F11F-1 Tiger

The F11F-1 Tiger, a single-seat carrier-based fighter, entered service in 1954 during an era of rapid advancement in aeronautical engineering. Its proportion ratios and swept-wing design reflected lessons learned during the early days of faster-than-sound flight. Later redesignated as F-11, it was so fast that during a 20mm cannon test firing in 1956, a pilot nearly shot himself down when he entered a dive after firing and the aircraft eventually caught up to the slowing rounds as they fell, though he landed safely. The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flew the F-11 from 1957 to 1969, longer than any other aircraft used by the squadron. Captain Robert L. Rasmussen flew this particular F-11 between 1958 and 1960, mostly in flight demonstrations as the Blue Angels' diamond formation number 4 pilot. He later served as Director of the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, retiring in 2014 after 30 years in that position. One of his final acts as director was overseeing the loan of this aircraft to Discovery Park of America. It had stood at the front gate of the Navy Base since 1965 and was moved to Union City in 2014, where a data plate found during display preparation revealed that it was the same aircraft Rasmussen had flown 300 times, something he had not known until then.

Union City, Tennessee · United States