The F9F Panther was Gumman's first jet aircraft combining ruggedness and simplicity. It was easy to fly and the removable tail and nose sections simplified maintenance and arming the airplane. The XF9F-1 Panther began life in 1946 as design G-79, Grumman's first serious attempt to build a jet powered aircraft. The Panther joined the fleet in 1949 and that year also became the first jet aircraft flown by the Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team. Though the Panther is credited with the first air to air shoot-down by a Navy jet aircraft, most of its over 78,000 combat flights were logged during the Korean War. For many of the combat pilots, including notables such as Ted Williams and John Glenn, the aircraft brought them home even after taking on tremendous battle damage. The Panther would ultimately be fitted with a Pratt & Whitney J-48-P-6 engine, which delivered 7,000 pounds of thrust, propelling the plane at over 600 miles per hour. | 
