Grumman F8F Bearcat Carrier Fighter Family
The Grumman F8F Bearcat was a compact carrier fighter designed to give the U.S. Navy exceptional climb and maneuverability from ships that could not operate the heaviest fighters. It became the last and most powerful single-engine propeller fighter built by Grumman, served in Navy and Marine squadrons after World War II, and later became a signature Blue Angels aircraft.
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Identity
- Aliases
- F8F BearcatXF8F-1BearcatGrumman G-58
- Family Name
- Grumman F8F Bearcat
- Full Name
- Grumman F8F Bearcat Carrier Fighter Family
- Roles
- militaryexperimental
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Grumman F8F Bearcat was a compact carrier fighter designed to give the U.S. Navy exceptional climb and maneuverability from ships that could not operate the heaviest fighters. It became the last and most powerful single-engine propeller fighter built by Grumman, served in Navy and Marine squadrons after World War II, and later became a signature Blue Angels aircraft.
- First Flight Year
- 1,944
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 1
- Placement
- fuselage
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Variant Notes
- R-2800-34W production fit; canonical propulsion node is the R-2800 family.
- Name
- F8F Bearcat R-2800 family installation
- Notes
- National Naval Aviation Museum evidence identifies the Grumman F8F Bearcat production fit as a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W radial engine; the canonical node is family-level, so this relationship records the exact dash boundary without inventing a child node.
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- Creation Time
- August 8, 2026 at 02:26:07 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 14, 2026 at 16:34:05 UTC