Freddie Smith’s Post

It's Warbirds Thursday! While the Grumman F8F Bearcat is widely known in the US because modified versions of the Bearcat have broken speed records for piston-engined aircraft, little is known on the old continent about this warbird. Until today, the Bearcat is popular among warbird owners and air racers. The Bearcat is an American single-engined, carrier-based fighter aircraft introduced in late WWII. It served during the mid-20th century in the USN, the USMC, and the air forces of other nations. It was Grumman's last piston-engined fighter aircraft. The Bearcat concept began during a meeting between Battle of Midway veteran F4F Wildcat pilots and Grumman at Pearl Harbor in June 1942. At the meeting, John Smith "Jimmie" Thach, a WWII naval aviator, air combattactician, and later USN admiral who developed the famous "Thach Weave", a combat flight formation which could counter enemy fighters of superior performance, emphasized one of the most important requirements in a good fighter plane was climb rate. The design of the Bearcat was completed in November 1943. The USN placed a production contract for 2,023 aircraft based on the second prototype on 6 October 1944. Deliveries from Grumman began on 21 May 1945, however, WWII was over before the aircraft saw combat service. In 1946, an unmodified production Bearcat set a time-to-climb record (after a run of 115 ft (35 m)) of 10,000 feet (3,048 m) in 94 seconds (6,383 ft/min (32.43 m/s)). The Bearcat held this record for 10 years until it was broken by a jet fighter which still could not match the Bearcat's short takeoff distance. After WWII, the Bearcat became a major USN and USMC fighter, equipping 24 fighter squadrons in the USN and a smaller number in the USMC. Often mentioned as one of the best-handling piston-engined fighters ever built, its performance was sufficient to outperform many early jets. The Bearcat was also flown by the Blue Angels. The picture below shows the F8F Bearcat owned by The Fighter Collection at Duxford, UK, which was built in 1948. Read more about the Bearcat here: https://lnkd.in/e8wWnmDD. #Photographer #AviationPhotographer #Photography #Bearcat #USN #TheFighterCollection #Duxford #LaFerteAlais #LesTempsdesHelices Please let me know what kind of pictures and/or stories of vintage aircraft and/or warbirds you would like to see posted going forward. Thanks!

80 years ago yesterday, 31 August 1943, the Grumman F6F Hellcat made its first combat flight. The Hellcat replaced the earlier F4F Wildcat as the main carrier-based fighter aircraft for the US Navy. The F4F was inferior in most respects to Japanese aircraft such as the A6M2 "Zero," but the F6F was a huge improvement. It was faster than and could outclimb the Zero, and was also more solidly built and more heavily armed. In addition, the US Navy (and Air Force) has far more robust pilot training programs than the Japanese. So the balance of pilot skill shifted too: initially the Japanese had the advantage due to their combat experience in China, but by 1943 the US was churning out well-trained pilots at a high rate, while the experienced Japanese pilots were dying and being replaced with poorly trained rookies. Between this first combat mission and the end of the war, Hellcat pilots would claim 5163 air-to-air kills, against 270 Hellcats lost in aerial combat - a "kill ratio" of 19:1

More than Rafales vs F-18s, this is another nail in the Indo-Soviet coffin. Indian Navy: Mig-29 out/FR Rafales in, Tu-142 and IL-38 out/US P8 in. Indian Air Force: IL-76 out/US C-17 in, AN-32 (will be) out/EU C-295+US C-130 in. https://lnkd.in/gsA75Xps

The U.S. Navy awarded The Boeing Company a $1.3 billion contract March 19 for the purchase of 17 F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III jet fighters and delivery of a technical data package vital to the sustainment of the platform. The Navy received appropriated funds from Congress to purchase these Super Hornets to help mitigate the strike fighter shortfall. The award is an Undefinitized Contract Action with the intent to definitize within the next few months. Delivery of the new Super Hornets is scheduled to begin in the winter of 2026, with final delivery no later than spring 2027. The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole jet fighters derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, in service with the armed forces of the U.S., Australia, and Kuwait. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more advanced versions of the F/A-18C and D Hornet, respectively. #military #defense #defence #militaryleak #usnavy #boeing https://lnkd.in/gzpyrk7b

One of the coolest things about military jets is their flexible loadout capability. Depending on the mission, these jets can be configured with different weapons, making them super adaptable for various tasks. This adaptability is crucial in military aviation. By adjusting the weaponry based on mission needs, jets stay effective and ready for anything. It's all about strategic planning and being able to switch things up quickly to meet different challenges. This is a testament to the maintenance professionals who can adapt quickly and enable the pilots to use the jets for an intended purpose. @aircrew_interview

The very versatile US Navy Super Hornet and French Navy Rafale may be the best 4.5th-generation naval fighter jets in the world.

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat, an iconic fighter jet, gained legendary status largely due to its depiction in the 1986 film "Top Gun." While it performed admirably in service, its fame transcended its capabilities. The Tomcat made its combat debut during Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of American citizens from Saigon, in April 1975. F-14As from Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) and VF-2, operating from USS Enterprise, flew combat air patrols over South Vietnam to provide fighter cover for the evacuation route. The F-14s cost about 38 million a piece when they were being manufactured. In todays dollars that would be about 50+ million. The cost to produce them is a moot point since they are no longer being produced and the cost to recreated the manufacturing tooling and program would be much more than the aircraft is worth. All U.S. F-14s were destroyed or rendered incapable of flight. The only remaining F-14s belong to Iran. Estimates since 2009 of the number of F-14s the Iranians have ranged from 44 to 13 (operational) jets (another Tomcat crashed in June 2022). No one really seems to know how many the Iranians still have.

First, Go Air Force! Second, Sink Navy! Third, a little background to the sweet Air Force Academy Doolittle Raider jerseys—A tribute to joint interoperability, logistics excellence, and...superiority over the Navy The Air Force Academy football team are wearing special Doolittle Raider jerseys this Saturday to honor the 80 airmen who embarked on the daring Doolittle Raid in 1942. The raid was a pivotal moment in World War II, demonstrating the power of joint interoperability. The aircrews were drawn from the Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps, and they trained together for months to ensure they could operate seamlessly as a single unit. The logistics challenges of the raid were immense. The B-25 bombers had to be modified to take off from the USS Hornet, an aircraft carrier not designed to launch land-based aircraft. The crews also had to navigate to their targets without the benefit of radar or fighter escorts. Despite the challenges, the Doolittle Raid was a success. The bombers struck Tokyo and other Japanese cities, delivering a morale-boosting blow to the enemy. The raid also demonstrated that the United States was capable of striking the Japanese mainland, and it helped to pave the way for the eventual Allied victory in the Pacific. The Doolittle Raider jerseys are a reminder of the importance of joint interoperability, logistics excellence, and...Air Force superiority. After all, the Navy may have provided the ship, but it was the Air Force (and critical defense industrial base) that delivered the bombs. #livelaughlovelogisitics #farfarabove

Am I close or right regarding the image below? The image depicts a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and two fighter jets flying in close formation over the ocean. The aircraft carrier appears to be one of the America-class amphibious assault ships, identifiable by its smaller size compared to supercarriers and the distinctive island and ski-jump used for launching short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft. The jet in the foreground is an F-35B Lightning II, the STOVL variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II family, designed to operate from shorter decks like those on amphibious assault ships. Its capabilities are characterized by the humpback design where the lift fan is located, which allows it to hover and perform vertical landings. The jet in the background is an F/A-18 Hornet, a twin-engine supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). It is distinguishable by its twin tails and the position of the air intakes on the sides of the fuselage. The above assessments are based on visible characteristics, without specific markings or more detailed views, definitive identification can be challenging. #USMilitary #USNavy #USAirforce #USArmedForces #DoD #industriallubricants #MRO #OEM