Quickly superseded by the swept-wing F9F-6 Cougar, the Grumman F9F Panther was only exported to a single nation, Argentina. In December 1958 the Argentinian naval aviation service took delivery of 24 F9F-2 Panther fighters to operate from its carrier, the ARA Independencia. The aircraft were exclusively land-based as the catapults on the carrier could not handle the Panther at its normal operational weights but a Panther did land once on the vessel.
The only action Argentinian Panthers participated in was during an abortive three-day coup in April 1963 when the Air Force destroyed four Panthers on the ground and one was lost in a collision with a Corsair. The Panthers were used to strafe Army units during the coup. In 1966 the Panthers flew patrols during a period of tension with neighboring Chile. The Panthers were retired in 1969 and replaced with A-4Q Skyhawks.
Source: Combat Aircraft, June-July 2009. "F9F Panther" by LTCDR Rick Burgess, USN (Ret), p71.
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