Type: carrier-based fighter and trainer
Bureau Number: 147285
Powerplant: one 32.03-kN (7185-lb-thrust) Pratt & Whitney J48-P-8A turbojet engine
Maximum speed: 1135 km/h (704 mph) at sea level, 647 mph at sea level
Climb rate: 24 m/sec (79 fps)
Range: 1610 km (998 miles)
Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
Weights: empty 5555 kg (12,222 lb); normal loaded 8356 kg (18,383 lb); maximum take-off 9433 kg (20,753 lb)
Armament: four 20-mm cannon (or camera installation in F9F-8P), plus up to 1816 kg (3990 lb) of bombs, napalm tanks, or external fuel tanks on underwing hardpoints
Dimensions:
Span 10.52 m (34 ft)
Length 13.54 m (44 ft)
Height 3.73 m (12 ft)
Wing area 31.31 m2 (337 sq ft)
The F9F Cougar was delivered to the Navy and Marines in mid- 1952 but did not see action in the Korea War. Developed as a replacement for the F9F Panther, the Cougar proved to be a superior carrier based fighter jet because of its modern sweptwing design.
The aircraft on display at Patriots Point is one of the latest versions of the Cougar, the TF-9J. Some 700 F9F-6 Cougars were built by Grumman and select few were reconnaissance aircraft with cameras mounted in the nose instead of a cannon.
Oddly enough, the only model of the Cougar to see combat was a trainer developed in the early 1960s used to direct Vietnam War airstrikes in 1966 and 1967.
The Blue Angels... and Your Mission
The Cougar's greatest fame may have come from a public relations role. In the years that followed WWII the Navy's Flight Demonstration Team performed with propeller driven aircraft such as the venerable F6F Hellcat. In 1955, the Cougar ushered the Blue Angels into the jet age and remained in service through 1957.
The F9F Cougar on display in USS Yorktown's hangar bay offers a special treat for visitors. The cockpit is open to guests who want to sit at the controls! Steps provide easy access. Your "mission" is to catapult off the carrier flight deck or dazzle the crowd as a Blue Angel pilot.
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Facts & Information
CV-10 was to be known as the Bon Homme Richard but was renamed in honor of the only American carrier lost in the pivotal Battle of Midway, USS Yorktown (CV-5).
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