The Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger (company designation G-98J) is a single-seat fighter aircraft originally developed for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

(USN). Based on the USN's F-11 Tiger, the F11F-1F did not proceed beyond the two F11F-1F prototypes.

Design and development

As an improvement to the F11F-1 (F-11A) fighter, Grumman proposed a more advanced version of the airframe known as the F11F-1F Super Tiger. This was the result of a 1955 study to fit the new General Electric J79 engine into the F11F airframe. The Navy was sufficiently interested to authorize modification of two production F11F-1s with enlarged air intakes and YJ79-GE-3

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, ...

s, with the result being designated the F11F-1F, indicating a production F11F-1 with a special engine fit. The aircraft first flew on 25 May 1956, reaching Mach 1.44 in one of the flights. After the addition of 60° wing root fillets, a 13.5 in (35 cm) fuselage extension, and an uprated J79 engine, the F11F-1F reached an impressive Mach 2.04 in 1957, thus becoming the first naval aircraft in the world to exceed Mach 2 (two years before the F4H, F8U-3, and A3J). This was a surprise even to Grumman, which had expected a top speed of only Mach 1.4 at altitude.Buttler 2008, pp. 114–115. By comparison, the F11F-1 with the

Wright J65 The Wright J65 was an axial-flow turbojet engine produced by Curtiss-Wright under license from Armstrong Siddeley. A development of the Sapphire, the J65 powered a number of US designs. Design and development Curtiss-Wright purchased a lice ...

had had difficulty exceeding Mach 1.1. However, the U.S. Navy did not order the Super Tiger into production. Although the service ceiling of the aircraft was nominally , a test flight on 18 April 1958 at Edwards AFB set a world altitude record of .

Operational history

Marketing efforts

Grumman marketed the F11F to many potential foreign customers, during the late 1950s and early 1960s. For varying reasons, this campaign was unsuccessful, including the fact that the Super Tiger had not been accepted by the US government for any of the US services. In a tender to equip the

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (german: Schweizer Luftwaffe; french: Forces aériennes suisses; it, Forze aeree svizzere; rm, Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as a part of the army an ...

, the Super Tiger competed with the Saab Draken,

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" o ...

, Dassault Mirage III, and Fiat G.91. The Mirage was chosen, partly on the grounds that it was cheaper and more secure in terms of replacements and spare parts; however, Swiss assessors reportedly considered that, in terms of overall technical performance, the F11F surpassed the other aircraft considered. The

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as ...

, Japan Air Self Defense Force, and

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...

also showed interest. With an eye to the possibility of an order from West Germany in particular, Grumman offered to build a variant with the proven and more powerful Rolls-Royce Avon, instead of the J79. However, following selection processes allegedly marred by the Lockheed bribery scandals,Baugher, Joe
"Grumman F11F-1/F-11A Tiger."
''Joe Baugher's Encyclopedia of American Military Aircraft,'' 30 January 2000. Retrieved: 26 July 2010. all of these potential customers chose the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.

Variants

;F11F-1F Super Tiger: (G-98J) Two Grumman F11F-1 aircraft fitted with J79-GE-3A engines, (BuNos 138646 and 138647). ;F11F-2: Intended pre-1962 designation of production Super Tigers. ;F-11B:The post-1962 designation reserved for production Super Tigers. ;XF12F: Semi-official designation for a developed version of the F11F-1F/-2.

Operators

; *

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

Aircraft on display

The first F11F-1F (BuNo 138646) was used for fire-fighting practice and destroyed in the 1980s. The second prototype (BuNo 138647) was retired on 10 January 1961 and used as a ground training aircraft. As of October 2020, it is displayed outdoor at the China Lake Museum in Ridgecrest, CA. The aircraft is on loan from the

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Install ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Specifications (F11F-1F)

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Angelucci, Enzo and Peter M. Bowers. ''The American Fighter''. Sparkford, UK: Haynes Publishing, 1987. . *Bowers, Peter M. ''United States Navy Aircraft since 1911''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990, pp. 183–185. . *Buttler, Tony. ''American Secret Projects: Fighters & Interceptors 1945-1978.'' Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Publishing, 2008, First edition 2007. .

External links

{{US fighters F11F Super Tiger Grumman F11F Single-engined jet aircraft Carrier-based aircraft Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1956