During the early war years Grumman commenced a project to marry the best features of the Duck with more modern monoplane configuration and all-metal structure along with such features as fully retractable tricycle landing gear. Under pressure of growing demand for production of Hellcats and Avengers, Grumman had to farm out this and other projects. One of these transactions resulted in the Columbia Aircraft Company taking over the XJL project and building three prototypes. One was tested structurally to destruction. the first to fly took to the air on October 25, 1946. Thereafter one XJL made a strange migration through several owners that ended in, of all places, the Arizona desert some time before 1975.
