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The last examples were withdrawn from U.S. Navy service during 1969, although a handful of aircraft remained operational and were conducting test flights as late as 1975.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