Dev Blog #88: F9F Panther

[LukeFF]

Dev Blog 88 is out!

We’re starting a series on the Deck Ops expansion. In the first installment, we take a closer look at the Grumman F9F-2 Panther, the first carrier-based jet fighter to see combat.

Read more: https://media.il2-korea.com/news/dd_88

[YoYo]

Nice! 👍

[Dash,Polder]

They have a plan on how the release is going to happen?  Will it dump all at once, or will there be a few of the dual role ground side finished aircraft put out for some early Holiday season bait?    

[JG4_Moltke71]

Navy aircraft operated mainly from carriers, while Marine aircraft flew from land bases
 

This makes hope to see it in early access 🙏🏻🙏🏻😅

[BoeingVertol]

35 minutes ago, JG4_Moltke71 said:

Navy aircraft operated mainly from carriers, while Marine aircraft flew from land bases
 

This makes hope to see it in early access 🙏🏻🙏🏻😅

 

I just want to see a picture of an aircraft with "Marines" modexing finally in game, have only seen Navy markings thus far.  The F9 model looks amazing, thanks for the work!!  🫡

Edited Tuesday at 07:16 PM by BoeingVertol

[Trooper117]

I can see it now... William Holden piloting the F9F going for the Bridges at Toko-Ri!

[actionhank]

This is going to be a blast. The carrier ops were always my favorite part of Pacific Fighters and Il-2 1946. Can't wait to try my luck with carrier landings in Korea.

[JG14_Jagr]

Just FYI in the real Toko Ro strikes the Panthers carried rockets and did flak suppression.  The AD4’s did the bombing

[Swoose]

Also, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, one of the greatest baseball players and hitters of all time, was called up to active duty for the Korean War and flew F9F Panthers from ground bases as a US Marine Corps aviator.

[actionhank]

46 minutes ago, JG14_Jagr said:

Just FYI in the real Toko Ro strikes the Panthers carried rockets and did flak suppression.  The AD4’s did the bombing

That would be a fun mission to fly. Go in pre-strike package and hit AAA while waiting for the Skyraiders to show and protecting them until their attack runs are complete.

[Jaegermeister]

5 hours ago, actionhank said:

That would be a fun mission to fly. Go in pre-strike package and hit AAA while waiting for the Skyraiders to show and protecting them until their attack runs are complete.

Banshees did top cover for the non existent enemy reaction while the Panthers hit AAA. 

Thanks for the update and cool screenshots, I’m really looking forward to this one!

 

Edited Wednesday at 02:51 AM by Jaegermeister

[gecko]

7 hours ago, Swoose said:

Also, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, one of the greatest baseball players and hitters of all time, was called up to active duty for the Korean War and flew F9F Panthers from ground bases as a US Marine Corps aviator.

A former colleague of mine flew F9Fs alongside Ted in the same unit. Later spent decades providing aviation access to remote communities in the Amazon in a PBY. The man had a few stories.

[Hook_Echo]

This is the plane I've been patiently waiting for. I'm looking forward to landing this on the carrier. There's one at the local museum. They also have the competition. Surprisingly to me, when I saw both the F-86 and Mig-15 in person, the Mig is the more attractive aircraft.

 

[Gunfreak]

On 10/6/2026 at 11:38 PM, Swoose said:

Also, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, one of the greatest baseball players and hitters of all time, was called up to active duty for the Korean War and flew F9F Panthers from ground bases as a US Marine Corps aviator.

He was the wingman of John Glenn, Glenn was known as magnet ass, for his proclivity of getting his Panther full of shrapnel.

[MiGCap]

19 hours ago, Jaegermeister said:

Banshees did top cover for the non existent enemy reaction while the Panthers hit AAA. 

Thanks for the update and cool screenshots, I’m really looking forward to this one!

 

And I am really looking forward to Your first scripted campaign with the Panther! 

(And many others here also, I suppose.)

[ArgonV]

I hope you all noticed the working helo off of the deck in the first shot!

[Gungriffen]

Lieutenant Royce Williams got the Medal of Honor for being in a 35 minute dogfight against seven MiG-15's alone in his Grumman F9F Panther. The Migs were flown by Soviets and he shot down 4 Migs, 2 never made it back to base either from damage or fuel lost, only one returned.

In his F9F, he got 4 confirmed kills, 2 probable, and his Panther was so shot up it was pushed into the sea being deemed unrepairable.

It was Classified till 2002 because he engaged actual Russians during the Korean War. 
In 2002 the Russians admitted to it and it was declassified. 

Edited yesterday at 12:41 AM by Gungriffen

[BlitzPig_EL]

Try that against the Mig 15bis that we have in the sim.   I assure you that the results will not be in the favor of the F9F.

[Jaegermeister]

4 hours ago, Hook_Echo said:

This is the plane I've been patiently waiting for. I'm looking forward to landing this on the carrier. There's one at the local museum. They also have the competition. Surprisingly to me, when I saw both the F-86 and Mig-15 in person, the Mig is the more attractive aircraft.

Haha, yeah... the little shiny sports car Mig next to the unpainted and unfinished F-86 H model. It's like a Carmen Ghia sitting next to a Chevelle SS, wait until the Sabre gets a new paint job.

[FuriousMeow]

2 hours ago, Gungriffen said:

Lieutenant Royce Williams got the Medal of Honor for being in a 35 minute dogfight against seven MiG-15's alone in his Grumman F9F Panther. The Migs were flown by Soviets and he shot down 4 Migs, 2 never made it back to base either from damage or fuel lost, only one returned.

In his F9F, he got 4 confirmed kills, 2 probable, and his Panther was so shot up it was pushed into the sea being deemed unrepairable.

It was Classified till 2002 because he engaged actual Russians during the Korean War. 
In 2002 the Russians admitted to it and it was declassified. 

Actually watching a YT about that now... been putting it off for a week or two. 

https://youtu.be/TBYIRvVKSoE?si=Uzs8BIcN9a3Q246Q

Obviously lots of dramatic effects added to make it more entertaining, still Yarnhub has some pretty good videos. 

Edited yesterday at 02:40 AM by FuriousMeow

[LukeFF]

4 hours ago, Gungriffen said:

Lieutenant Royce Williams got the Medal of Honor for being in a 35 minute dogfight against seven MiG-15's alone in his Grumman F9F Panther. The Migs were flown by Soviets and he shot down 4 Migs, 2 never made it back to base either from damage or fuel lost, only one returned.

In his F9F, he got 4 confirmed kills, 2 probable, and his Panther was so shot up it was pushed into the sea being deemed unrepairable.

It was Classified till 2002 because he engaged actual Russians during the Korean War. 
In 2002 the Russians admitted to it and it was declassified. 

His MoH citation credits him with 3 kills and a 4th severely damaged. The story about his plane being pushed into the sea is also disputed, since it remained on charge with the Navy for some time. 

[AndreiTomescu]

6 hours ago, Gungriffen said:

Lieutenant Royce Williams got the Medal of Honor for being in a 35 minute dogfight against seven MiG-15's alone in his Grumman F9F Panther

What is really cool is that he finally got the medal and the deserved recognition for the epic 1952 fight this year, I think,in feb 2026!!, while he is.....still alive, at the age of 101 years!!

This is something, to get recognised after 74 years, and still be in person to see that.

Maybe a career based on his deeds would be also meritous.

And a gesture of honouring him.

[gecko]

What I am confused by is the secrecy. It was well known that Soviet pilots were in regular combat over MiG Alley. The combats of the F-86s against them were not covered in secrecy. Everyone just agreed to pretend all the MiGs were Chinese or North Korean. What made this different?

[AndreiTomescu]

It was well known, but not acknowledged by either sides.

Read this, it's good.

https://migflug.com/afterburner/royce-williams-secret-dogfight-seven-soviet-migs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=copy&utm_campaign=afterburner&utm_content=sheet_top

 

Extract:

"The reason was the calendar of the Cold War. The Soviet Union was not officially a combatant in Korea. An air battle in which an American shot down four Soviet pilots — and in which U.S. forces had been reading Soviet communications — risked dragging Moscow openly into the war, or worse. The engagement was scrubbed from Navy and National Security Agency records. Williams’ own citation credited him with a single kill against an unnamed enemy."

Same thing as with the Enigma machine of WW2.

[Jaegermeister]

9 hours ago, LukeFF said:

His MoH citation credits him with 3 kills and a 4th severely damaged. The story about his plane being pushed into the sea is also disputed, since it remained on charge with the Navy for some time. 

This is also what the Soviet account confirms. They don’t mention 3 other MiGs but that does not mean they weren’t there.

5 hours ago, gecko said:

What I am confused by is the secrecy. It was well known that Soviet pilots were in regular combat over MiG Alley. The combats of the F-86s against them were not covered in secrecy. Everyone just agreed to pretend all the MiGs were Chinese or North Korean. What made this different?

The Air Force and the Navy apparently handled things differently, sort of like now with UAP sightings. The Air Force used the aerial battles as good publicity for the war, to downplay the unfortunate ground battle results. The Navy seems to have preferred to not say anything at all. There weren’t many Navy aces in Korea. A lot of the information is still hard to get, even 20 years after being declassified.