Here Kitty, Kitty!

• Manufacturer
• Grumman

• Model
• F7F-3P Tigercat

• Name
• “Here Kitty, Kitty!”

• Tail Number
• N700F

It took a bigger aircraft carrier than the Navy had at the time to accommodate their first twin-engine fighter. The F7 Tigercat just wouldnʼt fit on the deck, and was supposed to fly from the larger Midway-class carriers, but never got the chance to prove itself in combat before the war ended. The Tigercat would get a shot in Korea, but still had a short lifespan, serving only until 1954. Even so, the F7 was fast and heavily armed, outracing the single-engine F6F Hellcat by more than 70 mph. Sadly, high landing speed and weight, among other problems, kept all but a handful of F7s off of carrier service. Here Kitty, Kitty here is configured as a photo-recon aircraft, one of five flyable models in the world, and the first ever to race at the National Championship Air Races in Reno.