The Tiger single-seat fighter flew for the first time in prototype form on 30 July 1954 - less than 15 months after receipt of a letter of intent from the US Navy. The production version was the F11F-1. A small number of pre-production aircraft, each with a Wright J65-W-6 turbojet engine with afterburner, were followed by 39 production aircraft (ordered with J65-W-4 afterburning engines), two of which were modified to F11F-1F standard with 66.72kN General Electric J79-GE-7 afterburning engines. One of the F11F-1Fs attained a speed of 1,963km/h and set a short-lived height record on 18 April 1958 of 23,449m.

A further contract for J65-W-18-engined Tigers placed for the US Navy brought the total number of F11F-1s built to about 200, but these were gradually phased out of first-line service from 1959. Those which remained in second-line service when the tri-service designations became rationalised in 1962 were redesignated F-11A.