Grumman J2F Duck

Grumman · United States · first flew 1936 · light aircraft

The Grumman J2F Duck was a single-engined amphibious biplane used for utility and air-sea rescue duties by the US Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Army Air Forces.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	Large central float blended into the fuselage, housing the retractable main wheels
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Equal-span, single-bay biplane
Large central float blended into the fuselage, housing the retractable main wheels
Strut-mounted stabiliser floats under each lower wing

Look for the biplane with a big central float that carries the wheels, plus small floats under the lower wings. A cabin in the fuselage seated two passengers or a stretcher.

Specifications

The Grumman J2F Duck has a length of 10.36 m (34 ft).
It has a wingspan of 11.89 m (39 ft).
Its maximum speed is 306 km/h (190 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The J2F was an improved version of the earlier JF Duck, with a longer float and a more powerful engine. The first J2F-1 flew on 2 April 1936, and production was later moved to Columbia Aircraft because of wartime pressure of work at Grumman.

Variants

The J2F-2 had an uprated Wright Cyclone, and a Marine Corps version carried nose and dorsal guns and underwing bomb racks. Another sub-variant was fitted for target towing.

Where you'll see it

Ducks served from the mid-1930s until just after the Second World War, and were also used by the Argentine Navy and, postwar, by Colombia and Mexico. Some went on to civilian operators.

Related aircraft

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