Grumman XF10F Jaguar

The Navy's interest in the variable-geometry wing was based on concerns that the ever-increasing weight of its jet fighters was making aircraft carrier operations troublesome.Originally conceived as a swept-wing version of the earlier F9F Panther, in February–March 1948, the design was reconfigured with a T-tail and ultimately a variable-geometry wing.The Jaguar's configuration presented many of the same handling problems as the earlier Bell X-5 experimental aircraft, with some vicious spin characteristics."[5] Examples of the "wrongness" encountered by Meyer during the test flight program included: He found the translating wing-sweep mechanism, similar to the Bell X-5's, (which was much more complicated than the one later adopted by the F-111, F-14 and Panavia Tornado et al.), to be the only feature that worked flawlessly.The Navy was not encouraged by the results, and the development of larger carriers with angled flight decks and steam-driven catapults made the swing-wing configuration unnecessary.