Development of the Cougar
Grumman’s swept-wing F9F Cougar was a hasty but successful development of its straight- mainplane Panther, brought about largely by Korean War combat experience. Malcolm V Lowe tells its story
Spotlight
Grumman F9F Cougar
Advances in warplane design, propulsion and performance after World War Two were so rapid that some early jet-powered aircraft of the later 1940s soon became outdated. In particular, the Korean War proved to be a catalyst for change. Although early aerial combat favoured USAF and US Navy aviators when challenged by outmoded piston-engined types operated by the North Koreans, the introduction of the Soviet MiG-15 changed everything. The USAF F-80 Shooting Stars and USN F9F Panthers were outclassed overnight. Mikoyan-Gurevich’s MiG-15, although very simple, nonetheless incorporated the advanced thinking of swept-wing design, whereas the F-80 and Panther were from the first generation of production jet fighters with the by-then dated straight-wing layout.
The MiG was superior to the Panther in manoeuvrability and acceleration – and was better than anything fielded by the Allies in terms of time to climb, altitude and top speed. Clearly this was a situation that h…
