The first prototype F9F (the XF9F-2) first flew in 1947. Carrier trials
were
carried out on board the USS Franklin D Roosevelt in 1949. The Panther was
the U.S. Navy's most extensively used fighter during the Korean conflict.
Outclassed by the swept-wing MiG-15, the F9F was used primarily as a ground
attack aircraft.
A swept-wing version of the Panther (the F9F-6
Cougar) first flew in 1951.
The Panther was re-designated the F-9 in 1962.
