07/31/2014. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "A contract dated April 2, 1931, signaled the start of a Grumman/USN association which was to continue without interruption for more than thirty years and was to produce some of the finest Naval aircraft of all time. The then young Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation of Bethpage, Long Island, New York had successfully designed some floats for landplane/seaplane conversions when it won the USN order to build a prototype two-seat fighter.

G-5 XFF-1 (A-8878) (Bill Pippin Collection)

Designated XFF-1, the new design had several noteworthy features, especially in the method of landing gear retraction, the two main wheels being raised almost vertically to lie flush in the fuselage sides ahead of the lower wing. The XFF-1 was the first USN fighter to have a retractable landing gear. Also unusual for its era was the long canopy covering the two cockpits.

First flown on December 29, 1931, the all-metal XFF-1 was armed with a single 0.30 in (7.62 mm) fixed forward-firing gun and two flexible Brownings of similar caliber in the rear cockpit. Initially powered by a 616 hp Wright R-1820E engine, it achieved 195 mph (314 kmh) during service trials; later, a 750 hp R-1820F was installed, and the speed went up to 201 mph (323 kmh), better than any single-seat fighter then in service. A second prototype was completed with changed equipment and designated XSF-1 (BuNo A-8940) as a two-seat scout.

G-5 FF-1 (9358) (Ray Crupi Collection)

G-6 SF-1 (9464) (Bill Pippin Collection)

The Navy ordered 27 production examples (BuNo 9350 to 9376) of the fighter as FF-1s and 33 SF-1 scouts (BuNo 9460 to 9492), powered respectively with the R-1820-78 and R-1820-84 engine. Deliveries of the FF-1, or 'Fifi', began on June 21, 1933, to Squadron VF-5B attached to USS Lexington. The SF-1 scouts were also assigned to Lexington serving with VS-3B; deliveries began on March 30, 1934. Both types had been withdrawn from Fleet service by the end of 1936 and were assigned to Naval Reserve units. Most of the fighters were modified to have dual control and were then designated FF-2."