F9F-5 PANTHER MODEL

The F9F Panther is a fighter-bomber aircraft manufactured by Grumman. It was widely used during the Korean War. The Panther have been notable for its prominent role in the 1954 movie Men of the FIghting Lady and was also featured in the flying sequences in the 1955 movie The Bridges at Toko-Ri.

The prototype Panther first flew on November 24, 1947. F9F-5s, together with F9F-2s and F9F-5s have distinctively served in the Korean war, having downed two Yak-9s and five Mikoyan-Gurevich, with only one loss of F9F. In 1956, Panthers were withdrawn from front-line service, but remained as trainers and with Reserve units until 1958 and some continued to serve in small numbers into the 1960s. The only foreign Panther buyer was the Argentine Navy, having bought 24 ex-USN aircraft in 1958. The Argentine Panthers were involved in general mobilization during the 1965 border clash between Argentina and Chile, but there wasnt any combat that occurred. In 1969, Panthers were removed from active service due to lack spare parts and was replaced with A-4Q Skyhawks. The F9F-5 Panther is a variant of the F9F-5 but is powered by Pratt & Whitney J48 engine. There were 616 F9F-5s built.