Grumman J2F Duck: Difference between revisions
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==Development== |
==Development== |
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The J2F-1 Duck first flew on 2 April 1936, powered by a 750 hp (559 kW) [[Wright R-1820]] Cyclone, and was delivered to the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] on the same day. The J2F-2 had a Wright Cyclone engine which was boosted to 790 hp (589 kW). Twenty J2F-3 variants were built in 1939 for use by the Navy as executive transports with plush interiors. Due to pressure of work following the United States entry into the [[World War II|war]] in 1941, production of the J2F Duck was transferred to the [[Columbia Aircraft Corp]] of [[New York]]. They produced 330 aircraft for the Navy and [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]].<ref>Jordan, Corey C. [http://www.planesandpilotsofww2.webs.com/Grumman2.html "Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter Two."] ''Planes and Pilots Of World War Two,'' 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref> |
The J2F-1 Duck first flew on 2 April 1936, powered by a 750 hp (559 kW) [[Wright R-1820]] Cyclone, and was delivered to the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] on the same day. The J2F-2 had a Wright Cyclone engine which was boosted to 790 hp (589 kW). Twenty J2F-3 variants were built in 1939 for use by the Navy as executive transports with plush interiors. Due to pressure of work following the United States entry into the [[World War II|war]] in 1941, production of the J2F Duck was transferred to the [[Columbia Aircraft Corp]] of [[New York]]. They produced 330 aircraft for the Navy and [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]].<ref>Jordan, Corey C. [http://www.planesandpilotsofww2.webs.com/Grumman2.html "Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter Two."] ''Planes and Pilots Of World War Two,'' 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref> If standard Navy nomenclature practice had been followed, these would have been designated JL-1s, but it was not, and all Columbia-produced airframes were delivered as J2F-6s.<ref> Swanborough, Gordon, and Bowers, Peter M., "United States Navy Aircraft since 1911", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1976, Library of Congress card number 90-60097, ISBN 0-87021-792-5, page 221. |
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Several surplus Navy Ducks were converted for use by the [[United States Air Force]] in the [[air-sea rescue]] role as the '''OA-12''' in 1948. |
Several surplus Navy Ducks were converted for use by the [[United States Air Force]] in the [[air-sea rescue]] role as the '''OA-12''' in 1948. |
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Revision as of 22:19, 2 April 2014
| J2F Duck | |
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.jpg)
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| Grumman J2F-4 Duck in flight | |
| Role | Utility amphibian |
| Manufacturer | Grumman/ Columbia Aircraft Corp |
| First flight | 1936 |
| Introduction | 1936 |
| Primary users | United States Navy United States Army Air Forces United States Coast Guard United States Marine Corps Argentine Navy |
| Number built | 584 |
| Developed from | Grumman JF Duck |
The Grumman J2F Duck (company designation G-15) was an American single-engine amphibious biplane. It was used by each major branch of the U.S. armed forces from the mid-1930s until just after World War II, primarily for utility and air-sea rescue duties. It was also used by the Argentine Navy, who took delivery of their first Duck in 1937. After the war, J2F Ducks saw service with independent civilian operators, as well as the armed forces of Colombia and Mexico.
The J2F was an improved version of the earlier JF Duck, with its main difference being a longer float.[1]
Development
The J2F-1 Duck first flew on 2 April 1936, powered by a 750 hp (559 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone, and was delivered to the U.S. Navy on the same day. The J2F-2 had a Wright Cyclone engine which was boosted to 790 hp (589 kW). Twenty J2F-3 variants were built in 1939 for use by the Navy as executive transports with plush interiors. Due to pressure of work following the United States entry into the war in 1941, production of the J2F Duck was transferred to the Columbia Aircraft Corp of New York. They produced 330 aircraft for the Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.[2] If standard Navy nomenclature practice had been followed, these would have been designated JL-1s, but it was not, and all Columbia-produced airframes were delivered as J2F-6s.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Like the F4F Wildcat, its narrow-tracked landing gear was hand-cranked.
Operational history
The J2F was used by the U.S. Navy, Marines, Army Air Forces and Coast Guard. Apart from general utility and light transport duties, its missions included mapping, scouting/observation, anti-submarine patrol, air-sea rescue work, photographic surveys and reconnaissance, and target tug.
J2Fs of the utility squadron of US Patrol Wing 10 were destroyed at Mariveles Bay, Philippines, by a Japanese air raid on 5 January 1942.[3] The only Duck to survive the attack had a dead engine but had been concealed at Cabcaben airfield during the Battle of Bataan, to be repaired afterwards with a cylinder removed from a destroyed J2F-4 submerged in Manila Bay. Following repairs the J2F-4 departed after midnight on 9 April 1942, overloaded with five passengers and the pilot, becoming the last aircraft to depart Bataan before the surrender of the Philippines to the Japanese only hours later. Among its passengers was Carlos P. Romulo (diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist and author) who recounted the flight in his 1942 best-selling book "I Saw the Fall of the Philippines" (Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York 1943, pp. 288–303) for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence.
Variants
- J2F-1
- Initial production version with 750 hp R-1820-20 engines, 29 built.
- J2F-2
- United States Marine Corps version with nose and dorsal guns and underwing bomb racks, 21 built.
- J2F-2A
- As J2F-2 with minor changes for use in the United States Virgin Islands, nine built.
- J2F-3
- J2F-2 but powered by a 850 hp R-1820-26 engine, 20 built.
- J2F-4
- J2F-2 but powered by a 850 hp R-1820-30 engine and fitted with target towing equipment, 32 built.
- J2F-5
- J2F-2 but powered by a 1,050 hp R-1820-54 engine, 144 built.
- J2F-6
- Columbia Aircraft built version of the J2F-5 with a 1,050 hp R-1820-64 engine in a long-chord cowling, fitted with underwing bomb racks and provision for target towing gear; 330 built.
- OA-12
- Air-sea rescue conversion for the United States Army Air Forces (and later United States Air Force, OA-12A).
Operators
- Argentine Naval Aviation[4] (operated 31 examples from 1948-1959).
- Colombian Navy[5] (operated three examples from 1948).
- Mexican Navy (operated three ex-U.S. Navy J2F-6s from 1950-1951).[6]
- Peruvian Navy (operated one ex-USN example from 1961-1964).
- United States Army Air Forces
- United States Coast Guard
- United States Marine Corps
- United States Navy
Survivors
The United States Coast Guard worked with North South Polar, Inc. to recover a J2F-4 Duck BUNO V-1640 downed in a storm on a Greenland glacier.[7] Two Coast Guard airmen were lost along with a rescued US Army Air Force passenger from a downed B-17 searching for a downed C-53 with five on board.[8] The three men of the Duck are presumed to still be entombed at the site. North South Polar, under the auspices of the US Coast Guard team, located the aircraft in August 2012 resting 38 feet beneath the surface of the ice sheet. As per the mandate of Title 10 of the US Code, North South Polar, the US Coast Guard and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command plan to recover the men's remains for proper interment. The Coast Guard and North South Polar are also developing plans to recover the aircraft and restore it to flying condition as a memorial to the aircrew.[9] www.nspolar.us
Noted aircraft collector Kermit Weeks has been the top Duck owner since World War II, owning as many as four. Two of Weeks' J2Fs were traded for other aircraft, one is under restoration, and the fourth is flyable and on display at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.
Specifications (J2F-6)
Data from Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II[10]
General characteristics
- Crew: two (pilot and observer)
- Capacity: two rescued airmen
Performance
Armament
- 1 × Browning .30 cal machine gun (7.62 mm) on flexible mount in rear cockpit
- 650 lb (295 kg) of bombs or depth charges
Popular culture
- A J2F Duck was used in the 1971 film Murphy's War, which includes a spectacular three-minute rough water takeoff scene along with numerous flying and aerobatic sequences. The actual airplane used in this film is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio; although it has been restored and painted to represent a rescue OA-12.
- A Grumman Duck was also seen in several episodes of the 1970s TV series Baa Baa Black Sheep, (aka Black Sheep Squadron) based on the legendary exploits of Marine fighter squadron VMF-214.
- In the album Dossier Zondagskind, Agent 327 and Olga Lawina catapults a Grumman Duck off the ship Stella Polaris. Their flight continues into the album Dossier Zevenslaper.
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
References
- Notes
- ^ Allen 1983, p. 49.
- ^ Jordan, Corey C. "Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter Two." Planes and Pilots Of World War Two, 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011.
- ^ Alsleben, Allan. "US Patrol Wing 10 in the Dutch East Indies, 1942." Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942, 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011.
- ^ Nuñez Padin, 2002
- ^ Allen 1983, p.77
- ^ Allen 1983, p. 52.
- ^ Zuckoff, Mitchell. 2013. Frozen in time: an epic story of survival, and a modern quest for lost heroes of World War II. New York, NY: Harper.
- ^ Coast Guard announces WWII Coast Guard Grumman Duck crash site located after 70 years
- ^ Mungier, Monique. "Race to Find Aviators Entombed in Greenland Glacier." The New York Times, 20 September 2010. Retrieved: 24 September 2010.
- ^ Bridgeman 1946, pp. 235–236.
- Bibliography
- Allen, Francis J. "A Duck Without Feathers". Air Enthusiast. Issue 23, December 1983—March 1984, pp. 46–55, 77–78. Bromley, Kent UK: Pilot Press, 1983.
- Bridgeman, Leonard. “ The Grumman Duck .” Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.
- Hosek, Timothy. Grumman JF Duck - Mini in Action 7. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-89747-366-3.
- Jarski, Adam. Grumman JF/J2F Duck (Monografie Lotnicze 98) (in Polish with English captions). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 2007. ISBN 83-7237-169-0 .
- Nuñez Padin, Jorge Félix. Grumman G.15, G.20 & J2F Duck (Serie Aeronaval Nro. 15) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Museo de Aviación Naval, Instituto Naval, 2002.
External links
