"The Flying Barrel"
Grumman F3F-1 in flight. The Grumman F3F series was the last series of biplane fighters supplied to the United States Navy. The last models were delivered in 1938, and the type had been replaced in the combat role by 1941. Some continued to be used as trainers and in communications duties in subsequent years. Apart from its brief use as a stopgap Navy fighter at the very beginning of America's war, the real importance of this aircraft is as the direct forebear of Grumman's more familiar monoplane fighters, the Wildcat and the Hellcat. The relationship is visible, not least in the (still) somewhat barrel-like profile of these later aircraft. Best regards, JR.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/us-navy/37191/%22the-flying-barrel%22