Driftless
Donor
In keeping with a recent theme:
What if Grumman goes out of business around 1936 after failing to secure a Navy contract for the F3F biplane fighter?
The F3F & it's immediate predecessor the F2F both suffered from stability issues - at least in development. OTL 1935, the first F3F prototype broke up in midair killing the test pilot (it was pulling extraoridinary "G's"at the time). The second OTL prototype also crashed, but was rebuilt. The Navy stuck by Grumman and eventually ordered 54 planes following successful completion of the test runs. The F3F was the indirect parent of the F4F Wildcat/Martlet, and the several times grandparent of a host of hall-of-fame naval aircraft.
Events could have played out differently, had the Navy not allowed the Grumman team to rebuild the second crashed F3F prototype. Also, the Brewster F2A Buffalo was in development during the same time frame. While the Buffalo is often mocked today in hindsight, it was cutting edge in 1937 at the time of it's first flight. IF Grumman couldn't continue the tests of the F3F, perhaps their business falters and they go out of business altogether, or sell out to another competitor.
IF no F3F, then possibly no:
* F4F Wildcat
* F5F Skyrocket (the parent of the Tigercat)
* F6F Hellcat
* F7F Tigercat
* F8F Bearcat
* F9F Panther
* A-6 Intruder
* F-14 Tomcat
Several other storied aircraft
What company and planes fills the void of a failed Grumman Aircraft?
What if Grumman goes out of business around 1936 after failing to secure a Navy contract for the F3F biplane fighter?
The F3F & it's immediate predecessor the F2F both suffered from stability issues - at least in development. OTL 1935, the first F3F prototype broke up in midair killing the test pilot (it was pulling extraoridinary "G's"at the time). The second OTL prototype also crashed, but was rebuilt. The Navy stuck by Grumman and eventually ordered 54 planes following successful completion of the test runs. The F3F was the indirect parent of the F4F Wildcat/Martlet, and the several times grandparent of a host of hall-of-fame naval aircraft.
Events could have played out differently, had the Navy not allowed the Grumman team to rebuild the second crashed F3F prototype. Also, the Brewster F2A Buffalo was in development during the same time frame. While the Buffalo is often mocked today in hindsight, it was cutting edge in 1937 at the time of it's first flight. IF Grumman couldn't continue the tests of the F3F, perhaps their business falters and they go out of business altogether, or sell out to another competitor.
IF no F3F, then possibly no:
* F4F Wildcat
* F5F Skyrocket (the parent of the Tigercat)
* F6F Hellcat
* F7F Tigercat
* F8F Bearcat
* F9F Panther
* A-6 Intruder
* F-14 Tomcat
Several other storied aircraft
What company and planes fills the void of a failed Grumman Aircraft?
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