Aircraft Gallery
F9F-8P Cougar
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: 1
Length: 40 ft 11 in (12.47 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
Height: 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)
Wing area: 300 ft² (27.87 m²)
Empty weight: 11,483 lb (5,209 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J48-P-8A turbojet, 7,250 lbf (38 kN)
Maximum speed: 654 mph at loaded weight[60] (568 knots, 1,051.9 km/h)
Range: 932 mi (810 nmi, 1,500 km) without additional tanks
Service ceiling: 44,500 ft (13,564 m)
Guns: 4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) AN/M3 cannon, 190 rounds per gun
Rockets: 6 × 5 in (127 mm) rockets
Missiles: 4 × AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles[18][note 1]
Bombs: 2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs on inboard pylons plus 2 x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs on outer pylons[18]
For better performance, the earlier F9F Panther was modified with swept wings to become the Cougar. The F9F-8P was the photo-reconnaissance version, employing an extended nose which housed both vertical and oblique cameras to better render images from above. The Cougar also featured an early form of in-flight refueling with the long boom extending out front. However, this proved challenging to line up with fuel tanker drogues, so the shorter, cranked booms on later aircraft were developed.
