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Grumman F8F Bearcat

The supreme radial-engined shipboard fighter design. Was too late for WWII. The F8F, a reaction on the continuous weight and size increases, combined a very powerful engine with an airframe that was small enough to be put on board of escort carriers. However, it had limited armament and short range. Despite the end of the war, 1266 were built. Some saw action with the French airforce in Indochina.

General characteristics F8F-1B
Primary function	Fighter
Contractor	Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
Power plant	1x Pratt&Whitney R-2800-34W engine
Thrust	2,100 HP		1,566 kW
Wingspan	35.8 ft		10.92 m
Length	28.25 ft		8.61 m
Height	13.8 ft		4.22 m
Wingarea	244 sq ft		22.67 sq m
Weight	empty	7,070 lb	3,207 kg
	max.	12,950 lb	5,873 kg
Max. speed	421 mph		678 km/h
Ceiling	38,714 ft		11,800 m
Max. range	1,964 miles		3,160 km
Armament	4x 20mm cannon, 2x 454kg bombs
Crew	One
Date deployed	1945
Number built	1,266

Jirka Wagner