Grumman XSBF The Grumman XSBF , also known by the company designation G - 14 , was an American biplane scout bomber developed by Grumman Aircraft for the United States Navy during the 1930s . Derived from Grumman ' s successful " Fifi " fighter , the aircraft was developed at a time when the biplane was giving way to the monoplane . In competition against other aircraft it proved to possess inferior performance in its intended role , and did not enter production . The sole prototype went on to serve as a liaison aircraft , as well as being used in experiments by NACA , before being destroyed in a crash in 1939 . Design and development . In late 1934 , the U . S . Navy ' s Bureau of Aeronautics ( BuAer ) issued a specification for new scout bomber and torpedo bomber designs . Eight companies submitted 10 designs in response , evenly split between monoplanes and biplanes . Grumman , having successfully provided the FF and F2F fighters to the Navy , along with the SF scout , submitted an advanced development of the SF - 2 in response to the specification ' s request for a aircraft capable of carrying a bomb . Given the model number G - 14 by Grumman , the aircraft received the official designation XSBF - 1 by the Navy , and a contract for a single prototype was issued in March 1935 . The XSBF - 1 was a two - seat biplane , featuring an enclosed cockpit , a fuselage of all - metal construction , and wings covered largely with fabric . Power was provided by a Pratt & Whitney R - 1535 Twin Wasp Junior air - cooled radial engine driving with a variable - pitch propeller . Armament was planned to be two forward - firing M1919 Browning machine gun s , one of which could be replaced by a M2 Browning ; the prototype carried only a single gun . A single . 30 in weapon was fitted in the rear cockpit for defense , and one bomb to be carried in a launching cradle under the fuselage . The arrestor hook was carried in a fully enclosed position , while flotation bag s were fitted in the wings in case the aircraft was forced to ditch . The landing gear of the XSBF - 1 was similar to that of the F3F fighter . Operational history . The XSBF - 1 — piloted by test pilot Bud Gillies — flew for the first time on December 24 , 1935 . Following initial testing , which found the aircraft to be reasonably faultless , the XSBF - 1 was delivered to the U . S . Navy for evaluation in competition with two other biplanes submitted to the 1934 specification , the Great Lakes XB2G and the Curtiss XSBC - 3 . Unusually for biplanes , all three types possessed retractable landing gear . The evaluation showed that the design from Curtiss was superior to the Grumman and Great Lakes designs , and an order was placed for the Curtiss type , designated SBC - 3 Helldiver in service , in August 1936 . With the competition lost , the development of the XSBF - 1 came to an end ; the sole prototype was assigned to Naval Air Station Anacostia , where it had been tested , for use as a liaison aircraft and hack . In addition , the XSBF was used by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ' Langley Research Laboratory as part of the facility ' s work on aeronautical research . During its time at Anacostia , the aircraft was involved in three accidents , one each in 1937 , 1938 and 1939 ; after the first two accidents , it was repaired . The third accident — on May 25 , 1939 — resulted in the death of the pilot ; the XSBF - 1 was no longer considered worth returning to flight status , and the aircraft was officially stricken from the Navy inventory in July 1939 . The SBF - 1 designation , unusually , was re - used by the Navy during World War II , assigned to SB2C Helldiver s produced under license by Fairchild Aircraft .