F8F Bearcat / Blue AngelGrumman F8F Bearcat airplane model. Production of the F8F 1 began just six months after the first flight of the prototype, and the first airplane was delivered to the US Navy's VF 19 squadron on 21 May 1945. The Navy's order totaled 2,033 airplanes, and Grumman contracted with General Motors to build the Bearcat under license, with the designation F8FM 1. Only a few Bearcats had been delivered to the Navy when the end of the war halted production.