Grumman F-11 Tiger

The Tiger entered service with the U.S. Navy during 1956, and was flown from the carriers Intrepid, Lexington, Hancock, Bon Homme Richard, Shangri-La, Forrestal, Saratoga and Ranger.

Frontline use of the Tiger was relatively brief, largely due to its performance being inferior to the competing Vought F-8 Crusader, such as its limited endurance, while its Wright J65 turbojet engine had also proved to be somewhat unreliable.

The last examples were withdrawn from U.S. Navy service during 1969, although a handful of aircraft remained operational and were conducting test flights as late as 1975.

The origins of the F11F (F-11) Tiger can be traced back to a privately funded 1952 Grumman concept to modernize and improve the F9F-6/7 Cougar, a popular early jet-powered carrier aircraft.

[2][4] By the time that the design process was concluded during 1953, it had become a complete departure from the Cougar, bearing little more than a vague resemblance to the preceding aircraft.

[2] The design's potential for supersonic performance and reduced transonic drag drew the attention of several officials, including those within the United States Navy.

[16] The aircraft was operated from the carriers Intrepid, Lexington, Hancock, Bon Homme Richard, Shangri-La, Forrestal, Saratoga, Ranger and Independence.

The F11F's career as a frontline fighter lasted only four years, largely as a result of its performance being inferior to the competing and considerably faster Vought F-8 Crusader;[2][17] further factors included the unreliability of its J65 powerplant,[16] and the inadequacy of both its range and endurance.

Typically, students performed advanced jet training in the TF-9J Cougar, and upon completing that syllabus, were given a brief taste of supersonic capability with the F-11 before transitioning to active fleet fighters.

During 1973, two former Blue Angels F-11As were taken from storage at Davis-Monthan AFB and modified by Grumman as testbeds to evaluate in-flight thrust control systems.

Tests of the inflight thrust reversal were carried out by Grumman at Calverton beginning in March 1974 and continued at NATC Patuxent River, Maryland until 1975.

XF9F-9 prototype
An F11F-1 Tiger on USS Independence (CVA-62), with downward-folded wingtips
An early production "short nose" F11F and a later "long nose" from VT-23
F11F-1 of VF-21 landing on Ranger in 1957
F-11A Tiger advanced trainer of VT-26 Squadron wearing the distinctive color scheme used by that variant
VF-33 Tiger s from USS Intrepid in 1959
The Blue Angels flew the F11F from 1957 to 1969.
Former Blue Angels F-11 Tiger at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona
F11F on display at the Air Zoo
Grumman Tiger on display at the Aviation Historical Park in NAS Oceana , Virginia Beach
3-view line drawing of the Grumman F-11F-1 Tiger
3-view line drawing of the Grumman F-11F-1 Tiger