F8F BearcatGrumman F8F Bearcat airplane model. The Grumman F8F Bearcat was designed and manufactured by Grumman as a single engine carrier based fighter that began service in the latter part of the Second World War. The aircraft was in service with the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, as well as the other air forces around the world during the mid twentieth century. The Bearcat was the last fighter aircraft powered by a piston engine built by