US Grumman F-11 ''Tiger'' Fighter Jet

By Crusader1307

The Grumman Aircraft F-11 ''Tiger'' Fighter was a supersonic, Carrier based Jet devleoped for The US Navy in 1956. Over 200 Production Models were made. The Aviation ''joke'' on The ''Tiger'' Fighter is that it is the first US Jet ever to ''shoot itself'' down! During a gunnery test in 1956, The Fighter actually flew faster than it;s Auto-Cannon, running into it's own ''stream'' of expelled ammunition. The Pilot survived the ''attack'' by His F-11 did not. As a result a less powerful Turbojet Engine was installed to ''slow down'' The ''Tiger''. The F-11 was deployed with all US Navy Carrier Battle Groups, beginning in 1961. ''Tiger'' needed what seemed – constant maintenance, which moved The US Navy to replace them with The Vought F-8 ''Crusader'' in 1967. The F-11 was used as a Trainer and flew with The US Navy's Air Demonstration Team ''The Blue Angels'' for several years. The last ''Tiger'' flown was in 1975. Crewed by a single Pilot, The F-11 was 47-feet long with a swept-wing configuration wingspan of 38-feet long. They were powered by (1) Wright J65 Turbojet (afterburner) Engine, capable of producing 10,500-IBF Thrust. Average airspeed was rated at Mach 1.1 (over 700-mph). Armament was varied with The ''Tiger''. She supported (4) wing mounted 20mm Auto-Cannon with the ability to support (4) AIM-9 ''Sidewinder'' Missiles.