The Grumman J2F Duck biplane amphibian had successfully served the United States Navy (USN) in quantity from late 1934 onwards.

The final 330 examples were built in 1941/42 under sub-contract by the Columbia Aircraft Corp, retaining the J2F-6 designation.

[1] At the end of World War II, Grumman completed a major re-design of the aircraft for the USN as a Wright R-1820-56 powered monoplane amphibian.

[citation needed] The USN ordered three XJL-1 experimental aircraft from Columbia, with the first being used for destructive strength testing on the ground.

The two aircraft tested at Patuxent River were found to have repeated structural failures of various components.