F7F-1
| This page is about the American twin-engine fighter F7F-1. For the gift version, see F7F-3. |
Contents
Description
By around 1938, the US Navy had started investigating the possibilities of a twin-engine carrier-borne fighter. Quickly thereafter, the XF5F Skyrocket was designed. The compact aircraft was to include a 23 mm Madsen cannon, two .50 calibre machine guns, and two .30 calibre machine guns. The Skyrocket test results were not very satisfactory, and in 1941 the US Navy moved on to a new aircraft. The XF7F-1 Tigercat prototype made its original flight on December 2, 1943. The F7F-1 aircraft went into production in April of 1944, but the Midway-class carriers had not yet been completed, so the first Tigercats were given to the US Marine Corps. Only 35 of these aircraft were built until production switched to the two-seat night fighter variant. These were also built in limited numbers.
Introduced in Update 1.43, the Tigercat is a typical heavy fighter, having great firepower and survivability but low agility. For those reasons, it's crucial to be near teammates, as it will struggle to dogfight single-engine fighters. It performs best at medium to low altitudes. Its best performance advantage is speed - it's one of the fastest propeller-driven aircraft in the game. Despite this, and due to its high drag, the Tigercat will get caught in a dive by many fighters. The climb rate is mediocre, helped only by its air spawn. Players will want to utilise a hit-and-run playstyle, similarly to early-WWII American fighters like the P-51D-5 or P-47D-25. Unlike those, however, it can't just dive away from threats, making it significantly harder to play. Additionally, it overheats easily on automatic engine controls, and the availability of WEP is time-limited.
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 5,182 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 659 | 641 | 12300 | 26.3 | 27.1 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 444 |
| Upgraded | 724 | 688 | 23.8 | 25.0 | 31.7 | 25.0 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | ✓ |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 835.14 | 463 | 455 | 425 | 277 | ~10 | ~8 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 467 | < 450 | < 555 | > 317 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 850 m | 2,100 hp | 2,468 hp |
| Setting 2 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 5,337 m | 1,600 hp | 1,880 hp |
Survivability and armour
With 9.5 mm of steel in the front and 12.7 mm steel in the back as well as bullet-proof glass, the pilot is fairly decently protected against small calibre fire and HE rounds, such as the minengeschoss. The wings and engines are basically unprotected and thus prone to taking damage easily; however being radial engines, they can take some damage. The plane can easily flight on one engine, and it has full propeller feathering. Should a wing get damaged, asymmetric thrust from the engines may help to control the aircraft.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Offensive armament
The F7F-1 is armed with:
- 4 x 20 mm M3 cannons, wing-mounted (200 rpg = 800 total)
- 4 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, chin-mounted (400 rpg = 1,600 total)
Suspended armament
The F7F-1 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 2 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (1,000 lb total)
- 1 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bomb (1,000 lb total)
- 1 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bomb + 2 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)
Usage in battles
The main armament is extremely powerful. Equipped with 4 x 20 mm cannon and M2 Brownings in the nose, expect to knock planes out of the skies frequently. Unlike many other planes that have more spread out armament, the Tigercat packs a massive punch. If one cannon shell hits, the rest will as well. It is recommended that you research "New 20 mm Cannons" and "12.7 mm Ammo Belts", as the Cannon jam quite quickly and the stealth and ground target ammo for the 12.7 mm is far more effective than the default.
The Tigercat's devastating armament, coupled with high survivalability and air spawn, are perfect for hunting down troublesome German bombers like the Ju 288 C. Those also mean that players should not avoid headons with fighters, and often even seek them: if you don't kill them in headon, they will likely end on your tail, and in that case, there is nothing one can do except hope to outrun them.
Due to lackluster maneuverability, the Tigercat should not be in front of its teammates. Let them take on enemies, pick a distracted one, come in and kill it (shoudln't be hard with all the guns). Keep your speed up and head for next target - rinse and repeat. Don't be fooled by agility. It turns good and rolls great - for a heavy fighter. It's much worse than almost any single-engine fighter. Notable exception is Ta-152H, a common fighter at this tier, known for it's poor roll rate: you can evade its guns in a dive; but that's about it. The agility is enough to point your guns at enemies, not enough to win any dogfight.
The F7F-1 also has great late game potential due to its armament and lots of ammo. Taking out AI attackers is really fast and easy. And if you aim well, you can take down light pillboxes with short, controlled bursts. Lightly armoured vehicles normally only need 1 or 2 taps. Unlike its event vehicle variant which has vastly better ordnance options, the F7F-1 is average at best in this department. With the maximum load being 2 x 500 lb and 1 x 1,000 lb bomb, don't really expect to take down many hard targets before going back to rearm. The secondary weapons are not recommended for use, as they will reduce performance considerably- also, due to the high BR, jets will exist and will intercept you before you are halfway to your bombing target due to their speed.
Performance-wise, the Tigercat has a maximum speed of 668 km/h (415 mph) at an altitude of 5,190 m (17,028 ft), or 695 km/h (431 mph) at the same altitude with WEP. At sea level, the maximum speed is 619 km/h (384.6 mph), or 638 km/h (396.4 mph) with WEP. The Tigercat can climb to an altitude of 3,000 m (9,843 ft) in 155 seconds (135 seconds with WEP), giving it an average climb rate of 19.3 m (63.3 ft) per second (22.2 m or 72.8 ft per second with WEP). It can perform a full horizontal turn at 3,000 m in 24 seconds at a speed of 500 km/h (310.6 mph), as well as perform a full vertical turn at the same altitude and speed, which it completes in 27 seconds.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Controllable Auto control available |
Controllable Auto control available |
Controllable Auto control available |
Separate | Controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent armament
- 12.7 mm guns are mounted on the nose and the 20 mm AN/M3's are mounted very close to the fuselage, resulting in very little convergence
- Excellent energy retention
- Excellent ammunition capacity
- Very high speed in dive and at level flight
- Very good cockpit visibility
- Very fast at low to medium altitudes, especially with WEP
- Decent survivalability
Cons:
- Poor maneuverability
- Dive performance good, but not good enough
- Large target
- Locks up quickly
- Engines start to lose power above 5,000 m
- Engines overheat quickly, needs manual engine control to remedy
- WEP is time-limited
History
By around 1938, the US Navy started investigating into the possibilities of a twin-engine carrier-borne fighter. The contract to develop such a fighter was awarded to Grumman. Quickly thereafter the XF5F was designed. The compact aircraft was to include a 23 mm Madsen cannon, two .50 calibre machine guns, and two .30 calibre machine guns. The Skyrocket test results were not very satisfactory and in 1941 the US Navy moved onto to a new aircraft. The new goal was to create a heavy fighter for its upcoming Midway-class aircraft carriers. This next design was to incorporate two R-2800 engines, four 20 mm cannons, four .50 calibre machine guns, and the ability to carry bombs, rockets, and torpedoes.
The XF7F-1 Tigercat prototype made its original flight on December 2, 1943. The F7F-1 aircraft went into production in April of 1944, but the Midway-class carriers had not yet been completed, so the first Tigercats were given to the US Marine Corp. Only 35 of these aircraft were built until production switched to the two-seat night fighter variant. These were built in limited numbers as well.
The Tigercat came too late to see any action in World War II. Late-model Tigercats did eventually see action in Korea with the Marines. The aircraft was eventually retired from US service in 1954.
Vehicle Profile
In 1942, after an unsuccessful XF5F Skyrocket (and XP-50, its land-based modified variant) project, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation began work on an improved aircraft using the same twin-engine concept as the Skyrocket, which they named the XP-65. It was only a year later, however, that this project was cancelled, and Grumman began work on an entirely new plane based on the XF5F concept. This plane was intended to be operated from new, large Midway-class carriers (the first vessel being the USS Midway, which was commissioned in 1945) and Grumman had two main goals in sight – the plane would have ground attack capabilities, and it would be able to outperform and outgun any other fighter of that time. The maiden flight of the prototype, titled XF7F-1, occurred in December 1943, and was rushed into production in 1944 under the name F7F-1 Tigercat, continuing the Grumman's tradition of giving planes "cat" names.
The Tigercat was designed for two things – speed and firepower. The first of these was achieved by the combination of its sleek hull and two massive 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800-22W Double Wasp radial engines, producing 2100 horsepower each. With these power plants, the Tigercat was able to achieve a maximum speed of 700 km/h (435 mph) at an altitude of 6706 m (22 000 ft), and had climb rate of more than 1,372 m (4,500 ft) per minute. It was nearly 114 km/h (71 mph) faster than the F6F Hellcat, and Captain Fred M. Trapnell, one of the US Navy's best test pilots, was quoted saying: "It's the best damn fighter I've ever flown!" The Tigercat's firepower was no less impressing. The Tigercat was armed with four 20 mm M2 cannons in the wing roots, and four .50 cal M2 nose-mounted machine guns. Additionally, it could carry up to two 454 kg (1,000 lb) bombs on under wing racks, or one torpedo under the fuselage. It was also the first US Navy twin-engine fighter ever accepted into service, and the first US Navy fighter ever to use a tricycle landing gear configuration.
However, air tests and trials proved that the Tigercat was simply too overpowered for Midway-class carriers. Its landing speed was too high and it suffered instability in single-engine flight. The arrestor hook design was also proven to be unreliable. As a result of these multiple issues, the Tigercat was then assigned to be used as a land-based fighter in the US Marine Corps service. Deliveries started in April 1944, but problems with carrier operations clearance and changes in its operational requirements caused significant delays. As a result, the Tigercat was too late to participate in World War 2, and only 34 aircraft of initial F7F-1 versions were made. Tigercats eventually saw combat at last, but no sooner than during the initial stages of the Korean War, where F7Fs managed to shoot down two North Korean Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes. Subsequently, due to the development of jet fighters, Tigercats were phased out of service, with the last of them retiring in 1954.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
- [Devblog] F7F-1 Tigercat
- Official data sheet - more details about the performance
- [Vehicle Profile] Grumman F7F-1 Tigercat [Decal included]
| Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Aircraft | |
| Fighters | |
| F3F | F3F-2 · Galer's F3F-2 |
| F4F Wildcat | F4F-3 · F4F-4 |
| XF5F Skyrocket | XF5F · XP-50 |
| F6F Hellcat | F6F-5 · F6F-5N |
| F7F Tigercat | F7F-1 · F7F-3 |
| F8F Bearcat | F8F-1 · F8F-1B |
| Jet Fighters | |
| F9F Panther/Cougar | F9F-2 · F9F-5 · F9F-8 |
| F-11 Tiger | F11F-1 |
| F-14 Tomcat | F-14A Early · F-14B |
| Jet Strike Aircraft | |
| A-6 Intruder | A-6E TRAM |
| Bombers | TBF-1C |
| Export | ▄Martlet Mk IV · ▄F6F-5 · ▄F6F-5N · ▄F8F-1B · ▄Avenger Mk II · ▄Hellcat Mk II |
| ▄F-14A IRIAF | |
| Naval Vehicles | |
| Patrol Gunboat Hydrofoil (PGH) | USS Flagstaff |
| USA twin-engine fighters | |
|---|---|
| P-38 | XP-38G · P-38E · P-38G-1 · P-38J-15 · Bong's P-38J-15 · P-38L-5-LO · P-38K · YP-38 |
| P-61 | P-61A-11 · P-61C-1 |
| F7F | F7F-1 · F7F-3 |
| Other | XF5F · XP-50 · F-82E |
