Standard armament fitted to the F3F consisted of a single .30 caliber Browning M1919 machine gun in the engine cowling (port side) paired with a .50 caliber Browning M2 Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) in the engine cowling (starboard side). The F3F was also given an inherent bomb-carrying/delivery capability, able to haul 2 x 116lb conventional drop bombs into combat.
As a private venture, Grumman engineers fit the new Wright XR-1820-22 "Cyclone G" supercharged radial of 850 horsepower into a prototype and successfully tested the system which interested the USN enough to place an order for 81 units under the "F3F-2" designation (company model "G-19") during July of 1936. The finalized operational models carried the Wright R-1820-22 "Cyclone" radial of 950 horsepower and the new engine fit forced a revised frontal section which promoted a stouter appearance for the aircraft. Despite the changes, the F3F-2 proved itself a faster model of airplane when compared to the original F3F-1.
Grumman did not end its work on the F3F for the "XF3F-3" was developed from the F3F-2 to further the line some more as subtle refinements (a revised cowling, curved windshield structure) were introduced. A large propeller unit was also fitted and small structural changes instituted to produce the new service mark - "F3F-3" - and 27 of these new fighters were taken on by the USN. The end of the line came when the USN shifted to monoplane fighters though the F3F continued in a training role into late 1943 before being given up for good.
Beyond the military versions were some civilian-minded developments. The G-22A "Gulfhawk II" was a twin-seat demonstrator of 1938 outfitted with a Wright R-1820 "Cyclone" engine of 1,000 horsepower - one was built. The G-32/G-32A "Gulfhawk III" was a similar offering and completed in two examples. The G-32 aircraft operated for a time under the USAAF banner as the "C-103" in the pilot training ferry role.
By the time of World War 2, the Grumman F4F "Wildcat" was entrenched as the primary USN fighter. This was bettered by the upcoming F6F "Hellcat" and saw Grumman fighters reached their piston-powered pinnacle before war's end with the arrival of the F8F "Bearcat".
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