Background The origins of the F11F (F-11) Tiger can be traced back to a privately funded 1952 Grumman concept to modernize and improve the
F9F-6/7 Cougar, a popular early jet-powered carrier aircraft. The design team opted to implement the
area rule along with several other advances into the project, which was internally designated
G-98. Design objectives included the minimisation of the aircraft's size. By the time that the design process was concluded during 1953, it had become a complete departure from the Cougar, bearing little more than a vague resemblance to the preceding aircraft. It features a new wing equipped with both full-span
leading edge slats and trailing edge
flaps with roll control being achieved using
spoilers rather than traditional
ailerons. For storage on aircraft carriers, these wings could be manually folded downwards. Anticipating
supersonic performance, the tailplane was all-moving. The aircraft was designed to be powered by the
Wright J65 turbojet, a
license-built version of the
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. The design's potential for supersonic performance and reduced transonic drag drew the attention of several officials, including those within the
United States Navy. During early 1953, the U.S. Navy
Bureau of Aeronautics decided to commit itself to the project's full development, placing an initial order for two prototypes, which were designated
XF9F-8 (even though the new fighter was clearly a new design). To add to the confusion, the prototypes were then redesignated
XF9F-9 while the XF9F-8 designation was assigned to a different, more straightforward, derivative of the Cougar.
Flight testing Since the
afterburning version of the J65 was not ready, the first prototype made its
maiden flight on 30 July 1954 powered by a non-afterburning engine. In spite of this, the aircraft nearly reached
Mach 1 during this first flight. The second prototype, equipped with the afterburning engine, became the second supersonic U.S. Navy aircraft, the first being the
Douglas F4D Skyray. During April 1955, the aircraft received the new designation
F11F-1 (F-11A after adoption of the unified
Tri-Service naming system in 1962). On 4 April 1956, carrier trials started when an F11F-1 Tiger landed on and launched from . The Tiger gained the dubious distinction of being the first jet aircraft to shoot itself down. On 21 September 1956, during a test-firing of its 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons, pilot Tom Attridge fired two bursts midway through a shallow dive. As the
trajectory of the cannon rounds decayed, they ultimately crossed paths with the Tiger as it continued its descent, disabling the aircraft and forcing Attridge to crash-land the aircraft; he survived with a broken leg and multiple broken vertebrae. Grumman proposed several models of the Tiger, beyond the F-11A (F11F-1) fighter, including
aerial reconnaissance and dedicated trainer versions. The more advanced version of the airframe to be proposed by the company was the
F11F-1F Super Tiger. It was the result of a 1955 study to install the new
General Electric J79 engine into the F11F-1 airframe. When evaluated by
Switzerland for a potential procurement, it was assessed as having exceeded all competing aircraft in terms of overall technical performance. Grumman also proposed to produce a variant powered by the proven, and even more powerful,
Rolls-Royce Avon engine in place of the J79. ==Operational history==