A Fighter Plane That Could Shoot Itself Down - The F-11 Tiger

The Soviet fighter MiG-15 proved to be a menace that the United States wasn't ready to take on.

In an effort to create an aircraft that could beat the Soviet fighter jet, the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation started to redesign its existing fighter aircraft, the F9- Cougar.

In line with Grumman's tradition of naming their carrier-based fighters after felines, the Navy chose the name Tiger for the F11F.

This aircraft showed promise from its maiden flight, where it almost achieved Mach 1 speed. The Tiger was also the second Navy aircraft to later reach supersonic speeds.

In fact, this aircraft was so fast, it managed to shoot itself down...