In 1956, the Grumman aircraft corporation was testing its new fighter, the F-11 Tiger, off the coast of New York state. The pilot fired a long burst from its guns and moments later suffered mysterious, catastrophic damage that caved in the windshield and mortally wounded the engine. What happened? The pilot had shot himself down.
The F-11 Tiger, like all Grumman aircraft, was named after a cat. Fast and nimble, the F-11 was only the second supersonic fighter in the Navy's inventory, capable of 843 miles an hour (Mach 1.1). It was actually Grumman's first supersonic fighter and the company's inexperience with the consequences of supersonic flight, as well as the fighter's amazing speed, would be one test Tiger's undoing.
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