F9F Cougar War Thunder American Navy Planes

The first production F9F-6 flew on September 20th, 1951, but despite testing continuing through 1952, by the end of the year the F9F-6 was already operational with VF-32 - the short development period of the Cougar being a testament to the modularity of the original Panther design. Together, these changes over the Panther made the F9F-6 a significantly improved aircraft with superior handling characteristics and a higher Mach limit. The Cougar’s rudder was equally peculiar in how it operated, as only the bottom half below the stabilizer was controlled by the pedals the upper portion was control by a yaw damper. The F9F-6 Cougar was particularly notable in that it featured unconventional spoilerons which extended from wingfence to wingtip instead of ailerons for control over the plane’s roll axis. Though the fuselage remained largely unchanged, the Cougar’s wings had a 35 degree sweep complemented by swept tail surfaces.

As a result, the USN sought to develop a carrier-based swept wing fighter, and awarded a contract to Grumman Aviation, who developed the prototype XF9F-6, which was modified from the F9F-5’s basic airframe.

F9F-8 wing.ĭescription: From the onset of the Korean War, it was apparent that the US Navy’s F9F Panthers were lacking in speed compared to the latest contemporary jet fighters such as the F-86 Sabre and MiG-15.

F9F Cougar War Thunder American Navy Planes