Panther

The Grumman F9F Panther was the manufacturer's first jet fighter and one of the United States Navy's
first successful carrier-based jet fighters. A single-engined, straight-winged day fighter, it was fitted with
an armament of four 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons and could carry a wide assortment of air-to-ground
munitions. The Panther was used extensively by the U.S. Navy and the United States Marine Corps in
the Korean War, flying 78,000 sorties and scoring the first air-to-air kill by the U.S. Navy in the war.
Total F9F production was 1,382. The Panther was the first jet aircraft used by the Blue Angels flight
team. Many of you may remember the Panther from the movie "The Bridges at Toko-Ri".
F. Lee Bailey, (one of O.J. Simpson's high profile defense attorneys), would fly his "privately owned"
rocket laden Panther into cities where he would practice his trade because,
"I want my opponents to know that I've come to Fight!"