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455 MPH and 5,820 FPM Climb: The Bearcat That Came Too Late

The Grumman F8F Bearcat could climb at nearly 6,000 feet per minute and push past 450 mph, making it one of the fastest piston fighters ever. Yet it arrived too late for World War II, leaving its ...
insider.si.edu

"Free fall flight tests of model # 1 of the F8F airplane." Source: Naval air experimental station. Aeronautical materials laboratory. Report # 2466, part 3.

Wright Field Technical Documents Library / D50. Transportation, Supplies, and Equipment / D52. Aircraft / D52.1 - Airplanes (arranged alphabetically) / F / F8F ...
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2,000 Built, 455 MPH, 1 War Too Late: The F8F Bearcat’s Race Against Time

The Grumman F8F Bearcat was the fastest piston-engine fighter America ever built, climbing faster than a jet and out-turning ...