The Columbia XJL-1 was intended as a replacement for the Grumman J2F Duck amphibious bi-plane for the United States Navy. Originally designed by Grumman it was turned over to the Columbia Aircraft Corporation for development and construction so that Grumman could focus on the production of fighters for the Navy. The plane bears a strong family resemblance to the Duck and has often been referred to as “a single-winged Duck.” It is, however, a completely new design. There were three XJL-1s built. One was used for destructive strength testing and the other two were used for flight testing.
This is the last of the three, completed in 1946 and accepted by the Navy on October 29, 1947 it was assigned to Patuxent River Naval Air Station for testing. The aircraft did not live up to the expectations of the Navy with repeated structural failures of various parts reported during testing. Testing was abandoned on September 21, 1948 and the aircraft were stricken from the Navy’s inventory in February 1949.
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