Based on the earlier Grumman XP-50 that was eventually canceled, the company developed the XP-65 (Model 51) further for a future "convoy fighter" concept.

[3] Captain Fred Trapnell, one of the premier USN test pilots of the era, stated: "It's the best damn fighter I've ever flown.

[8] The F7F Tigercat was produced too late to serve in its intended role in WWII; however, early F7F-1 models saw service in the Pacific Theatre before the end of the war.

One Marine Corps photographic reconnaissance squadron equipped with the F7F, VMP-354, arrived in Guam in June 1945, and was quickly transferred to Yontan Airfield in Okinawa in July 1945.

[11] In 1945, two Tigercats, serial numbers TT346 and TT349, were evaluated, but rejected by the British Royal Navy in favour of a naval version of the de Havilland Hornet.

The surviving Tigercats were primarily used as water bombers to fight wildfires in the 1960s and 1970s and Sis-Q Flying Services of Santa Rosa, California, operated an F7F-3N tanker in this role until retirement in the late 1980s.

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[31]General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics