The Grumman F11F was the first supersonic fighter to fly operationally with the US Navy.

It was in front line service for only four years but became popular as the mount of the US Navy’s Blue Angles aerobatic team for a decade.

Development of the F11F began as an improved version of the F9F-8 Cougar with a more powerful engine, area-ruled fuselage and thin wings to give it supersonic capability.

The prototype (known as the YF9F-9) flew on 30 July 1954 and 199 were produced between November 1954 and January 1959.

They entered US Navy service in March 1957 but the introduction of the Vought F8U Crusader reduced the F11F’s front line service to only a few years although it relegated to advanced training units and service with the Blue Angles.

This model represents a F11F-1 flown by the US Navy Flight Exhibition Team, the Blue Angles, during the 1960s.

Hasegawa 1:72 kit completed by Leigh Edmonds in November 2007.