From my wife: My grandfather was a RIO in the F7F-3N during the Korean War. He flew hundreds of missions, mostly at night. In 1952 he was flying with his pilot when they were shot down over enemy territory. They pulled the canopy and climbed over the side of the plane. My grandfather survived the jump, the pilot was never recovered; it's not known whether he died during the jump or was captured by the enemy. The next morning my grandfather was rescued by USAF before the enemy could get to him. He is believed to be the only person to successfully eject from the Tigercat F7F-3N. He's 93 today, and still proud of his USMC service.
@@paulgentile1024 thank you, he's a great guy. He contributed to the book "History of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 531", which demonstrates what a unique force Squadron 531 was during the war effort. He was part of this squadron, known as the Grey Ghosts.
This is an outstanding document of a true masterpiece of engineering and design in action. Beautifully flown with obvious skill and confidence. Thank you to everyone involved.
@@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8 Ability to get home or at least closer to home if one engine is lost. More carrying capacity for ground attack missions., Better visibility to the front as well as having all guns boresighted rather than converging from outer wing area.
@@lightbox617 -But Monsieur, it is this.. "noise", this magnificent symphony of controlled explosions, the defiant roar as a flame-spitting beast takes to the skies... But, that being said, turboprops would be pretty interesting to see on this plane.
the engines are the same used on a Convair airliner of the time that carried 40 passengers plus crew! That's ALOT of POWER! Also note how slim the fuselage is...beautiful design!
My uncle, George Roy Hill, was a Marine night fighter pilot training pilots at Cherry Point, North Carolina. He flew the night fight versions of the F4U Corsair, the F6F Hellcat, F9F Panther, and the Navy version of the Shooting Star as well as the F7F Tiger Cat. Knowing my uncle, I think that you have to be a little bit crazy in order to do that job.
That wicked sound and then you see the narrow fuselage and two fat engines, you know right then that the designers knew what they were after. Tigercat looks more fun to fly than a jet!
Siempre admiré al F7F Tigercats , por su refinado diseño y sus limpieza de líneas aerodinámicas . Un pura sangre con poderosas planta motrices . Pero nunca me imaginé verlo volando , haciendo esas maniobras acrobáticas . Muchas gracias por brindarme está posibilidad de verlo en acción . Gracias por tan espetacular video 👌 .
Stew certainly uses the power of the Tigercat to the full. Bet you couldn't wipe the smile off his face for weeks! Are the engines handed like the P38? They didn't look that way in the footage. Thankyou.
Only thing that sounds better than a Pratt & Whiney R-2800 ,18 -cylinder,radial air-cooled engine with 2 rows of 9 cylinders , "Double Wasp" IS TWO R-2800 "Double Wasp" engines.
The Tigercat has to be the ultimate perfect prop driven twin-engine Fighter-bomber ever made. The horsepower to weight ratio must be off the scale with that aircraft.
These used to serve as air tankers in California in the 70’s but had issues with fuel management that cost pilots their lives. After hours in the air at low altitude and high heat it was easy to forget which tank to use. Beautiful aircraft but unforgiving.
I grew up on northern airports in Canada as my late father was an airport manager. There was the airport and the lake next to it which had two major float plane bases that serviced the gold mines and big game outfitters in the southern yukon and Northern b.c. so hearing radial engines was a part of my daily life also had alot of ww2 water bomber conversions so heard alot of radial engines and they sound amazing.
