On Thursday, April 24, the Platinum Fighter Sales team launched the iconic Blue Angels Bearcat from Aurora, Illinois, to Galveston, Texas, marking the first leg of its journey to a new European home. The F8F-2 Bearcat was recently sold to a European-based flying collection, which has asked to remain anonymous until their official unveiling.
Grumman built Bearcat BuNo 121776 in 1948. However, with the U.S. Navy transitioning to jet aircraft, the Bearcat primarily served with stateside units before being retired in 1957 after accumulating just 606 flying hours. Kaman Aircraft later acquired the Bearcat for use as a static wind generator for helicopter testing, registering it as N1030B despite never flying it. In 1970, Kaman donated the Bearcat to the U.S. Marine Corps Museum (now the National Museum of the Marine Corps), where it remained in storage until 1996. It was then sold to Air SRV Inc. and the Lone Star Flight Museum. Restored and re-registered as N68RW, the Bearcat returned to flight in 2003, painted in Blue Angels colors, and made numerous appearances at airshows, often flying alongside F/A-18 Hornets.
This Bearcat’s connection to the Blue Angels dates back to the team’s early history, when Bearcats were part of their aerial demonstrations, including the famous “Beetle Bomb” routine. A detailed history of this aircraft can be found in our previous article [HERE]
Today, only 22 F8F Bearcats are known to survive. Six are held by government-owned collections (four in Thailand and two in the United States), while 16 are in civilian hands, with 15 located in the U.S. The restoration of BuNo 121776 was completed in 2005, ensuring the continued legacy of this legendary aircraft. Congratulations to Platinum fighter Sales for the sale and to the new owner for the great acquisition.
