Tag Archives: Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation

21 August 1944

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Robert L. Hall in the cockpit of the prototype Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat. (Northrop Grumman)

21 August 1944:¹ The first of two Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat prototypes, Bu. No. 90460, made its first flight at Bethpage, New York, with Grumman’s Chief Engineer and test pilot Robert Leicester Hall at the controls. The Bearcat was a light-weight high performance interceptor, designed to operate from the U.S. Navy’s smaller aircraft carriers. It used an air-cooled, supercharged, 2,804.4-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter) Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 2SC13-G (R-2800-22) two-row, 18-cylinder radial engine, an uprated version of the engine used in its predecessor, the Grumman F6F Hellcat.

The R-2800-22 engine was rated at 1,700 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 2,100 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m., for takeoff and Military Power. In order to use the engine’s power more effectively, the prototype Bearcat used a 12-foot, 4-inch (3.759 meter) diameter, four-bladed Aero Products, Inc., propeller, driven through a 0.45:1 gear reduction.

Prototype Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat. (Northrop Grumman)

The Bearcat was 20% lighter than the Hellcat. It was 50 miles per hour faster and had a much higher rate of climb.

For aircraft carrier operations, the new fighter could not sacrifice structural strength. In order to limit the weight, armament was reduced to four .50-caliber machine guns, and fuel capacity was also less than that of the Hellcat, giving it reduced range.

Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat with wings folded. (U.S. Navy)
Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat with wings folded, 20 March 1945. (Northrop Grumman)

The production F8F-1 Bearcat was 27 feet, 6 inches (8.382 meters) long with a wingspan of 35 feet, 6 inches (10.820 meters) and overall height of 13 feet, 10 inches (4.216 meters) (to tip of propeller, in three-point position). With its wings folded, the width of the Bearcat was reduced to 23 feet, 9½ inches (7.252 meters).

The Bearcat’s wings are sharply tapered. Their angle of incidence is −1½°, and there is 5° 30′ dihedral. The leading edges are swept aft 5° 5′. The chord decreases from 9 feet, 7.87 inches (2.943 meters) at the root to 4 feet, 3.5 inches (1.308 meters) at a point 6 inches (15.24 centimeters) inboard from the tip. The total wing area is 244 square feet (22.7 square meters).

The fighter’s horizontal stabilizer has a span of 15 feet, 9 inches (4.801 meters) and a total area of 52.2 square feet (4.85 square meters). Its angle of incidence is +½°. The rudder has a height of 6 feet, 1–13/16 inches (1.875 meters). The vertical tail has a total area of 20.8 square feet (1.93 square meters), and is offset 2° left.

The F8F-1’s empty weight was 7,070 pounds (3,207 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight was 12,947 pounds (5,873 kilograms). The F8F-2’s empty weight increased to 7,650 pounds (3,470 kilograms), and its maximum takeoff weight was 13,460 pounds (6,105 kilograms).

Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat prototype at NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia, 5 February 1945. (NASA)

The production F8F-1 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 2SC14-G (R-2800-34W) engine which had the same Sea Level power ratings as the R-2800-22. It produced 1,500 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at 18,500 feet (5,639 meters) and had a Military Power rating of 1,700 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at 16,000 feet (4,877 meters). The gear reduction drive ratio was also 0.45:1. A slightly larger Aero Products propeller with a diameter of 12 feet, 7 inches (5.835 meters) was installed. The R-2800-34W was 6 feet, 2.134 inches (1.883 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.80 inches (1.341 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,358.5 pounds (1,069.8 kilograms).

The F8F-2 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-30W. The Normal Power rating increased to 1,720 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,450 horsepower at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). Takeoff and Military Power also increased: 2,250 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,600 horsepower at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). The R-2800-30W also drove an Aero Products propeller. The gear reduction ratio was the same. Its dimensions were slightly different than the -34W: 7 feet, 8.75 inches (2.356 meters) long, and 4 feet, 5.00 inches (1.346 meters) in diameter. The engine’s weight increased to 2,560 pounds (1,161 kilograms).

Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat Bu. No. 90448 in the Full Scale Tunnel at NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. (NASA EL-2003-00320)

The Bearcat had a top speed of 336 knots (387 miles per hour/622 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and 388 knots (447 miles per hour/719 kilometers per hour) at 28,000 feet (8,534 meters). The airplane had initial rate of climb at Sea Level of 4,465 feet per minute (22.68 meters per second) and it could climb to 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) in 8.4 minutes. Its ceiling was 38,200 feet (11,643 meters).

Fuel capacity is 185 U.S. gallons (700 liters). The fighter’s range could be extended with a jettisonable centerline and two underwing tanks. The Bearcat’s combat radius was 235 nautical miles (270 statute miles/435 kilometers). Its maximum range, with three external tanks (350 gallons/1,325 liters), was 1,595 nautical miles (1,835 statute miles/2,954 kilometers).

The F8F-1 Bearcat was armed with four Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns. Inboard guns were provided with 325 rounds of ammunition, each, while the outboard guns had 200 rounds per gun. The F8F-2 replaced these with four M3 20 mm autocannon. Each inboard cannon had 325 rounds per gun, and the outboard guns had 188 rounds each. The F8F could also be armed with up to three 11.75-inch (29.845 centimeters) Tiny Tim air-to-ground rockets, or four 5-inch (12.7 centimeter) High Velocity Aerial Rockets (HVAR). For bombing missions, the Bearcat could carry one 1,600 pound (726 kilograms) bomb on the centerline and two 1,000 pounders (454 kilograms, each) under the wings.

The first prototype Grumman XF8F-1 Bearcat, Bu. No. 90460, crashed into Chesapeake Bay during gunnery tests at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, 18 March 1945. Its pilot was missing, presumably killed. The airplane has recently–probably—been located.²

“Multi-beam echo image of the aircraft at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay believed to be the XF8F-1 Bearcat lost out of NAS Patuxent River March 18, 1945.” (NOAA/Naval Aviation News)

Between 1945 and 1949, Grumman produced 1,265 F8F Bearcats, including a civilian G-58A and a G-58B. A number of American test pilots and astronauts flew the Bearcat in naval service, and several, including Neil Armstong, described it as their all-time favorite airplane.

Grumman F8F bearcat fighters aboard the Essex-class aircraft carrier, USS Tarawa (CV-40) circa 1948. (U.S. Navy)
Grumman F8F Bearcat fighters ready for takeoff aboard the Essex-class aircraft carrier, USS Tarawa (CV-40) circa 1948. (U.S. Navy)

Robert Leicester Hall was born at Taunton, Massachussetts, 22 August 1905. He was the son of Bicknell Hall, a mechanical engineer, and Estella Beatrice Lane Hall.

Robert L. Hall (Michiganesian of 1927)

Hall attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 1927 with Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.). He was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta (ΦΓΔ) fraternity and the glee club. While at the University, Hall became a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

In 1929 he went to work for the Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Company at Farmingdale, New York. While there, Hall met his first wife, Eugenie Therese Zeller, a 1928 graduate of Cornell University, and a secretary at the plant. They were married in 1930, and lived in a rented home on St. James Avenue, Chicopee City, Massachusetts. Their son, Robert Jr., was born 5 November 1931. They later divorced.

Granville Brothers Gee Bee Z

Also in 1931, Hall began working for Granville Brothers Aircraft at Springfield, Massachusetts. He designed the Gee Bee Model Z Super Sportster air racer. He left Granville Brothers in 1933 to go to work for the Stinson Aircraft Company in Dayton, Ohio. There he designed the Stinson Reliant.

Stinson Reliant (NASA)

In 1936, Bob Hall became the Chief Engineer for the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Bethpage, Long Island, New York. He designed the F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, and F8F Bearcat fighters, and the TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. As corporate vice president, he supervised the design of the F9F Panther and Cougar jet fighters.

A U.S. Navy Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat in non-specular blue-gray over light-gray scheme in early 1942. (U.S. Navy)
Two Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighters, Summer 1943. (U.S. Navy)
Grumman F7F-3N Tigercat. (U.S. Navy)
Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. (U.S. Navy)
Ensign Neil A. Armstrong, as wingman to Lieutenant (j.g.) Ernie Moore, is flying the second Grumman F9F-2 Panther, Bu. No. 125122 (marked S 116), assigned to VF-51, USS Essex (CV-9), 1951. (Naval Aviation Museum)

Hall married his second wife, Rhoda C. Halvorsen, 18 January 1939, at New York City, New York.

Robert Hall retired from Grumman in 1970. Two of his sons, Eric and Ben Hall, founded Hall Spars and Rigging of Bristol, Rhode Island.

Robert Leicester Hall died at Newport, Rhode Island, 25 February 1991 at the age of 85 years.

¹ Some sources give 31 August 1944 as the date of the first flight.

² Naval Aviation News, 31 August 2017:

http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodlive.mil/2017/08/31/lost-bearcat-found-or-still-missing/

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

16 August 1969

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The highly-modified Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, N1111L, Conquest I, at the Reno Air Races. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
Darryl Greenamyer

16 August 1969: Former Lockheed SR-71 test pilot Darryl Greenamyer flew his modified Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, Conquest I (Bu. No. 121646, FAA registration N1111L) to 776.45 kilometers per hour (482.46 miles per hour) over a 3 kilometer course at Edwards Air Force Base, California.¹ In setting a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world record speed for piston engine airplanes (Class C-1, Group I), he broke the record that had stood since 1936, set by Fritz Wendel in a prototype Messerschmitt Me 209.² The Bearcat won the National Air Races six times.

Darryl George Greenamyer was born 13 August 1936 at Southgate, California. He is the second son of George Petit Greenamyer, a gold miner, and Bette Bessent Greenamyer, a waitress.

Greenamyer served as a pilot in the United States Air Force, and as a civilian test pilot for Lockheed, flying the Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird. In 1970, he was honored with the Iven C. Kincheloe Award by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots for outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing.

On 21 January 1977, Greenamyer married Miss Mary Terese Croft in a civil ceremony in Arlington, Virginia.

Conquest I was built by the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in 1948 as an F8F-2 Bearcat, a carrier-based light weight fighter. The production F8F-2 Bearcat was 27 feet, 8 inches (8.432 meters) long with a wingspan of 35 feet, 6 inches (10.820 meters) and overall height of 13 feet, 5 inches (4.089 meters). Its empty weight was 7,070 pounds (3,206.9 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight was 12,947 pounds (5,872.7 kilograms).

Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat with wings folded. (Northrop Grumman)

The production F8F-2 used an air-cooled, supercharged, 2,804.4-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter) Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp E12 (R-2800-30W) twin-row 18-cylinder radial engine with a compression ration of 6.75:1. The R-2800-30W was rated at 1,720 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,450 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). The Takeoff and Military Power ratings were 2,250 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,600 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). These power ratings required 115/145 aviation gasoline and water/alcohol injection and 115/145 aviation gasoline. The engine drove an Aeroproducts Inc. four-bladed propeller with a diameter of 12 feet, 7 inches (3.835 meters) through a 0.450:1 gear reduction. The R-2800-30W was 8 feet, 2.75 inches (2.508 meters) long, 4 feet, 5.00 inches (1.346 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,560 pounds (1,161.2 kilograms).

The Bearcat had a top speed of 421 miles per hour (677.5 kilometers per hour). It could climb at 4,570 feet per minute (23.2 meters per second) and had a service ceiling of 38,700 feet (11,796 meters). Its range was 1,105 miles (1,778 kilometers).

Conquest I‘s wings were shortened by 7 feet (2.134 meters). The new wingspan is 28 feet, 6 inches (8.687 meters). The R-2800 engine of Greenamyer’s racer was modified to produce 3,100 horsepower. It drove an Aeroproducts propeller from a Douglas AD-6 Skyraider, which had a diameter of 13 feet, 6 inches (4.115 meters). The spinner from a North American Aviation P-51H Mustang was used.

Conquest I is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. It was given to the museum by Greenamyer in exchange for an F8F-1 Bearcat, Bu. No. 90446. It is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.

Darryl Greenamyer’s record-setting Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat racer, Conquest I. (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution)

¹ FAI Record File Number 10366

² FAI Record File Number 8743

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

7 August 1941

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A prototype Grumman XTBF-1 torpedo bomber. (Ray Crupi Collection)

7 August 1941: Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation chief engineer and test pilot, Robert Leicester (“Bob”) Hall, took the XTBF-1, a prototype torpedo bomber, for its first flight. He quickly returned to the airfield. The airplane was seriously over-weight, its center of gravity was too far aft, and it was unstable in the yaw axis.

The first XTBF-1, U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (“Bu. No.”) 00373, was modified to correct these faults. The engine mount was revised, moving the engine farther forward. A triangular fillet was added to the top of the fuselage in front of the vertical fin, and the weight was reduced.

Grumman XTBF-1 Bu.No. 00373. Note the dorsal fillet. (Northrop Grumman)

On 28 June 1942, 00373 caught fire during a test flight. Its crew safely bailed out but the prototype was destroyed.

The second prototype XTBF-1 was sent to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory at Hampton, Virginia, for testing in the 30- × 60-foot Full Scale Tunnel.

The second Grumman XTBF-1 prototype in the NACA Full Scale Tunnel. (NASA)

Before the airplane’s first flight, the U.S. Navy had ordered 286 production aircraft. In October 1941, the type was officially named “Avenger.” The first production airplane, Bu. No. 000393, made its first flight on 15 December 1941.

A flight crew boards a Grumman TBF-1 Avenger torpedo bomber, circa late 1941–early 1942. (Rudy Arnold Collection, Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum NASM-XRA-0780)

The Grumman Model 40, designated TBF-1 Avenger by the United States Navy, was a single engine torpedo bomber designed to operate from aircraft carriers. Initially it had a four-man crew: pilot, navigator, radio-operator/gunner and ball turret gunner. The TBF was 40 feet, 11½ inches (12.484 meters) long with a wingspan of 54 feet, 2 inches (16.510 meters) and height of 16 feet, 4¼ inches (4.991 meters).

Grumman TBF Avenger three-view illustration with dimensions. (U.S. Navy)

The XTBF-1 was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, 2,603.943-cubic-inch-displacement (42.671 liters) Wright Cyclone 14 GR2600B698 (R-2600-8) two-row, fourteen-cylinder radial engine with a compression ratio of 6.9:1. The R-2600-8 was rated at 1,500 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m., and 1,700 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. at Sea Level for Takeoff. The engine drove a 13 foot, 1 inch diameter ( meters), three-bladed Hamilton Standard constant speed propeller through a  0.5625:1 gear reduction unit. The R-2600-8 was 5 feet, 4.91 inches (1.649 meters) long, 4 feet, 6.26 inches (1.378 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,995 pounds (904.9 kilograms).

A Grumman TBF-1 Avenger, mid-1942. (Hans Groenhoff Collection, Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum NASM-HGC-906)

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes

4 July 1973

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Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Manning, Major Paul M. Schaefer and Technical Sergeant Emund K. Schindler, the record-setting crew of Chuck’s Challenge. (FAI)

4 July 1973: One of the last Grumman Albatross flying boats in service with the United States Air Force, HU-16B 51-5282, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) altitude record for amphibians (Class C-3) when, at 12:33 p.m. EDT, it reached 10,022 meters (32,881 feet).¹ This exceeded the previous record set 37 years earlier by 2,417 meters (7,930 feet).²

Flown by Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Manning, Major Paul M. Schaeffer and Technical Sergeant Emund K. Schindler, 51-5282 was assigned to the 301st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Homestead AFB, Florida. After the flight, Manning said, “It wasn’t very comfortable. The outside temperature was 25 below zero.” The Air Force Times reported that the cold caused the lens of Sergeant Schindler’s watch to pop out.

Originally built as an SA-16A, 51-5282 was modified to the SA-16B standard, increasing the wingspan to 96 feet, 8 inches (29.464 meters) and altering the leading edges. Larger tail surfaces were added. In 1962 the designation was changed from SA-16B to HU-16B.

The Albatross was operated by a crew of 4 to 6 airmen, and could carry up to 10 passengers. The amphibian was 62 feet, 10 inches (19.152 meters) long and had an overall height of 25 feet, 11 inches (7.899 meters). The airplane’s total wing area was 1,035 square feet (96.15 square meters). The HU-16B had an empty weight of 23,025 pounds (10,444 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 37,500 pounds (17,010 kilograms). For takeoff from water, the airplane’s weight was limited to 34,000 pound (15,422 kilograms), using rocket assist.

Grumman SA-16B Albatross (designated HU-16B in 1962). (© Ron Olsen. Used with permission.)

The SA-16A was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, 1,823.129-cubic-inch-displacement (29.876 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone 9 826C9HD3 and -D5 (R-1820-76A and -76B) nine-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.80:1. 115/145 octane aviation gasoline was required. These engines were rated at 1,275 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m., and 1,425 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m for takeoff. The engines drove three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic full-feathering, reversible-pitch propellers with a diameter of 11 feet, 0 inches (3.353 meters) through a 0.666:1 gear reduction. The R-1820-76A and -76B were 3 feet, 11.69 inches (1.211 meters) long and 4 feet, 6.95 inches (1.396 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,380 pounds (626 kilograms).

The Albatross could be equipped with two or four Aerojet 14AS1000 RATO units, which produced 1,000 pounds of thrust (4.49 kilonewtons), each, for 15 seconds.

The flying boat had a cruise speed of 134 knots (154 miles per hour/248 kilometers per hour) and a maximum speed of 204 knots (235 miles per hour/379 kilometers per hour) at 3,700 feet (1,128 meters). The service ceiling was 23,800 feet (7,254 meters) and its maximum range was 2,410 nautical miles (2,773 statute miles/4,463 kilometers) with external fuel tanks.

Two weeks after the record-setting flight, 51-5282 was flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, making the very last USAF HU-16 flight.

FAI record-setting Grumman HU-16B Albatross 51-5282 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force)

¹ FAI Record File Number 3208

² FAI Record File Number 11649, 11650: 7,605 meters (24,951 feet), 14 April 1936,  by Boris Vasilievich Sergievsky, Chief Pilot, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, flying a Sikorsky S-43, with Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky and Michael Pravikov.

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes