Is This The Best Fighter Never Built?

When it comes to the discussion of great combat aircraft that never got into service, there’s a pretty extensive list. One of them is the Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger- it had a solid pedigree in a proven airframe. It had a large potential market and substantial potential for further improvement and upgrading. Not to mention, it was a proven performer.

Roots

The roots of this aircraft originated from an airplane that saw service, the F-11 Tiger. It was a single-seat supersonic fighter that entered service in 1956, but it had issues. Grumman recognized that the Tiger needed a better engine and some design tweaks.

Thus, in January 1955, they proposed to the US Navy that two F-11 Tigers under construction be fitted with a new engine, the General Electric J79. The J79 wasn’t just 250 lbs. lighter than the J65 used in the Tiger; it was also able to produce 2,600 more force without the use of an afterburner.

Another significant change was also a bigger nose, intended to fit an AN/APQ-50 all-weather radar, the same as used on the early Phantoms. Moreover, while the F-11 can reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.1, the new Super Tiger is capable of reaching Mach 1.3.

Improvements

The first test flight took place on May 7th, 1956, but the test pilot had to abort because the air blowing in his cockpit was heated to a dangerous degree. This was rectified, and on the second flight, Mach 1.2 was achieved.

By the time it took off for a fifth flight in June, the Super Tiger hit Mach 1.6 at 35,000 ft., showing that it had three times the climb rate of the original F-11. When additional changes were made to the intakes in May 1957, it reached a top speed of Mach 2.04.

Moreover, the Super Tiger offered performance on par with the F-104, but with several key advantages: it had significantly better agility, twice the combat radius, was generally easier for pilots to fly, and showed strong potential for development into a capable multirole aircraft.

Too Little, Too Late?

Although the Super Tiger delivered an impressive performance, it arrived too late for Grumman. By then, the U.S. Navy had already committed to the more successful F-8 Crusader, which outperformed the F-11 Tiger it was meant to replace. The Super Tiger had essentially been developed as a fallback in case the Crusader program failed; since it didn’t, the Navy saw no need to pursue the Super Tiger further.

The U.S. Air Force also evaluated the Super Tiger and considered it an excellent aircraft. However, it chose not to adopt it either, as it was already heavily invested in the F-104 Starfighter and other Century Series jets. Budget constraints and existing commitments ultimately ruled out any further interest in the Super Tiger.

Unfortunately for the aircraft, it did not go past the production stage despite having reputable flight characteristics. Ultimately, only two test aircraft were ever built. The first damaged aircraft was being used for fire training practice until it was destroyed in the 1980s. The second aircraft is still exists to this day and is currently on display at the China Lake Museum in California. What’s your take? Does the Super Tiger earn a place among the greatest missed opportunities in the history of combat aviation?