Travel Town F9F Panther, and missing Panthers

[RareBear]

The aircraft at Patriots Point in Mt Pleasant, SC, #147385, is an F9F-8T Cougar. It is a swept-wing bird. I see it every week close-up and personal.

Walt

[deskpro590]

Apologies for not getting these up sooner and for the quality. This is the TF9F I got to play on in Beeville back in 1977 (thought it was 1978 originally). No idea where this bird is now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowjacket3048/4337696381/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowjacket3048/4338438350/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowjacket3048/4338438552/

[Dan K]

Was the one on the farm in Minnesota a Panther or a Cougar?

I think? it was a Panther--I seem to recall tip tanks. I saw that airplane a LOT of years ago so I could be mistaken.

S

Apparently I now live about 40 minutes away from this bird. I'll try scoping it out when both my free time and the temps increase a bit.

[TheBeave]

So this one is gone, or just the instruments?

She was still there last summer, Joe.

I don't know what will happen to this one since the restoration of the Moton Field WWII buildings is underway. It's on airport property so I'm guessing that the city would be responsible for its upkeep rather than the U.S. Park Service.

Scott

The City of Tuskegee does have jurisdiction over the A/C. I was told that the city contacted the Huntsville Verteran's Memorial Museum to see of they wanted it. So I guess they are trying to get rid of it. Additionally, in my research, yes, the instruments are stripped out of the cockpit, leaving basically only the ejection seats, as can be see from photos.

I'm going to try and visit the A/C soon to see it firsthand (soon as I clear it with Household Six...)

Beave

[bdk]

http://www.skytamer.com/6.1/California/ ... 0Park.html

http://www.anaheim.net/AnaheimMagazine/05Winter.pdf

Long before the F9F-6P Cougar’s
current mission in what many people call “Airplane Park,” the Grumman
F9F-6P photoreconnaissance jet, was used by the United States Navy in
the Korean War. The jet, which has a wingspan of 34 feet and weighs just
under six tons, set itself apart from others during the war when it became
the first to deploy a heat-seeking Sidewinder missile and the first to have
a successful pilot ejection at supersonic speed. The Cougar flew numerous
missions over North Korea, taking aerial reconnaissance photos. After the
conflict was over, the Cougar was transferred to a Naval “plane graveyard”
in Litchfield, Arizona. ✪ It remained in Litchfield for several years before
it was rescued by the City of Anaheim. In May 1959, Anaheim officials
contacted the Navy, seeking a jet to display in a City park. The Navy offered
six different jets, but Anaheim only received one of them, the Cougar. By
November of that year, the jet was dismantled and put on a train to Anaheim.
The entire arrangement only cost $250, the price of shipping it from
Arizona. ✪ The jet was placed in what is now Boysen Park with the cockpit
controls intact and the storage areas open for crawling and exploring.
But after several years, the jet began to wear down. Metal had started to
warp and sharpen at the edges, and screws had become exposed. Eventually,
in 1967, it was layered in metal mesh, then covered with a two-inch thick
coat of gunite, a mixture of cement and latex glue. The cockpit controls
and seat were removed, and the crawl spaces were sealed off. Over the
years, the jet has been repainted several times . This summer, City staff
restored it to its original colors, with a star painted next to the cockpit and
red trim on top of the wings. ✪ Forty-two years since the jet landed at its
final destination, children who once played on the Cougar now bring their
own children to the park to fly the jet, fueled by imagination. ✪

[Jerry O'Neill]

Great list, but your missing the F9F-2 BuNo: 125156, at the New England Air Museum.
In storage 2009:

Jerry

Last edited by Jerry O'Neill on Sat Jul 06, 2013 11:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

[TheBeave]

Additionally, no mention of BuNo: 147418. Located at Huntsville Veteran's Memorial Museum. It is being restored for static display for the Museum. It was on a stick at Camp Shelby, MS (outside Hattiesburg) prior.

[Woodsy Airfield]

To update Andy Marden's list, the F9F-6P BuNo 128298 and F9F-8P BuNo 144388 (not 143388) of the Leon Cleaver collection in Norwalk Ohio area have been sold to Steve Penning of Santa Rosa, California during the summer of 2010. The -8P ultimetly was sold to The Estrella Aviation Museum of Paso Robles California during the summer/fall of 2011 and is currently under a static restoration. The -6P was sold by Steve to Bob Wynn of Foley Alabama (not far from Pensacola) during late 2011 and was on display at his property.... ........ Leon

[tom d. friedman]

leon, call me or stop into my store.

[airnutz]

Back in the 1960's, there was a Panther in the city park down by the river in Kerrville Texas. Unfortunately it was damaged by vandals and removed later. It'd be interesting to see what the story on that bird was and where it went.

[Rajay]

142985 BuNo F9F-8T Grumman Cougar Redesignated TF-9J in 1962 at Moton Field, Municipal Airport Tuskegee, Alabama. She's a straight wing, has the seats and engine on board, instruments I believe have been salvaged.

TF-9J (aka F9F-8T) Bu. no. 142985? That is most definitely NOT a "straight wing"...

Weren't the -5 series the last of the straight wing "Panthers" and all -6 and later series were swept wing "Cougars"?
By the time of the -8 series, it was definitely a swept-wing Cougar...

[kidjim25]

I dont know if it has been mentioned but there is an F9F-8P located just outside of Marengo IL

[Chris Brame]

I remember years ago there was a derelict but complete Cougar in Arizona that still carried NAS Glenview markings - anyone recall which one?

[moose135]

The City of Tuskegee does have jurisdiction over the A/C. I was told that the city contacted the Huntsville Verteran's Memorial Museum to see of they wanted it. So I guess they are trying to get rid of it. Additionally, in my research, yes, the instruments are stripped out of the cockpit, leaving basically only the ejection seats, as can be see from photos.

I'm going to try and visit the A/C soon to see it firsthand (soon as I clear it with Household Six...)

Beave

I know this is an old thread, but want to pass along an update - this Cougar from Tuskegee has been obtained by the Hickory Aviation Museum in NC and will be moved to the museum in early August.

[Joe Scheil]

Great news! Hopefully the museum will make a great place for her!!

As an aside...

It's important for all of us to
Understand the rarity of these machines. ANY USN/USAF
"Gate guard" has an uncertain future, as does any USN/USAF
Outside "static" display at a base museum. They will be scrapped
Eventually. Private airframes have the best chance at survival,
But it's hopefully possible that in the future some of these
Airframes will be released to private conservation and preservation.
The japan T-6 destruction, eastern seaboard scrappings of 2013/14
Of museum aircraft and the future "reefing" of many "preserved"
Statics don't bode well.

We don't want the Panther Cougar family to be as rare as the Boeing FB series....

Joe