Grumman J4F-2 Widgeon - Pima ASM, Tucson, AZ - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

The Grumman G-44 Widgeon is a small, five-person, twin-engine amphibious aircraft. It was designated J4F by the US Navy and Coast Guard and OA-14 by the US Army Air Corps and US Army Air Forces.

The Widgeon was originally designed for the civil market. It is smaller but otherwise similar to Grumman's earlier G-21 Goose, and was produced from 1941 to 1955. The aircraft was used during World War II as a small patrol and utility machine by the US Navy, US Coast Guard and by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.

The first prototype flew in 1940, and the first production aircraft went to the US Navy as an anti-submarine aircraft. In total, 276 were built by Grumman, including 176 for the military. During World War II, they served with the US Navy, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol and Army Air Force, as well as with the British Royal Navy, who gave it the service name Gosling.

On August 1, 1942, a US Coast Guard Patrol Squadron 212 J4F-1 based out of Houma, LA, and flown by Chief Aviation Pilot Henry White spotted and attacked a German U-boat off the coast of Louisiana. White reported the submarine sunk, and he was subsequently credited with sinking U-166 and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

However, the wreck of U-166 was found sitting near the wreck of SS Robert E Lee in June 2001 by an oil exploration team working for BP Amoco and Shell Oil Company. The sinking of U-166 on July 30 (that is two days before the Widgeon flight) is now credited to patrol craft PC-556 escorting the Robert E Lee.

White's Widgeon is now thought to have made an unsuccessful attack against U-171, a Type IXC U-boat identical to U-166 that reported an air attack coincident with White's attack. U-171 was undamaged by White's attack, but was sunk four months later in the Bay of Biscay.

After the war, Grumman redesigned the aircraft to make it more suitable for civilian operations. A new hull improved its water handling, and six seats were added. A total of 76 of the new G-44A were built by Grumman, the last being delivered on January 13, 1949. Another 41 were produced under licence by the Societe de Construction Aero-Navale (SCAN) in La Rochelle, France as the SCAN-30. Most of these ended up in the United States.

McKinnon Enterprises at Sandy, OR, converted over 70 Widgeons to "Super Widgeons." The conversion features replacing the engines with 270hp (201kW) Avco Lycoming GO-480-B1D flat six piston engines, and various other modifications, including modern avionics, 3-bladed propellers, larger windows, improved soundproofing, emergency exits, and increased Maximum Takeoff Weight. Retractable wing-tip floats are optional.

Source: Wikipedia

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Grumman J4F-2 Widgeon Tail Number: (S/N): BuNo 32976 Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Located in hangar 1S at Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ inside / outside: inside Other Information:: Pima Air & Space Museum 6000 E Valencia Rd Tucson, Arizona 85756 Phone 520-574-0462 Open 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Daily Last admittance at 4:00 PM $15.50-Adults $12.50-Pima Co Residents $12.75-Seniors $ 9.00-Children FREE---Children 6 & under $ 7.00-AMARG $13.50-Group Rate Access restrictions: None

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