Grumman F9F Panther

The Grumman F9F Panther was Grumman's first jet fighter and the first jet-powered fighter of the United States Navy to fight in air-to-air combat. Development began in the last months of the Second World War around a single-engined, straight-winged day fighter armed with four 20 mm cannon. The prototype flew on 21 November 1947 with an imported Rolls-Royce Nene engine, and production aircraft typically used the Allison J33 or Pratt and Whitney J48 turbojet; the type was cleared for carrier operations in September 1949. Navy and Marine Panthers flew extensively in the Korean War, and the Panther was also the first jet flown by the Blue Angels.