Grumman F8F Bearcat – Foton &; Video

Den Grumman F8F Björnkatter är ett amerikanskt enmotorigt hangarfartygsbaserat stridsflygplan som introducerades i slutet av andra världskriget. Det fortsatte att tjäna in i mitten av 1900-talet i USA: s flotta, USA: s marinkår och andra nationers flygvapen. Det skulle bli Grumman Aircrafts sista kolvdrivna stridsflygplan. Modifierade versioner har slagit hastighetsrekord för kolvmotordrivna flygplan och är populära bland warbirdägare.

Källkod: Grumman F8F Bearcat på Wikipedia

The Grumman F8F Bearcat was a single-engine carrier-based fighter aircraft designed by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in the late 1940s. It was intended to be a lightweight and agile interceptor that could outperform the Japanese Zero and other enemy fighters. The Bearcat had a powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine that gave it a top speed of over 420 mph and a climb rate of 4,500 feet per minute. It also had four 20 mm cannons and could carry rockets or bombs under its wings. The Bearcat entered service with the US Navy and Marine Corps in 1945, but saw limited combat action in World War II. It was more widely used in the postwar era, especially in the Korean War and the First Indochina War, where it proved to be an effective ground-attack and close air support aircraft. The Bearcat was also exported to several foreign air forces, including France, Thailand, and South Vietnam. The last operational Bearcats were retired in the early 1960s.