The Grumman JF "Duck" was an American single-engine amphibious

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

built by

Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 19 ...

for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the 1930s. The

J2F Duck The Grumman J2F Duck (company designation G-15) is an American single-Reciprocating engine, engine amphibious aircraft, amphibious biplane. It was used by each major branch of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. armed forces from the mid-1930s u ...

was an improved version of the JF, with its main difference being a longer float.Allen 1983, p. 49.

Design and development

The Grumman JF Duck was manufactured from 1934 until 1936, when production switched to the

and later variants.Jordan, Corey C.
"Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter Two."
''Planes and Pilots Of World War Two,'' 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011. The more obvious external appearance clue to distinguish a JF from an early J2F is the deletion of the inter-

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...

strut between the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

s on the J2F; less noticeable perhaps is the J2F's slightly longer rear

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

/ float joining fillet beneath the

tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

. The Duck's main pontoon was part of the

, almost making it a

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

, although it appears more like a standard

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

with an added float. The XJF-1 prototype first flew on 24 April 1933 piloted by Grumman test pilot Paul Hovgard.Thruelson 'The Grumman Story' 1976, p. 77.

Operational history

The JF-1 that was first ordered had the same Pratt & Whitney R-1830-62 engine as the XJF-1 prototype. The US Navy ordered 27 JF-1s with the first Ducks delivered beginning in May 1934 to Norfolk NAS. These early production series had provisions for mounting a machine gun at the rear seat facing aft, as well as a single bomb rack mounted under each wing, capable of carrying a 100 lb (45.4 kg) bomb or depth charge on each. The main float was also a Grumman design (Grumman Model "A") and like the prototype, it included retractable main landing gear, making the Duck a true amphibian. Ducks served as general/utility amphibians for photographic, target-towing, scouting, and rescue work.

Variants

;XJF-1: Prototype with 700 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1535-62 engine, one built (BuNo 9218). Grumman JF-1 Duck at NACA Langley Summer 1934

;JF-1: Production variant with 700 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-62 Twin Wasp engine, 27 built (BuNos 9434-9455, 9523-9527). ;JF-2: Variant for the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

powered by a 750 hp Wright R-1820-102 Cyclone engine, 14 built with the first entering service in October 1934 (BuNo 0266, 00371-00372, 01647, USCG V141-V155). ;JF-3: JF-2 for the U.S. Navy, five built (BuNos 9835-9839). ;Grumman G-20:Armed version of the Grumman JF-2 for export to Argentina. Eight built.Allen ''Air Enthusiast'' Twenty-three, p.78.

Operators

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

– Operated eight G-20s.Allen ''Air Enthusiast'' Twenty-three, pp. 47–48. ; *

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

– Operated one JF-2

Specifications (JF-2)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Allen, Francis J. "A Duck Without Feathers". ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' magaz ...

'', Issue 23, December 1983 – March 1984, pp. 46–55, 77–78. Bromley, Kent UK: Pilot Press, 1983.
"Specifications of American Airplanes"
''

Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

'', Volume 36, No. 4, April 1937, pp. 66–71. (Registration required) * * Thruelsen, Richard. ''The Grumman Story''. New York: Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1976. . * Treadwell, Terry. ''Ironworks: Grumman's Fighting Aeroplanes''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishers, 1990. .

External links

The Grumman J2F Duck
{{USN utility aircraft J01F Duck Grumman J01F Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Floatplanes Amphibious aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933 Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft