Editing Grumman F8F Bearcat (section)

===United States===
[[File:Grumman F8F-1 Blue Angels 1946-49.jpg|thumb|On 25 August 1946, the [[Blue Angels]] converted to the Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat and introduced the famous "diamond" formation.]]

The F8F prototypes were ordered in November 1943 and first flew on 21 August 1944, a mere nine months later.{{efn|Grumman's project pilot for the Bearcat series was noted test pilot Corwin F. "Corky" Meyer.<ref>Dittmeier, Chris. [http://www.grummanpark.org/grumman_test_pilots.htm "Grumman test pilots."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816171153/http://www.grummanpark.org/grumman_test_pilots.htm |date=2007-08-16 }} ''www.GrummanPark.org.'' Retrieved: 18 August 2010.</ref><ref>Meyer, Corwin. ''Corky Meyer's Flight Journal: A Test Pilot's Tales Of Dodging Disasters-Just In Time''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2006. {{ISBN|1-58007-093-0}}.</ref>|group=Note}} The first production aircraft was delivered in February 1945 and the first squadron, Fighter Squadron 19 ([[VF-191|VF-19]]), was operational by 21 May 1945, but World War II was over before the aircraft saw combat service.

One problem that became evident in service was the snap-off wingtips not working as expected. While they worked well under carefully controlled conditions in flight and on the ground, in the field, where aircraft were repetitively stressed by landing on carriers and since the wings were slightly less carefully made in the factories,  a possibility arose that only one wingtip would break away with the possibility of the aircraft crashing.<ref>Scrivner 1990, p. 14.</ref> This was replaced with an explosives system to blow the wingtips off together, which also worked well, but this ended when a ground technician died due to an accidental triggering. In the end, the wings were reinforced, and the aircraft was limited to 7.5 g.

Postwar, the F8F became a major U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps fighter, equipping 24 fighter squadrons in the Navy and a smaller number in the Marines. Often mentioned as one of the best-handling piston-engined fighters ever built, its performance was sufficient to outperform some early jets.{{efn|[[Neil Armstrong]] flew Bearcats in 1950 during his Navy advanced training, field qualifying in it at age 19. After his retirement, he named the Bearcat as his favourite aircraft to fly.<ref>Hanson 2005, p. 78.</ref>|group=Note}} Its capability for [[aerobatic]] performance is illustrated by its selection as the second demonstration aircraft for the Navy's elite [[Blue Angels]] flight demonstration squadron in 1946, replacing the Grumman F6F Hellcat.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/aircraft/historical.aspx |title=Blue Angels: Historical Aircraft - 60+ Years of Aviation Excellence |access-date=2016-02-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122092547/https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/aircraft/historical.aspx |archive-date=2016-01-22 }}</ref> The Blue Angels flew the Bearcat until the team was temporarily disbanded in 1950 during the [[Korean War]] and pressed into operational combat service. The [[F9F Panther]] and [[McDonnell F2H Banshee]] largely replaced the Bearcat as their performance and other advantages eclipsed piston-engined fighters.