The F9F Panther was Grumman s first jet powered aircraft and was used extensively by the US Navy and Marine Corps as their primary fighter and ground attack aircraft in the Korean War It was a single engined carrier fighter with permanently mounted wing tip fuel tanks armed with four 20 mm 0 79 in cannons and a wide assortment of air to ground munitions Blue tail fly is a term popularized in the Southern folk song Jimmy Crack Corn When the tail on Lt Richard Clinite s all aluminum Panther sustained heavy flak damage it was replaced with the tail from a damaged blue painted Panther giving Lt Richard Clinite s plane it s distinctive look He successfully flew several missions on this plane until it was so badly hit by flak that it was permanently grounded for major repair Features . Us Navy Usa Specifications . Scale Type 1 100