Grumman F8F Bearcat
The Grumman F8F Bearcat is a WWII era aircraft.
The first
model of the aircraft was designed and built during WWII, although they were
not completed soon enough to see any action during that war.
They did come close, The Bearcat-equipped squadron VF-19 was
onboard the carrier USS Langley, steaming for the pacific theater when Japan
surrendered on Aug.16, 1945.
The
Bearcat was the last, and perhaps the best, piston-engine fighter produced
for the U.S. Navy, and was a fitting culmination to Grumman's World War II
line of "Cats".
The Bearcat was capable of a maximum speed of 447 mph at
28,000 feet.
The most famous example of this aircraft has raced at the
Reno air races many times.
This highly modified aircraft, called the
Rare Bear, currently holds the record
for the fastest piston engine aircraft ever, capturing the 3Km World Speed
Record for propeller driven aircraft at an average speed of 528.33 mph.
Piper Arrow
