F-1 was flown on 1 April 1940, and, in its initial form, had a singular appearance resulting from an abbreviated forward fuselage, the wing leading edge extending ahead of the fighter’s nose. Powered by two 1,200 hp Wright XR 1820 40/42 radials and having provision for two 23 mm Madsen cannon, the XF5F 1 underwent some redesign as a result of testing, the engine nacelles being lengthened, the fuselage nose being extended, etc. Flight testing of the XF5F-1 provided information utilised in the development of the more advanced XF7F 1 (G 51). Despite the economic circumstances and America’s declining influence in world affairs, Congress loosened its purse strings wide enough to allow the Navy to modernise its naval air arm. As a result, the Navy became involved in three new fighter projects the Grumman XF5F 1 and similar USAAF XP 50, the Bell XF1 1 and the Vought XF4U 1. The long term intention was to bolster the Navy’s sagging carrier forces whose squadrons flew the Grumman F3F 2 biplane fighter harking back to the mid1930s
G-34 / XF5F-1 Skyrocket
The introduction of speedier and more heavily armed low wing fighters emerging from Europe such as Britain’s Supermarine Spitfire and Germany’s Messerschmitt Bf 109 capable of speeds well over 300mph (483km/h) made the Navy’s task ever more urgent. In addition, the changing military environment, along with the gathering storm clouds of impending war in Europe, spurred Navy officials to investigate new concepts in aircraft design the XF5F 1 Skyrocket. Ordered by the navy as the XF5F-1 [1442] on 30 June 1938, it was flown on 1 April 1940 piloted by R A “Bud” Gillies.
Not only was the G-34 an advanced concept, in its original form it was a most unusual-looking aircraft, with the leading edge of its low-set monoplane wing forward of the fuselage nose. The tail unit had twin endplate fins and rudders, and the landing gear was of the retractable tailwheel type, with the main units retracting aft into the wing-mounted engine nacelles. The engines were two Wright R-1820 Cyclones, each with a three-bladed propeller, these being geared to counter-rotate to offset the effects of propeller torque.
Flight test data early on in the Grumman G 34 (factory designation) revealed the Skyrocket was capable of outstripping in speed practically all other fighters then in both air services. At 16,000ft (4,877m), it achieved a top speed of 380mph and had an initial climb of 4,000ft (1,200m) per minute. Armament consisted of four 0.50 calibre Brownings.
In the summer of 1941, XF5F-1 was tested in competition against F2A, F4F, XF4U, XFL-1, P-39, P-40, and British Hurricane and Spitfire. After familiarization flights in each aircraft, pilots flew a specified series of maneuvers, then submitted pilot reports on each. LtCdr John Crommelin had this to say about F5F: “I remember testing against XF4U in a climb to 10,000’… I pulled away from the Corsair so fast I thought he was having engine trouble. F5F was a carrier pilot’s dream … opposite- rotating props eliminated all torque, and you had no engine in front to look around to see the LSO (Landing Signal Officer). Analysis of all data favored F5F, and Spitfire came in a distant second.” Availability of spare parts at the time and other particulars cancelled F5F, and the Navy chose F4F instead for production.
Despite the glowing performance figures the Skyrocket’s future was suddenly scrapped by the Navy, mainly for a combination of technical reasons and doubts over what some considered to be radical features. The Navy’s enthusiasm blunted by several problems in the Skyrocket testing programme such as engine cooling, instability in certain flight conditions and the wing’s odd position obstructing the view forward during carrier landings. Modified under a Dick Hutton design, the F5F received inward-rotating props, a new canopy and longer nose in 1941.
Grumman XF5F-1 long-nose
After completing 211 test flights, the XF5F 1 (BuNo 1442) was cancelled in early 1941. It did, however, lead to the XP-50 for the Army Air Corps.
Grumman XF5F-1 Third revision [1442]
XF5F-1 Engine: 2 x Wright XR-1840-40/42 Cyclone, 1,200-hp. Wingspan: 12.80 m / 42 ft 0 in Length: 8.75 m / 28 ft 8 in Height: 3.45 m / 11 ft 4 in Wing area: 28.19 sq.m / 303.43 sq ft Max take-off weight: 4599 kg / 10139 lb Empty weight: 3677 kg / 8106 lb Loaded weight, 10,138 lb (4599 kg). Max. speed: 616 km/h / 383 mph at sea level, 380 mph (611 km/h) at 16,500 ft (5030 m) Range: 1930 km / 1199 miles at 210 mph (338 km/h) Max climb, 4,00ceiling: 33,000′ ft Seats: 1
Designed in 1937 by Robert L. Hall, the company’s first carrier-based fighter of monoplane configuration was designed to meet a US Navy requirement which originated in 1935, but it was not until July 1936 that the Navy ordered this aircraft, under the designation XF4F-2 (G-18).
The model G-18 was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1830-66 Twin Wasp engine, a two-row, fourteen-cylinder radial. A Hamilton Standard two-position propeller was fitted. The armament installation was basically the same as that of the XF4F-1, with two 0.50 guns with 200 rounds each in the top of the engine cowling, and provision for two 100lb bombs under the wings. The gross weight of the aircraft was 5635lb, a substantial increase over the XF4F-1 biplane. The G-18 was ordered on 28 July 1936. Despite the substantial differences to the G-16, the designation XF4F-2 was applied. The prototype, BuNo 0383, was first flown on 2 September 1937. During trials it demonstrated a maximum level speed of 290mph, which was faster than the XF2A-1, but still below the USN requirement of 300mph.
The XF4F-2 was delivered to NAS Anacostia on 23 December 1937 for evaluation. During trials the prototype suffered from a series of snags and accidents. None of these was particularly serious, but their undermined the confidence of the USN. The XF4F-2 suffered repeated engine crankshaft failures. The arrestor hook proved too weak. On 24 February 1938 there was an on board fire when ballast bags in the aft fuselage began to burn. And on 11 April 1938 the XF4F-2 suffered a crash when the engine failed during a simulated deck landing. As a result, the US Navy selected the more reliable Brewster F2A-1 Buffalo for production, after NACA tests had suggested that minor aerodynamic improvements could boost the speed of the XF2A-1 by 30mph. The USN ordered 54 F2A-1s on 11 June 1938. Despite this setback, the USN continued to show interest in the F4F. This was probably partly due to its unwillingness to rely fully on the production of Brewster: The order for the F2A-1 was the first production contract for Brewster, and the manufacturer did not even possess a factory which was adequate for the production of aircraft. Grumman had already built the FF, F2F and F3F for the Navy, and the F4F showed some promise. A development contract was awarded in October 1938. To overcome the shortcomings of the XF4F-2, a new prototype was built with a more powerful two-stage supercharged engine, and airframe revisions which increased wing span and brought changes to wingtips and tail surfaces. In this form the XF4F-3 flew for the first time on 12 February 1939. In July 1936 the navy ordered the prototype XF4F-2, with one of the new 900-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasps at the front of a rather tubby fuselage which carried the monoplane wing an inch or two below the mid position. The R-1830S C5 G went into production in 1940 to power the Grumman F4F 3 Wildcat fighter. This was the first production aircraft with two stage supercharging. The hand¬cranked landing gear was re¬tained, and the pilot could look down through two windows in the floor of the comfortable cockpit. Bob Hall, designer of the faintly similar Gee Bee racers, took the XF4F-2 on its first flight on 2 Sep¬tember 1937. Armed with two 0.5-in guns and two 100-lb bombs, this showed promise but suffered from prolonged engine problems. First flown on 12 February 1939, the XF4F-3 had a com¬pletely revised airframe, with broad square-tipped wings and a much-improved tail. It also had a far better Twin Wasp, with a two-stage two-speed supercharger. Armament was increased to two 0.3-in in the fuselage and two 0.5-in in the outer wings. Though by far the heaviest Grumman fighter yet, the Dash-3 proved a fine aircraft, with excellent manoeuvrability, a speed of 333 mph and service ceiling of 33,500 ft. In August 1939 the navy ordered the first batch of 54 F4F-3s, with a longer fuselage, four 0.5-in guns in the wings and, later, armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. This order was soon in¬creased. Grumman offered an export version of the F4F 3 ordered by the US Navy as the G 36A, a contract for 81 aircraft being placed on behalf of France’s Marine Nationale, and France added 81 of a version called the G.36A with Cyclone engines. Seven were in various stages of assembly when France fell and the entire batch was transferred to Britain which also placed a contract for 100 G 36As on its own account. Britain’s Fleet Air Arm put in British non-metric instruments and a throttle lever that worked in the normal sense (the French pulled the lever back for take-off). The six 7.5-mm French guns in the wings were retained.
They proved far better than any other fighter in the Fleet Air Arm, and opened their score on Christmas Day 1940 when two from 804 Squadron shot down a Ju 88 in the north of Scotland.
G-36A Martlet I
Whereas the French contract aircraft were powered by the 1,200 hp Wright R 1820 G205A Cyclone, Britain selected the Pratt & Whitney S3C4 G Twin Wasp of similar power. The first (French contract) G 36A flew on 11 May 1940 and entered British service as the Martlet I, a contractual change resulting in the British order being switched to the G 36B with folding wings, this entering service as the Martlet II (although the first 10 were accepted with fixed wings). The 30 F4F 3As that had been assigned to Greece were also taken into the Royal Navy inventory as Martlet IIIs, and with the passage of the Lend-Lease Act, 220 aircraft essentially similar to the F4F-4 but with the single stage R 1820 40B engine were assigned to the Royal Navy as Martlet IVs (F4F 4Bs), these becoming Wildcat IVs when British and US names were standardised in March 1944.
Churchill regarded the production of Fulmars vital and the greater need for land Spitfires, the diversion of resources to a new navalised variant would reduce Spitfire’s production numbers. To cover the gap until the Fulmar’s replacement (the Fairey Firefly) was able to enter service, Grumman Wildcats were ordered for the FAA. These entered service towards the end of 1940 as the Martlet, but these were unavailable in sufficient numbers, while Sea Hurricanes, without folding wings, were also not advanced enough as a solution.
The appearance of the A6M2 N float fighter in the Aleutians prompted US Navy interest in a float equipped version of the F4F 3 shipboard fighter. One example was therefore fitted with Edo designed and manufactured single step metal floats, and with auxiliary rudders mounted near the tips of the tailplane flew on 28 February 1943. The need for additional keel area aft was revealed by initial trials and a large ventral fin was added to improve yaw stability. The floats and their bracing struts raised the fighter’s weight by only some 500 lb (227 kg), and from calm water at normal loaded weight the F4F 3S could take off within 34 seconds. However, the dramatic effect of float drag on speed performance led to an earlier contract to complete 100 F4F 3 Wildcats as float fighters being cancelled. Altogether Grumman built 369 F4F-3s for the US Navy, followed by 95 Dash-3As with the R-1830-90 engine. Some were converted to F4F-3P photo air¬craft and BuNo 4038 was fitted with twin floats. The navy allotted the name Wildcat, thereby estab¬lishing the famous series of Grum¬man ‘cat’ fighters, and the British changed to the same name in January 1944. The chief drawback of the otherwise outstanding F4F-3 was its size, which did not fit too well with the constricted decks of the new escort carriers. Leroy Grum-man took two paperclips and, after bending them in various direc¬tions, stuck them into a pencil eraser. He thus proceeded to demonstrate the principle of what at first was called the ‘sto-wing’. By attaching the outer wings by oblique skewed hinges they were made to fold back on each side of the fuselage, upper surface out¬wards. The company made abso¬lutely sure it worked before com¬mitting it to production at the 163rd aircraft, subsequent delive¬ries being designated F4F-4s, or Martlet IIs. These had the 1,200-hp R-1830-86 engine and the heavy armament of six 0.5-in guns in the outer wings. They were by far the most important Allied fighters in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor until the summer of 1943. Grumman completed the last of 1,971 F4F-4s on the last day of 1942, subsequently needing every inch of floor for the TBF and F6F. Small numbers were built of the experimental Dash-5 to -8. In January 1942 General Motors formed its Eastern Aircraft Divi¬sion to build aircraft in under-used car factories. In 1942 the manufacture of the Wildcat was transferred to the Eastern Aircraft Division of the General Motors Corporation. The first FM-1 Wildcat, assembled from parts supplied by Grumman, flew on 1 September 1942. The FM-1, fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 engine, was virtually the same as the F4F-4 (Wildcat IV). By 11 April 1944 the Eastern Aircraft Division had produced its 2,500th Wildcat. Manufacture of the F4F-4 continued in slightly modified form as the FM 1 Wildcat, the R 1830 86 Twin Wasp engine being retained but wing armament being reduced from six to four 0.5 in (12,7¬ mm) guns and ammunition capacity being raised (from 1,440 to 1,720 rounds). The first FM 1 was flown on 31 August 1942, at Linden, New Jer¬sey, a total of 1,151 subsequently being built of which 312 were assigned to Britain as Martlet (later Wildcat) Vs.
The version of the Wildcat built in largest numbers by General Motors, however, was the FM 2, the first version of the fighter produced for the US Navy to standardise on the 1,350-hp R-1820-56 Cyclone engine. The FM 2 was the production version of the XF4F 8, two prototypes of which were built by Grumman with the first flying on 8 November 1942. Distinguished by its short cowling and redesigned, taller tail. FM-2 Wild¬cats had the oil coolers removed from the under surface of the centre-section to the cowling, which was revised in shape. The removal of the oil coolers permitted the installation of universal racks under the inner wings for bombs or auxiliary fuel tanks, six 0.5-in guns, and (from No. 3,301) six 5-in rockets. This version was called the Wildcat V by the Fleet Air Arm.
FM-2 Wildcat
A total of 4,777 FM 2 Wildcats was built, the last delivery in August 1945, of which 370 were assigned to Britain as Wildcat VIs. Excluding prototypes a total of 7,898 F4Fs and FMs were built.
These were used operationally by the US Navy on a wide scale in the Pacific (FM-2 in particular serving as light escort carrier fighters), participating in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, and were used extensively in the attack on Guadalcanal. The type remained in first-line service until the end of the war. British Martlets initially replaced Sea Gladiators and, like their US Navy counterparts, remained operational until the end of the war.
Lieut. Millard Thrash USNR 1944 at Guadalcanal after WASP sinking
XF4F-2 Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-66 Twin Wasp, 900-hp. Wing span: 34 ft. Armament: two 0.5-in guns & two 100-lb bombs.
XF4F-2 Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-66 Twin Wasp, 1050 hp Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in / 11.6 m Length: 28 ft 9 in Height: 11 ft 11 in / 3.6 m
XF4F-3 Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp. Armament: 4 x 0.5-in mg. Max speed: 333 mph. Service ceiling: 33,500 ft.
G.36A Martlet I / Wildcat Engine: Wright R-1820G 205A Cyclone, 1200 hp Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in / 11.6 m Length: 28 ft 9 in Height: 11 ft 11 in / 3.6 m Armament: six 7.5-mm mg.
F4F-3 Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76 Twin Wasp, 1200 hp Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in / 11.6 m Length: 28 ft 9 in Height: 11 ft 11 in / 3.6 m Empty weight: 4425 lb Loaded weight: 5876 lb Max speed: 325 mph / 523 kph
F4F-3A Engine: R-1830-90.
F4F-3P Photo air¬craft.
G-36 / F4F 3S Max speed, 266 mph (428 kph) at 20,300 ft (6 185 m). Initial climb, 2,460 ft/min (12,5 m/sec). Max range, 600 mls (965 km). Empty weight, 5,804 lb (2 633kg). Loaded weight, 7,506 lb (3405 kg). Span, 38 ft 0 in (11,59 m). Length, 39 ft 1 in (11,91 m). Height, 18 ft 13 in (5,53 m). Wing area, 260 sq ft (24,15 sq.m).
F4F-4 / Martlet II / Wildcat Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-36/40 Twin Wasp, 1,200-hp / 895kW Wing span: 38 ft / 11.58 m Length: 8.76 m / 28 ft 9 in Height: 2.81 m / 9 ft 3 in Wing area: 24.15 sq.m / 259.95 sq ft Max speed, 293mph (471 km/h) at 13,000 ft (3 965 m). Cruise speed: 249 km/h / 155 mph Initial climb, 3,050 ft/min (15,49 m/sec). Ceiling: 12010 m / 39400 ft Max range (clean), 890 mls (1432 km). Empty weight, 5,425 lb (2461 kg). Normal loaded weight, 7,580 lb (3 438 kg). Armament: six 0.5-in mg, 2 x 45kg bombs. Crew: 1
F4F-5
F4F-6
F4F-7
F4F-8
FM-1 Wildcat Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 Twin Wasp, 1200 hp Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in / 11.6 m Length: 28 ft 9 in Height: 11 ft 11 in / 3.6 m Max speed: 318 mph / 509 kph Armament: 4 x 0.5-in mg.
FM-2 Wildcat V Engine: Wright R-1820-56 Cyclone, 1,350-hp. Armament: six 0.5-in guns, and (from No. 3,301) six 5-in rockets. Max speed, 289 mph (465 km/h) at sea level, 319 mph (513 km/h) at 19,600 ft (5 980 m). Time to 10,000 ft (3 050 m), 4.5 min. Max range (clean), 780 mls (1255 km). Empty weight, 5,542 lb (2 516 kg). Max loaded weight, 8,221 lb (3 732 kg). Span, 38 ft 0 in (11,59 m). Length, 28 ft 9 in (8,77 m). Height, 11 ft 5 in (3,48 m). Wing area, 260 sq ft (24,15 sq.m).
Wildcat VI Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-56 Twin Wasp, 1350 hp Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in / 11.6 m Length: 28 ft 9 in Height: 11 ft 11 in / 3.6 m
Virtually a two seat adaptation of the F3F-2 fighter, the G-32 Gulfhawk III was sold to Gulf Oil in May 1938 as a high speed transport. NC1051 was drafted into the USAAF in 1942, and designated UC-103.
The G-21A eight-seat commercial amphibian first flew on 29 May 1937 and was Grumman’s first aircraft produced for the private and commercial market. Proving successful, 20 were delivered prior to 1 October 1938. The G-21 was adopted by the US Navy, under the designation JRF, first entering service in 1939, and by the US Navy as the JRF-5. However most of the 300 or so aircraft built went into military service, The US Navy initially received JRF-1s and the US Coast Guard JRF-2s in 1939-40. The series included JRF-1A aircraft, fitted for target towing and photography and JRF-3 fitted with anti-icing equipment and autopilot for use in northern waters by the US Coast Guard. The JRF-4 was a development of the JRF-1, and JRF-5 (OA-9) for the USAAF and fitted for photography. The JRF-6B was a navigational trainer. The JRF-5s also served with the RCAF and the JRF-5 and -6 with the RAF as the Goose.
JRF-5 Goose
Production of the JRF ceased in September 1945, but the type continued to serve as a general/utility amphibian with the US Navy and Coast Guard. More than 300 of the G-21A Goose series with 450 hp Pratt & Whitney engines were built just before and during World War II. Large numbers of’ these amphibians were still used by the U S Navy and Coast Guard for an-sea rescue and transport duties in 1955. After the war McKinnon Enterprises began a conversion programme, replacing the original 335kW Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-6 engines with four 253kW Lycoming GSO-480s and incorporating other refinements to produce executive transports. This programme was superseded by the turboprop-powered G-21C, D and G Turbo-Goose conversions, initiated in 1966. The turboprop version is powered by two 680 shp / 507kW Pratt & Whitney Aircraft of Canada PT6A turboprop engines. Other improvements include retractable wing floats and increased fuel capacity.
Grumman G 21 A / JRF Goose Engine: 2 x Pratt&Whitney R-985-AN6 Wasp Junior, 450 hp Length: 38 ft 4 in / 11.68 m Height: 15 ft / 4.57 m Wingspan: 49.016 ft / 14.94 m Wing area: 375.018 sq.ft / 34.84 sq.m Max take off weight: 7955.6 lb / 3608.0 kg Weight empty: 5426.5 lb / 2461.0 kg Max. speed: 174 kts / 323 km/h / 201 mph Cruising speed: 166 kts / 307 km/h Service ceiling: 21,000 ft / 6400 m Cruising altitude: 5003 ft / 1525 m Wing load: 21.32 lb/sq.ft / 104.0 kg/sq.m Range: 556 nm / 1030 km Fuel capacity 220. Crew: 2 Seats: 4-6
JRF-5 Goose Engines: two 450 h.p. Pratt and Whitney R-985-N-6 Span: 49 ft Weight: 8,500 lb Max Speed: 180 mph Maximum range: 800 miles approx Crew: 2-6
McKinnon Turbo Widgeon G-21E Engines: 2 x P&WAC PT6-27, 715 hp. Wing loading: 33.1 lb/sq.ft. Pwr loading: 7.3 lb/hp. Max TO wt: 10,500 lb. Empty wt: 6635 lb. Equipped useful load: 3507 lb. Payload max fuel: 0 lb. Range max fuel/ cruise: 1131 nm/5.8 hr. Service ceiling: 20,000 ft. Max cruise: 174 kt. Stall: 73 kt. 1.3 Vso: 95 kt. ROC: 2000 fpm. SE ceiling: 12,000 ft. Min field length – land: 1500 ft. Fuel cap: 3956 lb. Seats: 10.
McKinnon G-21G Turbo Goose Engines: 2 x Pratt -Whitney Canada PT6A-27, 507kW / 680 shp Wingspan: 15.49 m / 50 ft 10 in Length: 12.06 m / 39 ft 7 in Wing area: 35.08 sq.m / 377.60 sq ft Max take-off weight: 5670 kg / 12500 lb Empty wt: 6635 lb Equipped useful load: 5507 lb. Payload max fuel: 1551 lb. Fuel cap: 3956 lb Wing loading: 33.1 lb/sq.ft. Pwr loading: 9.19 lb/hp. Max. speed: 391 km/h / 243 mph Max cruise: 174 kt. Stall: 73 kt. 1.3 Vso: 95 kt. ROC: 2000 fpm. Service Ceiling: 6095 m / 20000 ft SE ceiling: 12,000 ft. Min field length – land: 1500 ft. Range max fuel/ cruise: 1131 nm/5.8 hr. Seats: 13
In 1931 the XFF-1 prototype two-seat carrier-based biplane fighter flew for the first time. It was of advanced design with enclosed cockpits (the canopy made up of telescoping sections) and a landing gear that retracted into well-type recesses in the forward fuselage sides.
On 6 March 1931 Grumman signed a contract to supply, for $73,975, one XFF-1 (experimental fighter, Grumman, model 1). Not a cent was to be paid until the XFF-1 had been accepted by the customer. Grumman hired Bill McAvoy from the NACA to make the first flight on 29 December 1931, powered by a 575 hp Wright R¬1820E Cyclone. It soon clocked 195 mph in level flight. Later, with a 750 hp R 1820F Cyclone, it achieved 323 km/h (201 mph).
In August 1932 Grum¬man flew the XSF-1 scout, with one of the fixed guns replaced by 45 gal of extra fuel, and this reached 207 mph. 33 SF 1s were ordered with revised internal equipment and R 1820 84 engines. These also served in the Lexington, with Scout Squadron VS 3B.
But the break¬through came just before Christ¬mas 1932, when everyone was about to be laid off because there were insufficient funds to pay the wages: the navy ordered 27 FF-ls. Deliveries of 27 FF 1s, with 559kW R 1820 78 engines, began to VF 5B (Lexing¬ton) in June 1933. Armament comprised two 0.30 in (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns in the upper front fuselage, with another in the rear cockpit, and there was provision for one 45.36 kg (100 lb) bomb beneath each lower wing.
FF-1
In 1934 similar but R-1820-84-powered SF-1 scouts were delivered. FF-1s and SF-1s totalled 60 aircraft and in 1933 these equipped fighter Squadron VF-5B aboard USS Lexington, and from then on the company never looked back. In 1935-36 the 25 surviv¬ing Fifis (the FF had to be called that) were modified with the cock¬pits arranged for dual-control pilot training. All FF 1 s and SF 1 s were withdrawn from front¬line service by the end of 1936, but served with reserve units (the former as FF 2 train¬ers) until late 1940.
Can Car’s entry into the aviation industry was in 1936 when the company obtained a licence to assemble the Grumman FF 2 (redesignated G 23 in Canada), a two seat, carrier based, naval biplane fighter, which had first flown in 1931. It combined a duralumin stressed skin fuselage and tail with wings consisting of metal ribs and spars covered with fabric. It was also the first of its kind to have retractable undercarriage. The G 23 was already close to being obsolete by the time assembly started and there could have been no obvious market among the major aviation powers, who already possessed higher performance biplanes or were developing faster low wing monoplane fighters. By mid 1938, 42 G 23s had been assembled at the company’s plant in Fort William, Ontario, one each for Nicaragua (The prototype Grumman G 23 was sold in Nicaragua and returned to the USA in the 1960s) and Japan and the remaining forty for Turkey. Thirty -four of the latter had been shipped when complaints were received from representatives of the Spanish Nationalists that Spain, not Turkey, was the final destination of these aircraft. The GE-23s were assembled in Barcelona and pushed into service as ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft. Despite its retractable landing gear, the GE-23 was only marginally faster but considerably less agile than the CR.32 flown by the Italians and Nationalists, and only nine survived destruction in the air or on the ground to fall into Nationalist hands at the end of the war.
GE-23
An additional ten G 23s were built and, with the exception of one sent to Mexico, these were offered to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) along with the remaining six from the ‘Turkish’ order. The RCAF was at first reluctant to accept the aircraft and the offer had to be made three times before the desperation produced by war forced them to take the G 23 into service as the Goblin in mid 1940. For a time, these fifteen obsolete aircraft formed the country’s main fighter force on the east coast, but by April 1942 all of the Goblins had been scrapped.
Other G 23s survived a bit longer than that. Several of the Spanish machines were taken over by the Nationalist forces at the end of the Civil War and the last was only scrapped in 1955.
FF-2
A single seat derivative of the FF-1, the XF2F-1 was flown by Paul Hovgard on 18 October 1933. Though a very tricky aircraft, needing (for example) care not to stall/spin off too tight a turn in the circuit, the single-seater had the outstanding speed range of 65 mph up to 230. The engine was the 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1535-72 Twin Wasp Junior, rated at 700 hp. The navy placed its biggest order since 1918: 55 F2Fs. These were delivered in 1935, and not only out-performed everything in the Army Air Corps but probably any other fighter in service anywhere. Even so, it was still tricky, and after designer Bill Schwendler had suggested improvements the navy ordered that these should be incorporated in the last of the 55, to be called the XF3F-1.
F2F-1
Corsair V93S in Royal Thailand Air Force
After de¬signer Bill Schwendler had suggested improvements to the F2F the navy ordered that these should be incorporated in the last of the 55, to be called the XF3F-1. This had a greater span, longer fuselage, bigger cockpit and other changes. During tests the pilot made a long vertical dive and then pulled out violently. He was aiming for 9 g. but calculations afterwards showed he actually pulled 14 g leading to fatal break-up. But after a small ventral fin had been added under the tail of a second prototype the navy placed another record order, for 54 F3F-ls, priced at over $lm. The F3F-1, powered by the 484kW R-1535-72, was good, and it carried one 0.5-in gun, one 0.3-in and two 116-lb bombs, but it could do with a bigger engine. The upshot was that on 23 March 1937 the navy placed another record order: 81 F3F-2s, priced at $1,674,310. These were powered by the 850-hp Wright Cyclone, turning a Hamilton propeller with three controllable-pitch blades. Grumman had to farm out the wings and tails to rival Brewster, but when fitted with the Cyclone R-1820-22 rated at 950 hp and the result was an order for 27 F3F-3s. They were so good the last did not come off the line until May 1939.
FF-1 Engine: Wright R-1820-78, 750 hp. Seats: 2. Wingspan: 36 ft 6in. Length: 7.47 m (24 ft 6 in) Gross Weight: 2110 kg (4655 lb) Maximum speed: 333 km/h (207 mph). Armament: 3 x 0.3 in mg, 200 lb underwing bomb load.
FF-2 Engine: 1 x Wright R-1820-78, 552kW Max take-off weight: 2190 kg / 4828 lb Empty weight: 1474 kg / 3250 lb Wingspan: 10.52 m / 34 ft 6 in Length: 7.47 m / 24 ft 6 in Height: 3.38 m / 11 ft 1 in Wing area; 28.80 sq.m / 310.00 sq ft Max. speed: 333 km/h / 207 mph Ceiling: 6400 m / 21000 ft Range: 1428 km / 887 miles Armament: 3 x 7.62mm machine-guns Crew: 2
F2F-1 Engine: 1 x Pratt-Whitney R-1535-72 Twin Wasp, 485kW / 700 hp Max take-off weight: 1745 kg / 3847 lb Empty weight: 1221 kg / 2692 lb Wingspan: 8.69 m / 28 ft 6 in Length: 6.53 m / 21 ft 5 in Height: 2.77 m / 9 ft 1 in Wing area: 21.37 sq.m / 230.02 sq ft Max. Speed: 383 km/h / 238 mph Cruise speed: 225 km/h / 140 mph Range: 1585 km / 985 miles Armament: 2 x 7.62mm (0.3 in) machine-guns, 200 lb underwing bomb load. Crew: 1
GE-23 Engine: 1 x Wright R-1820-F52, 596.5kW (800hp). Span: 10.515m (34ft 6in). Length: 7.467m (24ft 6in). Max T/O weight: 2190 kg (4,828 lb). Max speed: 216 mph at 7,000 ft. Operational range: 921 miles. Armament: 3 x 7.62-mm (0.3-in) mg.
F3F-1 Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1535-72, 700 hp. Armament: 1 x 0.5 in & 2 x 0.3 in mg, 232 lb underwing bomb load. Seats: 1.
F3F-2 Engine: Wright Cyclone R-1820-22, 850 hp. Wing span: 32 ft. Armament: 2 x 0.3 in mg, 200 lb underwing bomb load. Seats: 1.
F3F-3 Engine: Wright Cyclone R-1820-22, 950 hp / 708kW Wingspan: 9.75 m / 31 ft 12 in Length: 7.06 m / 23 ft 2 in Height: 2.84 m / 9 ft 4 in Wing area: 24.15 sq.m / 259.95 sq ft Max take-off weight: 2175 kg / 4795 lb Empty weight: 1490 kg / 3285 lb Max. speed: 425 km/h / 264 mph Cruise speed: 241 km/h / 150 mph Ceiling: 10120 m / 33200 ft Range: 1577 km / 980 miles Crew: 1 Armament: 2 x 7.62mm machine-guns
The J2F was an equal-span single-bay biplane with a large monocoque central float which also housed the retractable main landing gear, a similar design to the Leroy Grumman-designed landing gear first used for Grover Loening’s early amphibious biplane designs, and later adopted for the Grumman FF fighter biplane. The aircraft had strut-mounted stabilizer floats beneath each lower wing. A crew of two or three were carried in tandem cockpits, forward for the pilot and rear for an observer with room for a radio operator if required. It had a cabin in the fuselage for two passengers or a stretcher.
The Duck’s main pontoon was blended into the fuselage, making it almost a flying boat despite its similarity to a conventional landplane which has been float-equipped. This configuration was shared with the earlier Loening OL, Grumman having acquired the rights to Loening’s hull, float, and undercarriage designs. Like the F4F Wildcat, its narrow-tracked landing gear was hand-cranked.
Production of this general utility amphibian began in 1933 when the first prototype flew, and production continued until 1945. In all, nine series of the Duck were built.
The J2F-1 Duck first flew on 2 April 1936, powered by a 750 hp (559 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone, and was delivered to the U.S. Navy on the same day. The J2F-2 had an uprated Wright Cyclone engine of 790 hp (589 kW). Twenty J2F-3 variants were built in 1939 for use by the Navy as executive transports with plush interiors. Due to pressure of work following the United States entry into the war in 1941, production of the J2F Duck was transferred to the Columbia Aircraft Corp of New York. They produced 330 aircraft for the Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. If standard Navy nomenclature practice had been followed, these would have been designated JL-1s, but it was not, and all Columbia-produced airframes were delivered as J2F-6s.
The first appeared for the Navy in 1933 as the JF-1, powered by a 521.6kW Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine. This was followed by the JF-2 Coast Guard version, powered by a 559kW Wright Cyclone radial, and the JF-3.
The amphibian was originally used for photography, target-towing, scouting, and rescue work. Although the Duck is normally flown as a two-seater in tandem fashion, a folding floor in the rear cockpit gives access to a lower compartment for use in rescue work and the like; the lower compartment could house either two extra crew members or a stretcher.
A number of JF-2s were also delivered to Argentina.
By the beginning of 1941 about 115 JF and J2F-1 (company designation G-15) to J2F-4 Ducks were in service as general/utility amphibians for photographic, target-towing, scouting and rescue work. The J2F was an improved version of the earlier JF Duck, with its main difference being a longer float.
These were followed by J2F-5s and J2F-6s. The J2F6 was by far the most common. It featured aerodynamic improvements over the previous models, including a long-cord engine cowling.
The J2F-6 was produced in 1944 by the Columbia Aircraft Corporation of Valley Stream, Long Island, under licence from Grumman, bringing the total number of JF/J2Fs built to over 600.
J2F-6
J2Fs of the utility squadron of US Patrol Wing 10 were destroyed at Mariveles Bay, Philippines, by a Japanese air raid on 5 January 1942. The only Duck to survive the attack had a dead engine but had been concealed at Cabcaben airfield during the Battle of Bataan, to be repaired afterwards with a cylinder removed from a destroyed J2F-4 submerged in Manila Bay. Following repairs the J2F-4 departed after midnight on 9 April 1942, overloaded with five passengers and the pilot, becoming the last aircraft to depart Bataan before the surrender of the Bataan to the Japanese only hours later. Among its passengers was Carlos P. Romulo (diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist, and author), who recounted the flight in his 1942 best-selling book I Saw the Fall of the Philippines (Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York 1943, pp. 288–303), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence.
Several surplus Navy Ducks were converted for use by the United States Air Force in the air-sea rescue role as the OA-12 in 1948.
The Argentine Naval Aviation received four new-build Grumman G-15s (equivalent to J2F-4s) in 1939, to supplement the eight Grumman G-20s (export version of the Grumman JF-2) received in 1937. In 1946–1947, 32 ex-US Navy Ducks (consisting of one J2F-4, 24 J2F-5s, and 7 J2F-6s) were acquired, with the last examples remaining in use until 1958.
The Colombian Navy operated three examples from 1948.
The Mexican Navy operated three ex-U.S. Navy J2F-6s from 1950–1951.
The Peruvian Navy operated one ex-USN example from 1961–1964.
In the United States the United States Army Air Forces, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy all operated the J2F.
USCG Northwind March 1947 Wellington New Zealand – Grumman J2F-6 Duck & Sikorsky HNS-1
A Grumman J2F-6 Duck was owned and operated by Kermit Weeks at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.
The United States Coast Guard worked with North South Polar, Inc. to recover a J2F-4 Duck, serial number V-1640, downed in a storm on a Greenland glacier on 29 November 1942. Two Coast Guard airmen were lost along with a rescued U.S. Army Air Forces passenger from a downed B-17 searching for a downed C-53 with five on board. The three men of the Duck are presumed to still be entombed at the site. North South Polar, under the auspices of the Coast Guard team, located the aircraft in August 2012 resting 38 feet beneath the surface of the ice sheet.
Variants:
J2F-1 Initial production version with 750 hp R-1820-20 engines, 29 built.
J2F-2 United States Marine Corps version with nose and dorsal guns and underwing bomb racks, 21 built.
J2F-2A As J2F-2 with minor changes for use in the United States Virgin Islands, nine built.
J2F-3 J2F-2 but powered by an 850 hp R-1820-26 engine, 20 built.
J2F-4 J2F-2 but powered by an 850 hp R-1820-30 engine and fitted with target towing equipment, 32 built.
J2F-5 J2F-2 but powered by a 1,050 hp R-1820-54 engine, 144 built. Engine: 1 × Wright R-1820-54 nine-cylinder radial engine, 900 hp (670 kW) Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.9 m) Wing area: 409 ft² (38 m²) Length: 34 ft 0 in (10.37 m) Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.25 m) Empty weight: 5,480 lb (2,485 kg) Loaded weight: 7,700 lb (3,496 kg) Maximum speed: 190 mph (304 km/h) Cruise speed: 155 mph (248 km/h) Stall speed: 70 mph (112 km/h) Range: 780 mi (1,255 km) Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,100 m) Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s) Crew: two (pilot and observer) Capacity: two rescued airmen Armament: 1 × Browning .30 cal machine gun (7.62 mm) on flexible mount in rear cockpit Bombload: 650 lb (295 kg)
J2F-6 Columbia Aircraft built version of the J2F-5 with a 1,050 hp R-1820-64 engine in a long-chord cowling, fitted with underwing bomb racks and provision for target towing gear; 330 built.
OA-12 Air-sea rescue conversion for the United States Army Air Forces (and later United States Air Force, OA-12A).
In 1944 Grumman set out to produce a successor to the war-winning TBF Avenger torpedo bomber with a composite power plant consisting of an R-2800-34W piston engine in the nose and a Westinghouse 19XB-2B turbojet engine in the rear fuselage, and the first result was the XTBF-1 (G-70), first flown on 19 December 1945. Looking like a slimmer and neater TBF, this machine had a Westinghouse J30 (later an Allis-Chalmers J36, otherwise de Havilland Goblin) turbojet in the tail for high-speed boost propulsion. This was later omitted. In 1949 two new prototypes incorporating all the changes were built (carrying the designations XTB3F-1S and XTB3F-2S) the former equipped as a submarine hunter and the latter as a killer. Both types were ordered by the US Navy under the respective designations AF-1S and AF-2S, but before completion of the first AF-1S its designation was changed to AF-2W. It was put into production in two versions, which operated from US Navy carriers in the ASW (anti-submarine warfare) role in pairs, known as hunter/killers. The hunter was the AF-2W, distinguished by its APS20A search radar, the displays and controls for which were in a two-seat rear compartment. The AF-2W carried a large search and early-warning radome beneath the forward fuselage. The killer was the AF-2S, which took over when its companion had obtained a sure ‘con¬tact’. First it used its smaller APS-30 radar under the right outer wing to pinpoint its target, using a searchlight in an identical pod under the left wing to illuminate it if necessary. Then it would attack using any of its assortment of weapons. The AF-2S Guardian (G-82) carried one 900kg torpedo, two 720kg depth charges or two 900kg bombs internally, while a similar load could be carried externally. In addition a searchlight was carried under the port wing and a radar scanner under the starboard.
In 1952-53 the AF-3S version was produced with additional submarine detection gear. The Guardians were among the largest single-engine military aircraft, heavier than a Douglas DC-3 and with a roomy side-by-side cockpit, the AF-2S having a third rear-compartment seat for the single radar operator. Grumman delivered 193 of the AF-2S attack version and 153 of its companion AF-2W model in 1950-3. The company then followed with 40 AF-3S machines, which were the first aircraft in service with MAD (magnetic-anomaly detection) gear in a re¬tractable tail-boom mounting. Production of the Guardian ended in March 1953.
AF-2S Guardian Powerplant: one 2,400-hp (1790-kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-48W 18-cylinder radial piston engine. Maximum speed: 510 km/h (317 mph) at medium/high altitude Service ceiling 9910 m (32,500 ft) Range 2415 km (1,500 miles) Empty weight 6632 kg (14,620 lb) Maximum take-off 11567 kg (25,500 lb) Wing span 18.49 m (60 ft 8 in) Length 13.21 m (43 ft 4 in) Height 4.93 m (16 ft 2 in) Wing area: 52.02 sq.m (560.0 sq ft) Armament: internal bay for 1814 kg (4,000 lb) Crew: 3
