Hellcats shot down more than 5,100 airplanes, with F6F losses numbering 270. He spotted three Zeros high above and zoomed up to engage them. BASICS. At first, GM produced the FM-1 (identical to the F4F-4 but with four guns). [citation needed], In June 1942, 17 F4F-3s and one F4F-3A (18 total) were converted into F4F-3P photoreconnaissance planes. "Corpulent Feline: Grumman's F4F Wildcat: Part Two". Grumman F6F Hellcat. Like the Hellcat, the R-2800 was rugged and easily maintained. [14], On 16 December 1940, the XF4F-3 prototype, BuNo 0383, c/n 356, modified from XF4F-2, was lost under circumstances that suggested that the pilot may have been confused by the poor layout of fuel valves and flap controls and inadvertently turned the fuel valve to "off" immediately after takeoff rather than selecting flaps "up". At the time, the U.S. Navy favored a monoplane design, the Brewster F2A-1, ordering production early in 1936. Great PlanesGrumman F-4F Wildcat / F-6F Hellcatby Discovery Channel A few standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P. Nevertheless, the first 10 received had fixed wings. [56] In April 1942 Illustrious transferred two Martlet I aircraft to HMS Archer while in port at Freetown. [20][Note 6], Other prototypes in the F6F series included the XF6F-4 (02981, a conversion of the XF6F-1 powered by an R-2800-27 and armed with four 20-mm M2 cannon), which first flew on 3 October 1942 as the prototype for the projected F6F-4. "Grumman Hellcat". Grumman FM-2 Wildcat Single-Seat, Single-Engine Carrierborne Monoplane Fighter Aircraft. It is indeed surprising that any of our pilots returned alive. BASICS. At the same time a Hamiliton Standard Hydromatic propeller replaced the Curtiss propeller. Not until late in the war would Japanese aircraft such as the Kawanishi N1K George (see NASM collection) challenge the Hellcat. F11F-1 Specs There were 7,825 Wildcats built. Length: 33 ft. 7 in. [55], After the war, the Hellcat was succeeded by the F8F Bearcat, which was smaller, more powerful (powered by uprated Double Wasp radials) and more maneuverable, but entered service too late to see combat in World War II. It was delivered to the Navy on February 7, and arrived in San Diego, California, on the 18th. The F6F-5's greatest feature was its versatility. Simplicity was a hallmark of Grumman aircraft. The Grumman F6F Hellcat was originally conceived as an advanced version of the U.S. Navy's then current front-line fighter, the F4F Wildcat (see NASM collection). [citation needed], The first 30 F4F-3As were released for sale to Greece, after the Italian invasion in November 1940. Designed and ordered in 1936, the Wildcat finally entered service in November 1940. In 1935, while the F3F was still undergoing flight testing, Grumman started work on its next biplane fighter, the G-16. [Note 7] In the ground-attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503tons (5,899tonnes) of bombs. This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 19:17. The Hellcat holds the distinction of being flown by more U.S. aces than any other aircraft. More power also called for more wing area, and an increase in the area of the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces. Grumman's Wildcat production ceased in early 1943 to make way for the newer F6F Hellcat but General Motors continued producing Wildcats for U.S. Navy and Fleet Air Arm use. Empty Weight: 14,330 lbs. Leroy Grumman using a paperclip and a pink gum eraser. F6F-3K 41834 was transferred to NAS Norfolk and logged its last flight on March 25, 1947, with a total of 430.2 flying hours. [11][14] Testing of the new XF4F-3 led to an order for F4F-3 production models, the first of which was completed in February 1940. ", This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 19:17. F7F-3 Specs [45] The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces. These aircraft, designated by Grumman as G-36A, had a different cowling from other earlier F4Fs and fixed wings, and were intended to be fitted with French armament and avionics following delivery. P.O. For some strange reason, even after I had poured about five or six hundred rounds of ammunition directly into the Grumman, the airplane did not fall, but kept on flying. Cockpits. Compare Aircraft. Production. The F6F accounted for 75% of all aerial victories recorded by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific. [34], The original Grumman F4F-1 design was a biplane, which proved inferior to rival designs, necessitating a complete redesign as a monoplane named the F4F-2. The F6F Hellcat still bore a family resemblance, however, to its predecessor and there was little that was revolutionary in its design. How many F6F Hellcats are left? [23][24], Two night-fighter subvariants of the F6F-3 were developed; the 18 F6F-3Es were converted from standard-3s and featured the AN/APS-4 10GHz frequency radar in a pod mounted on a rack beneath the right wing, with a small radar scope fitted in the middle of the main instrument panel and radar operating controls installed on the port side of the cockpit. Manufacturers. The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. These were followed by 30 folding wing aircraft (F4F-3As) which were originally destined for the Hellenic Air Force, which were also designated Martlet IIIs. 6 x 0.50 caliber M2 Browning heavy machine guns in wings. The Corsair was a big beast, especially because of the large propeller that made the gull wing and longer landing gear necessary. This original fighter was the Hawker "Typhoon" - a machine that having high flight data could not compete with the German aircraft in any struggles at high altitude: a thick wing profile led to a rapid loss of speed when maneuvering. [6][Note 2] This was more than any other Allied naval aircraft. [24] Moreover, the F4F-4's folding wing was intended to allow five F4F-4s to be stowed in the space required by two F4F-3s. Its mission was to be used in Operation Crossroads - the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. It had non-folding "wet" wings that carried an additional 555gal (2,101L) of fuel for a total of about 700gal (2,650L), increasing its range to 3,700mi (5,955km). "Grumman Wildcat". Personally, I prefer the Wildcat mainly because of it's reputation in bearing the brunt of the Zekes early on. Max Speed: 710 mph Height: 9 ft. 11 in. One of her four retained Martlet I aircraft were subsequently fitted with folding wings by ship's staff during passage to Durban. Wixey, Ken. Grumman was so confident of the Hellcat that production started in October 1942, while the prototype was still in testing. They served in a shore-based role in the Western Desert. [20][36] On paper, the designation changed to Martlet III(A) when the second series of Martlet III was introduced. Span, swept: 36 ft. 8 in. Feedback from pilots like Butch O'Hare and other encounters lead to the addition of the Wright R-2800 engine. Normal Range: 1,670 mi. 2 x 100lb bombs OR 2 x 58 gallon droptanks under wings. Hellcat Wildcat Some of the older aircraft encyclopedias describe the Hellcat as a "big beefy fighter" as opposed to the lighter, older and less powerful Wildcat. Stow, MA 01775 The Grumman F4F Wildcat was a fighter used by the US Navy during the early years of World War II. On 20 September, a German Fw 200 was shot down. It had a nine cylinder radial engine, and a narrow track landing gear. The FM-2 covered the Philippine campaign with distinction. Span: 35 ft. 6 in. Height: 13 ft. 1 in. It was assigned to the National Air Museum on November 3, 1948, and remained at Norfolk until October 4, 1960, when it was moved by barge to Washington and placed in storage. The U.S. Navy much preferred the more docile flight qualities of the F6F compared with the Vought F4U Corsair, despite the superior speed of the Corsair. 11 F4F-3s of VMF-211 were at the Ewa Marine Air Corps Station on Oahu; nine of these were damaged or destroyed during the Japanese attack. The Royal Navy purchased 220 F4F-4s adapted to British requirements. Aviation / Aerospace. Designed as a "Zero Killer," the F6F maintained a kill ratio of . Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy 's dominant fighter in the second half of the Pacific War. These relatively modest ships only carried two types of aircraft, the Wildcats and GM-built TBM Avengers. The throttle was modified again, four 0.50in (12.7mm) guns were installed in the wings and most traces of the original ownership removed.[53]. Index. [26] Hellcat night fighters claimed their first victories in November 1943. 266270, Stille 2019, Kindle location 12331237. Of the total figure, 1,298 were destroyed in training and ferry operations, normally outside of the combat zones. [42] Radar-equipped Hellcat night-fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944. The last air raid of the war in Europe was carried out by Fleet Air Arm aircraft in Operation Judgement on May 5, 1945. It performed well, was easy to fly, and was a stable gun platform, but what I really remember most was that it was rugged and easy to maintain. [50], The British Fleet Air Arm (FAA) received 1,263 F6Fs under the Lend-Lease Act; initially, it was known as the Grumman Gannet Mark I. It had been designed in the 1930s and its performance was not up to the standard of the newer fighters. Initial Wildcat deliveries embarked aboard USS Wasp (CV-7) and USS Ranger (CV-4). A formidable opponent for the Hellcat was the Kawanishi N1K, but it was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to affect the outcome of the war. The XF4F-2 was marginally faster, but the Buffalo was more maneuverable. Volume 7 - Aleutians, Gilberts, and Marshalls: June 1942 April 1944). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "[47], During the course of World War II, 2,462 F6F Hellcats were lost to all causes 270 in aerial combat, 553 to antiaircraft ground and shipboard fire, and 341 due to operational causes. This design was still not competitive with the Brewster F2A Buffalo which won initial U.S. Navy orders, but when the F4F-3 development was fitted with a more powerful version of the engine, a Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830-76, featuring a two-stage supercharger, it showed its true potential.[35]. 6 x 5-inch (127mm) HVAR unguided rockets underwing. 568 Main Street Confused by the fierce resistance and having suffered significant damage, the Japanese fleet eventually withdrew from the battle. The F6F Hellcat still bore a family resemblance, however, to its predecessor and there was little that was revolutionary in its design. Poor design of the armament installation on early F4Fs caused these otherwise reliable machine guns to frequently jam, a problem common to wing-mounted weapons of many U.S. fighters early in the war. He was the first U.S. Navy aviator to become an ace while flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the first Navy carrier pilot to achieve double ace status. ORIGIN United States. The main difference with the basic model G-36 was due to the unavailability for export of the two-stage supercharged engine of F4F-3. As a result, Grumman's employee turnover rate was half that of other airplane manufacturers. [49], Arthur Van Haren, Jr., a Navy combat Hellcat ace of WWII from Arizona, was credited with shooting down 9 Japanese planes. 1911 to present, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grumman_F6F_Hellcat&oldid=1140980684, World War II fighter aircraft of the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2021, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with image file bare URLs for citations, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from June 2022, All articles needing additional references, Aircraft specs templates using more general parameter, Aircraft specs templates using more performance parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats in tricolor camouflage, Training units, and non-operational units, 78645 based at Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in, 94204 based at Erickson Aircraft Collection in, 72094 to airworthiness by private owner in, 79133 to airworthiness by private owner in, 80040 to airworthiness by private owner in, 94038 to airworthiness by private owner in, 94385 to airworthiness by private owner in, 2 0.79 in (20 mm) AN/M2 cannon, with 225 rounds per gun. A129, 17 June 1946, p. 15. [33] The turbochargers proved to be unreliable on both engines, while performance improvements were marginal. So parts and assemblies were shared from Grumman lines to Eastern and back during the war assuring continuity when snags arose. The F4F airplane is pitifully inferior in climb, maneuverability and speed. The British directly ordered and received a version with the original Twin Wasp, but again with a modified cowling, under the manufacturer designation G-36B. The FM-2 was the most numerous and best performing Wildcat with 1,350 horsepower, bigger vertical tail surfaces and more fuel capacity, earning the name the Wilder Wildcat.. The lightly armored Zeros were also no match for the Hellcat's rugged construction and six .50 caliber guns. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed everything, and the portly but deadly dogfighting Wildcat was now without a fight. However, an order was also placed for Grumman's G-16 (given the navy designation XF4F-1) as a backup in case the Brewster monoplane proved to be unsatisfactory. Additional Images Aircraft Specs Wingspan 38 feet Length 28 feet, 9 inches Empty Weight 5,542 pounds Powerplant 1 Wright R-1820-56 Cylone Length: 45 ft. 4 in. The G-36A was powered by the nine-cylinder, single-row Wright R-1820-G205A radial engine, of 1,200hp (890kW) and with a single-stage two-speed supercharger. These aircraft received the designation of Martlet IV. Of these, 5,163 were scored by US Navy and US Marine Corps pilots against a loss of 270 Hellcats. Both aircraft had great strengths and weaknesses. Before the Fleet Air Arm took on charge the Martlet Mk Is, it had already ordered 100 G-36B fighters. U.S. Navy orders followed as did some (with Wright Cyclone engines) from France; these ended up with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm after the fall of France and entered service on 8 September 1940. they are:[63], Data from WWII Aircraft Performance[95]Janes Fighting Aircraft of World War II[96]Standard Aircraft Characteristics[97], Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era. It fought the Japanese for the first 2 years of the war. [40] The F4F-3Ps retained their machine guns and were mainly flown by VMO-251 on air defense missions from Espiritu Santo in the South Pacific, arriving in July 1942. The F4F-3Ps were for short-range tactical reconnaissance, as their reserve fuel tanks were removed and replaced with Fairchild F-56 cameras. "GRUMMAN F6F HELLCAT FIGHTER AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION LINE 1944 PROMOTIONAL FILM 80304", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum, List of aircraft of the United States during World War II, "Goldilocks Fighter: What Made the F6F Hellcat "Just Right"? [30], Thach was greatly dissatisfied and a vocal critic of the Wildcat's performance during the war (as were many US carrier pilots), stating in his Midway action report;[5]. BuNo 4038 was modified to become the F4F-3S "Wildcatfish". The name "Martlet" had been in use from May 1940, whereas the U.S. Navy had officially adopted the name "Wildcat" on 1 October 1941. Two single-seat biplane designs followed, the F2F and F3F, which established the general fuselage outlines of what would become the F4F Wildcat. [24], In May 1942, 881 and 882 squadrons on HMSIllustrious participated in operations against Madagascar. [43], U.S. Navy and Marine F6F pilots flew 66,530 combat sorties and claimed 5,163 kills (56% of all U.S. Navy/Marine air victories of the war) at a recorded cost of 270 Hellcats in aerial combat (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1 based on claimed kills). [34] True to their escort fighter role, Wildcats dropped only 154 tons of bombs during the war. The The Hellcat remained the standard USN carrier-borne fighter until the F4U series was finally cleared for U.S. carrier operations in late 1944 (the carrier landing issues had by now been tackled largely due to use of Corsair by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, which started in 1943). Ceiling: 41,900 ft. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine . The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft initially conceived to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy (USN) service. [35] The XF6F-6s were the fastest version of the Hellcat series with a top speed of 417mph (671km/h), but the war ended before this variant could be mass-produced.[12][36]. The disappointing Brewster Buffalo was withdrawn in favor of the Wildcat and replaced as aircraft became available. It was the single-engined Grumman F4F Wildcat, a carrier-based fighter first made in 1937. The Hellcat was developed as an improvement upon a previous Grumman plane, the F4F Wildcat. It proved to be easy to fly, with no bad characteristics. The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Later in the war, Ensign Neil Armstrong of the Navys VF-51 squadron (yes, that Neil Armstrong) ran into a cable over North Korea, an encounter that sheared off six feet of his wing. [41] In October 1942, long-ranged and unarmed F4F-7s began replacing the F4F-3Ps, but a detachment of three F4F-3P from VMO-155 operated from the Bogue-class escort carrier USS Nassau (CVE-16) during the amphibious invasion of Attu Island in May 1943. Max Speed: 753 mph The F8F entered service just as the war ended, so no Bearcats saw combat against the Japanese. Height: 13 ft. 8 in. Simplicity was a hallmark of Grumman aircraft. While the Wildcat had better range and maneuverability at low speed,[7] the Hellcat could rely on superior power and high speed performance[8] to outperform the Zero. Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era. Although the F6F resembled the Wildcat, it was a completely new design, [4] powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Because of Grumman's foresight in starting production early, Hellcats began rolling off the assembly line immediately and construction continued at an ever-increasing rate. Grumman built a total of 12,275 F6F Hellcat, of which 11,000 were built in just two years. [25] The later F6F-3N, first flown in July 1943, was fitted with the AN/APS-6 radar in the fuselage, with the antenna dish in a bulbous fairing mounted on the leading edge of the outer right wing as a development of the AN/APS-4; about 200 F6F-3Ns were built. The Hellcat saw remarkably little modification throughout the war. Designed to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the Grumman F6F, perhaps, changed the entire course of the Second World War.Got a beard? Lightly armored Zeros were also no match for the first 30 F4F-3As were released for sale to,! Had already ordered 100 G-36B fighters caliber guns 1942 Illustrious transferred two Martlet I aircraft were fitted... Ratio of, & quot ; Zero Killer, & quot ; Zero,... Disappointing Brewster Buffalo was withdrawn in favor of the Hellcat 's rugged and. 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Supercharged engine of F4F-3 FM-1 ( identical to the Navy on February 7, and Marshalls June... The F4F-3Ps were for short-range tactical reconnaissance, as their reserve fuel tanks removed. Accounted for 75 % of all aerial victories recorded by the fierce resistance and having suffered significant,. The article title mph Height: 9 ft. 11 in longer landing necessary... Unguided rockets underwing fighter first made in 1937 a pink gum eraser is indeed surprising that of... Hellcat was developed as an improvement upon a previous Grumman plane, the F2F and,... A paperclip and a pink gum eraser as a & quot ; Zero,. Resemblance, however, to its predecessor and there was little that was revolutionary in design.