Grumman J2F Duck

{{short description|American single-engine amphibious biplane}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox aircraft |name= J2F Duck |image= File:Grumman J2F-6 Duck Candy Clipper BuNo 33549 N1214N 1st Pass 10 15thAnny FOF 28Nov2010 (cropped).jpg |caption= Grumman J2F-6 Duck "Candy Clipper" BuNo 33549 / civil reg N1214N |type= Utility amphibian |national_origin= United States |manufacturer= Grumman<br>Columbia Aircraft Corp |designer= |first_flight= 2 April 1936 |introduction= 1936 |retired= |status= |primary_user= United States Navy |more_users= United States Army Air Forces <br> United States Coast Guard <br> United States Marine Corps |produced= |number_built= 584 |developed_from = Grumman JF Duck |variants= }}

The '''Grumman J2F Duck''' (company designation '''G-15''') is an American, single-engined, amphibious biplane. It was used by each major branch of the U.S. Armed Forces from the mid-1930s until just after World War II, primarily for utility and air-sea rescue duties. It was also used by the Argentine Navy, which took delivery of their first example in 1937. After the war, J2F Ducks served independent civilian operators, as well as the armed forces of Colombia and Mexico.

The J2F was an improved version of the earlier JF Duck, the main differences being a longer float and a more-powerful engine (900 horsepower versus 775).<ref name="Allen 49">Allen 1983, p. 49.</ref>

==Development== The J2F-1 Duck first flew on 2 April 1936, powered by a 750 hp (559 kW) Wright R-1820 Cyclone, and was delivered to the U.S. Navy on the same day. The J2F-2 had an uprated Wright Cyclone engine of 790 hp (589 kW). Twenty J2F-3 variants were built in 1939 for use by the Navy as executive transports with plush interiors. Due to pressure of work following the United States' entry into the war in 1941, production of the J2F Duck was transferred to the Columbia Aircraft Corp of New York. They produced 330 aircraft for the Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.<ref>Jordan, Corey C. [http://www.planesandpilotsofww2.webs.com/Grumman2.html "Grumman's Ascendency: Chapter Two."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325044407/http://www.planesandpilotsofww2.webs.com/Grumman2.html |date=2012-03-25 }} ''Planes and Pilots Of World War Two,'' 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref> If standard Navy nomenclature practice had been followed, these would have been designated JL-1s, but it was not, and all Columbia-produced airframes were delivered as J2F-6s.<ref>Swanborough, Gordon, and Bowers, Peter M., "United States Navy Aircraft since 1911", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1976, Library of Congress card number 90-60097, {{ISBN|0-87021-792-5}}, page 221.</ref>

Several surplus Navy Ducks were converted for use by the United States Air Force in the air-sea rescue role as the OA-12 in 1948.

==Design== The J2F was an equal-span, single-bay biplane with a large-monocoque central float, which also housed the retractable main landing gear, a similar design to the Leroy Grumman-designed landing gear first used for Grover Loening's early amphibious biplane designs, and later adopted for the Grumman FF fighter biplane. The aircraft had strut-mounted stabilizer floats beneath each lower wing. A crew of two or three was carried in tandem cockpits, forward for the pilot and rear for an observer with room for a radio operator if required. It had a cabin in the fuselage for two passengers or a stretcher.

The Duck's main pontoon was blended into the fuselage, making it almost a flying boat, despite its similarity to a conventional landplane that has been float-equipped. This configuration was shared with the earlier Loening OL, Grumman having acquired the rights to Loening's hull, float, and undercarriage designs.<ref name="Allen 47">Allen 1983, p. 47.</ref> Like the F4F Wildcat, its narrow-tracked landing gear was hand-cranked.

==Operational history== The J2F was used by the U.S. Navy, Marines, Army Air Forces, and Coast Guard. Apart from general utility and light transport duties, its missions included mapping, scouting/observation, antisubmarine patrol, air-sea rescue work, photographic surveys, reconnaissance, and target tug.

J2Fs of the utility squadron of US Patrol Wing 10 were destroyed at Mariveles Naval Section Base, the Philippines, by a Japanese air raid on 5 January 1942.<ref>Alsleben, Allan. [http://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/patrol_wing10.html "US Patrol Wing 10 in the Dutch East Indies, 1942."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705064720/http://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/patrol_wing10.html |date=2023-07-05 }} ''Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942,'' 2000. Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref> The only Duck to survive the attack had a dead engine, but had been concealed at Cabcaben airfield during the Battle of Bataan, to be repaired afterwards with a cylinder removed from a destroyed J2F-4 submerged in Manila Bay. Following repairs, the J2F-4 departed after midnight on 9 April 1942, overloaded with five passengers and the pilot, Roland J. Barnick, becoming the last aircraft to depart Bataan before its surrender to the Japanese only hours later. Among its passengers was Carlos P. Romulo (diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist, and author), who recounted the flight in his 1942 best-selling book ''I Saw the Fall of the Philippines'' (Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York 1943, pp. 288–303), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence.<ref name="jw">{{cite book |last1=Whitman |first1=John |title=Bataan: Our Last Ditch |date=1990 |publisher=Hippocrene Books |location=New York |isbn=0870528777 |pages=575–576}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Romulo |first1=Carlos |title=I Saw the Fall of the Philippines |date=1946 |publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc. |location=Garden City |pages=288–317}}</ref> J2F airplanes were later deployed to Guadalcanal for search & rescue of down airmen.

==Variants== [[File:J2F-3 NAS Jax 1940-2.jpg|thumb|J2F-3 at NAS Jacksonville in 1940]] [[File:Grumman OA-12 Duck USAF.jpg|thumb|J2F-6 painted as an OA-12 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force]]

;J2F-1 :Initial production version with 750 hp R-1820-20 engines, 29 built. ;J2F-2 :United States Marine Corps version with nose and dorsal guns and underwing bomb racks, 21 built. ;J2F-2A :As J2F-2 with minor changes for use in the United States Virgin Islands, nine built. ;J2F-3 :J2F-2 but powered by an 850 hp R-1820-26 engine, 20 built. ;J2F-4 :J2F-2 but powered by an 850 hp R-1820-30 engine and fitted with target towing equipment, 32 built. ;J2F-5 :J2F-2 but powered by a 1,050 hp R-1820-54 engine, 144 built. ;J2F-6 :Columbia Aircraft built version of the J2F-5 with a 1,050 hp R-1820-64 engine in a long-chord cowling, fitted with underwing bomb racks and provision for target towing gear; 330 built. ;OA-12 :Air-sea rescue conversion for the United States Army Air Forces (and later United States Air Force, OA-12A).

==Operators== ;{{ARG}} * Argentine Naval Aviation<ref>Nuñez Padin, 2002</ref> received four new-build Grumman G-15s (equivalent to J2F-4s) in 1939, to supplement the eight Grumman G-20s (export version of the Grumman JF-2) received in 1937.<ref name="ae108 p41-2,44-5">Lezon and Stitt 2003, pp. 41–42, 44–45</ref> In 1946–1947, 32 ex-US Navy Ducks (consisting of one J2F-4, 24 J2F-5s, and 7 J2F-6s) were acquired,<ref name="ae109 p48-9">Lezon and Stitt 2004, pp. 48–49.</ref> with the last examples remaining in use until 1958.<ref name="ae109 p59">Lezon and Stitt 2004, p. 59.</ref> ;{{COL}} * Colombian Navy<ref name="Allen 77">Allen 1983, p.77</ref> (operated three examples from 1948). ;{{MEX}} * Mexican Navy (operated three ex-U.S. Navy J2F-6s from 1950 to 1951).<ref name="Allen 52">Allen 1983, p. 52.</ref> thumb|right|Columbia J2F-6 Duck in U.S. Marine Corps markings at the Planes of Fame Museum ;{{PER}} * Peruvian Navy (operated one ex-USN example from 1961 to 1964). ;{{USA}} * United States Army Air Forces * United States Coast Guard * United States Marine Corps * United States Navy

==Surviving aircraft== thumb|right|Grumman J2F-6 Duck owned by Fantasy of Flight

* 1649 – J2F-4 airworthy with the Mid America Flight Museum in Mount Pleasant, Texas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Grumman J2F Duck |url=http://midamericaflightmuseum.com/portfolio-items/grumman-j2f-duck |website=Mid America Flight Museum |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Airframe Dossier - Grumman J2F-4 Duck, s/n 1649 USN, c/n 536, c/r N63850 |url=http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=40600 |website=Aerial Visuals |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> * 33549 – J2F-6 airworthy at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.<ref>{{cite web |title=1945 Grumman Duck |url=http://www.fantasyofflight.com/collection/aircraft/worlds-greatest-aircraft-collection/1945-grumman-duck |website=Fantasy of Flight |date=18 September 2013 |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Airframe Dossier - Grumman J2F-6 Duck, s/n 33549 USN, c/n 33549, c/r N1214N |url=http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=7647 |website=Aerial Visuals |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FAA Registry [N1214N] |url=http://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N1214N |website=Federal Aviation Administration |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> * 33559 – J2F-6 airworthy at the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon.<ref>{{cite web |title=J2F-6 Duck |url=http://www.ericksoncollection.com/aircraft#/grumman-j2f-6-duck |website=Erickson Aircraft Collection |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Airframe Dossier - Grumman J2F-6 Duck, s/n 33559 USN, c/r N3960C |url=http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=12145 |website=Aerial Visuals |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FAA Registry [N3960C] |url=http://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N3960C |website=Federal Aviation Administration |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> * 33581 – J2F-6 on static display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.<ref>{{cite web |title=J2F Duck |url=http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits/item/?item=j2f_duck |website=National Naval Aviation Museum |access-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801204547/http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attractions/aircraft-exhibits/item/?item=j2f_duck |archive-date=1 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Airframe Dossier - Grumman J2F-6 Duck, s/n 33581 USN |url=http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=17579 |website=Aerial Visuals |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> * 33587 – J2F-6 on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.<ref>{{cite web |title=Grumman OA-12 Duck |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196903/grumman-oa-12-duck/ |website=National Museum of the United States Air Force |access-date=4 May 2021 |date=28 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Airframe Dossier - Grumman J2F-6 Duck, s/n 33587 USCG, c/r N67790 |url=http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=10783 |website=Aerial Visuals |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> * 33594 – J2F-6 airworthy with Comanche Warbirds Inc. in Houston, Texas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Airframe Dossier - Grumman J2F-6 Duck, s/n 33594 USN, c/r N5SF |url=http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=11261 |website=Aerial Visuals |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FAA Registry [N5SF] |url=http://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N5SF |website=Federal Aviation Administration |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> * 33614 – J2F-6 under restoration to airworthy for Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.<ref>{{cite web |title=Airframe Dossier - Grumman J2F-6 Duck, s/n 33614 USN, c/r N5855S |url=http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=8147 |website=Aerial Visuals |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> * 36976 – J2F-6 on static display at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.<ref>{{cite web |title=1944 Grumman (Columbia) J2F-6 Duck - N1196N |url=http://www.eaa.org/eaa-museum/museum-collection/aircraft-collection-folder/1944-grumman-columbia-j2f-6-duck---n1196n |website=EAA |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> * 48-0563 – OA-12 in storage with the Skyfire Corporation in Wilmington, Delaware.<ref>{{cite web |title=Airframe Dossier - Grumman OA-12 Duck, s/n 48-0563 USAAF, c/n 32769, c/r N8563F |url=https://aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=86152 |website=Aerial Visuals |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref>

==Specifications (J2F-6)== frameless|right|3-view line drawing of the Grumman J2F Duck

{{Aircraft specs |ref=Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II<ref name=jane>Bridgeman 1946, pp. 235–236.</ref> |prime units?=imp  |crew=2 |capacity=2 survivors / passengers |length ft=34 |length in=0 |length note= |span ft=39 |span in=0 |span note= |height ft=13 |height in=11 |height note= |wing area sqft=409 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil=Clark CHY<ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref> |empty weight lb=5480 |empty weight note= |gross weight lb=7700 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general=  |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Wright R-1820-54 Cyclone |eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine |eng1 hp=900 |eng1 note=

|prop blade number=3 |prop name=constant-speed propeller |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop dia note=  |max speed mph=190 |max speed note= |cruise speed mph=155 |cruise speed note= |stall speed mph=70 |stall speed note= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed note= |range miles=780 |range note= |combat range miles= |combat range note= |ferry range miles= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling ft=20000 |ceiling note= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |lift to drag= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass= |more performance=  |guns= 1 × Browning .30 cal machine gun (7.62 mm) on flexible mount in rear cockpit |bombs= 2× 100 lb (45 kg) bombs or 325 lb (147 kg) depth charges underwing |rockets= |missiles= |hardpoints= |hardpoint capacity= |hardpoint rockets= |hardpoint missiles= |hardpoint bombs= |hardpoint other=

|avionics= }}

== Cultural impact ==

A J2F Duck was used in the 1971 film ''Murphy's War'', which includes a spectacular three-minute rough-water takeoff scene along with numerous flying and aerobatic sequences. The actual airplane used in this film is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio, although it has been restored and painted to represent a rescue OA-12.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

==See also== {{aircontent  |related= * Grumman JF Duck * Columbia XJL

|similar aircraft= * Loening OL * Bellanca XSOE * Nikitin NV-4

|lists= * List of aircraft of World War II |see also= }}

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

== References == * Allen, Francis J. (December 1983 – March 1984). "A Duck Without Feathers". ''Air Enthusiast''. Issue 23. pp. 46–55, 77–78. * Bridgeman, Leonard (1946). "The Grumman Duck". [https://archive.org/details/janes-fighting-aircraft-of-world-war-ii ''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II'']. London: Studio. {{ISBN|1-85170-493-0}}. * Hosek, Timothy (1996). ''Grumman JF Duck – Mini in Action 7''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications. {{ISBN|0-89747-366-3}}. * Jarski, Adam (2007). ''Grumman JF/J2F Duck (Monografie Lotnicze 98)'' (in Polish with English captions). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press. {{ISBN|978-83-7237-169-0}}. * {{Cite web |last=L. |first=Klemen |date=2000 |title=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726053035/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-26 |access-date=2021-03-30}} * Lezon, Ricardo Martin and Robert M. Stitt (November/December 2003). "Eyes of the Fleet: Seaplanes in Argentine Navy Service: Part One". ''Air Enthusiast''. Issue 108. pp. 34–45. * Lezon, Ricardo Martin and Robert M. Stitt (January/February 2004). "Eyes of the Fleet: Seaplanes in Argentine Navy Service: Part Two". ''Air Enthusiast''. Issue 10. pp. 46–59. * {{Cite magazine |last=McCallum |first=LeRoy M. |date=1984 |title=Talkback |magazine=Air Enthusiast |issue=25 |page=79 |issn=0143-5450}} * Nuñez Padin, Jorge Félix (2002). ''Grumman G.15, G.20 & J2F Duck (Serie Aeronaval Nro. 15)'' {{In lang|es}}. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Museo de Aviación Naval, Instituto Naval. * {{Cite book |last=Zuckoff |first=Mitchell |year=2013 |title=Frozen in Time |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-213343-4}}

== Further reading ==

* {{cite book |last=Ginter |first= Steve |year=2009 |title=Grumman JF/J2F Duck |edition= First |publisher= Ginter Books |series=Naval Fighters |volume=Nº84 |url= http://www.ginterbooks.com/NAVAL/NF84.htm |isbn= 978-0-942612-84-4 |location= California, United States |access-date= 31 January 2015 }}

==External links== {{Commons category|Grumman J2F Duck}} * [https://www.scribd.com/doc/69424642 (1945) NAVAER 01-220QA-1 Pilot's Handbook of Flight Operating Instructions Navy Model J2F-6 Airplane]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * [http://www.histarmar.com.ar/Armada%20Argentina/AviacionNaval/REC-AT-GrummanJ2F56.htm Histarmar website, Grumman J2F5/6 page] (retrieved 2015-01-31) * [http://www.histarmar.com.ar/Armada%20Argentina/AviacionNaval/REC-AT-GrummanDuck.htm Histarmar website, Grumman G-15/20 page] (retrieved 2015-01-31)

Grumman J02F J02F Duck Category:1930s United States military utility aircraft Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:Biplanes Category:Floatplanes Category:Amphibious aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1936 Category:Carrier-based aircraft Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear Category:Single-engined piston aircraft