The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American
carrier-based
Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
of
World War II. Designed to replace the earlier
F4F Wildcat
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. First used by the British in the North Atlan ...
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
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
. In gaining that role, it prevailed over its faster competitor, the
Vought F4U Corsair, which initially had problems with visibility and carrier landings.
Powered by a
Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, the same powerplant used for both the Corsair and the
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
fighters, the F6F was an entirely new design, but it still resembled the Wildcat in many ways. Some military observers tagged the Hellcat as the "Wildcat's big brother".
[Sullivan 1979, p. 4.]
The F6F made its combat debut in September 1943. It subsequently established itself as a rugged, well-designed carrier fighter, which was able to outperform the A6M Zero and help secure
air superiority
Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
over the
Pacific theater
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. In total, 12,275 were built in just over two years.
Hellcats were credited with destroying a total of 5,223 enemy aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA). This was more than any other Allied naval aircraft. After the war, Hellcats were phased out of front-line service in the US, but radar-equipped F6F-5Ns remained in service as late as 1954 as
night fighters.
Design and development
XF6F
![Ray Wagner Collection Image (16156795450)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Ray_Wagner_Collection_Image_%2816156795450%29.jpg)
Grumman had been working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat since 1938, and the contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The aircraft was originally designed to use the
Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone two-row, 14-cylinder radial engine of (the same engine used with Grumman's then-
new torpedo bomber under development), driving a three-bladed Curtiss Electric propeller. Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track, hand-cranked, main
landing gear retracting into the fuselage inherited from the F3F ( a design from the 1930s
Grumman FF
The Grumman FF "Fifi" (company designation G-5) was an American biplane fighter aircraft operated by the United States Navy during the 1930s.Eden and Moeng 2002, p. 762. It was the first carrier aircraft with retractable landing gear.Winchester ...
-1 fighter biplane), the Hellcat had wide-set, hydraulically actuated landing-gear struts that rotated through 90° while retracting backwards into the wings, but with full wheel doors fitted to the struts that covered the entire strut and the upper half of the main wheel when retracted, and twisted with the main gear struts through 90° during retraction.
The wing was mounted lower on the fuselage and was able to be hydraulically or manually folded, with each panel outboard of the undercarriage bay folding backwards from pivoting on a specially oriented, Grumman-patented "Sto-Wing" diagonal axis pivoting system much like the earlier F4F, with a folded stowage position parallel to the fuselage with the leading edges pointing diagonally down.
Throughout early 1942,
Leroy Grumman, along with his chief designers
Jake Swirbul
Leon Albert "Jake" "The Bullfrog" Swirbul (March 18, 1898 – June 28, 1960), was an aviation pioneer and co-founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation.
Biography
Swirbul was born in the Yorkville section of Manhattan. His parents Freder ...
and Bill Schwendler, worked closely with the U.S. Navy's
Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) and experienced F4F pilots, to develop the new fighter in such a way that it could counter the Zero's strengths and help gain air dominance in the Pacific Theater of Operations. On 22 April 1942, Lieutenant Commander
Butch O'Hare toured the Grumman Aircraft company and spoke with Grumman engineers, analyzing the performance of the F4F Wildcat against the Mitsubishi A6M Zero in aerial combat.
[Ewing 2004, p. 86.] BuAer's Lt Cdr A. M. Jackson directed Grumman's designers to mount the cockpit higher in the fuselage. In addition, the forward fuselage sloped down slightly to the engine cowling, giving the Hellcat's pilot good visibility.
[Kinzey 1996, p. 6.]
Change of powerplant
Based on combat accounts of encounters between the F4F Wildcat and A6M Zero, on 26 April 1942, BuAer directed Grumman to install the more-powerful, 18-cylinder
Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine – which was already in use with Chance Vought's Corsair since 1940 – in the second XF6F-1 prototype. Grumman complied by redesigning and strengthening the F6F airframe to incorporate the R-2800-10, driving a three-bladed
Hamilton Standard propeller. With this combination, Grumman estimated the XF6F-3s performance would increase by 25% over that of the XF6F-1.
The Cyclone-powered XF6F-1 (02981) first flew on 26 June 1942, followed by the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3' (02982), which first flew on 30 July 1942. The first production F6F-3, powered by an R-2800-10, flew on 3 October 1942, with the type reaching operational readiness with
VF-9
Fighting Squadron 9 or VF-9 was an aviation unit of the U.S. Navy, originally established on 1 March 1942, it was disestablished on 28 September 1945.
Operational history
VF-9 established at NAS Norfolk on 1 March 1942 as part of the new Carr ...
on in February 1943.
[Kinzey 1987, p. 6.]
Further development
The F6F series was designed to take damage and get the pilot safely back to base. A bullet-resistant windshield was used and a total of of cockpit armor was fitted, along with armor around the oil tank and oil cooler. A
self-sealing fuel tank was fitted in the fuselage.
Standard armament on the F6F-3 consisted of six .50 in (12.7 mm)
M2/AN Browning air-cooled
machine guns with 400 rounds per gun. A center-section
hardpoint
A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on the ...
under the fuselage could carry a single disposable
drop tank, while later aircraft had single bomb racks installed under each wing, inboard of the undercarriage bays; with these and the center-section hard point, late-model F6F-3s could carry a total bomb load in excess of . Six
High Velocity Aircraft Rocket
The High Velocity Aircraft Rocket, or HVAR, also known by the nickname Holy Moses, was an American unguided rocket developed during World War II to attack targets on the ground from aircraft. It saw extensive use during both World War II and the ...
s (HVARs) could be carried – three under each wing on "zero-length" launchers.
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 10 GHz 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. 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. Hellcat night fighters claimed their first victories in November 1943. In total, 4,402 F6F-3s were built through until April 1944, when production was changed to the F6F-5.
![F6F-5 HVAR NOTS NAN4-2-45](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/F6F-5_HVAR_NOTS_NAN4-2-45.jpg)
The F6F-5 featured several improvements, including a more powerful R-2800-10W engine employing a water-injection system and housed in a slightly more streamlined engine cowling, spring-loaded control
tabs on the
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s, and an improved, clear-view windscreen, with a flat armored-glass front panel replacing the F6F-3's curved plexiglass panel and internal armor glass screen.
[Taylor 1969, p. 503.] In addition, the rear fuselage and tail units were strengthened, and apart from some early production aircraft, most of the F6F-5s built were painted in an overall gloss sea-blue finish. After the first few F6F-5s were built, the small windows behind the main canopy were deleted. The F6F-5N night-fighter variant was fitted with an AN/APS-6 radar in a fairing on the outer-starboard wing. A few standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P. While all F6F-5s were capable of carrying an armament mix of one 20-mm (.79-in)
M2 cannon
The HS.404 is an autocannon originally designed and produced by Spanish/French company Hispano-Suiza in the mid-1930s. It was widely used as an aircraft, naval and land-based weapon by French, British, American and other military services, par ...
in each of the inboard gun bays (220 rounds per gun), along with two pairs of .50-in (12.7-mm) machine guns (each with 400 rounds per gun), this configuration was only used on later F6F-5N night fighters.
[Kinzey 1987, p. 27.] The F6F-5 was the most common F6F variant, with 7,870 being built.
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'. This version never entered production and 02981 was converted to an F6F-3 production aircraft. Another experimental prototype was the XF6F-2' (66244), an F6F-3 converted to use a Wright R-2600-15, fitted with a Birman-manufactured mixed-flow
turbocharger, which was later replaced by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-21, also fitted with a Birman turbocharger. The turbochargers proved to be unreliable on both engines, while performance improvements were marginal. As with the XF6F-4, 66244 was soon converted back to a standard F6F-3. Two XF6F-6s (70188 and 70913) were converted from F6F-5s and used the 18-cylinder Pratt and Whitney R-2800-18W two-stage supercharged radial engine with water injection and driving a Hamilton-Standard four-bladed propeller. The XF6F-6s were the fastest version of the Hellcat series with a top speed of , but the war ended before this variant could be mass-produced.
The last Hellcat rolled out in November 1945, the total production being 12,275, of which 11,000 had been built in just two years. This high production rate was credited to the sound original design, which required little modification once production was under way.
Operational history
U.S. Navy and Marines
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. This preference was especially noted during carrier landings, a critical success requirement for the Navy. The Corsair was thus released by the Navy to the Marine Corps, which without the need to worry about carrier landings, used the Corsair to immense effect in land-based sorties. 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). In addition to its good flight qualities, the Hellcat was easy to maintain and had an airframe tough enough to withstand the rigors of routine carrier operations. Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage.
The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943, when fighters off shot down a
Kawanishi H8K
The Kawanishi H8K was a flying boat used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II for maritime patrol duties. The Allied reporting name for the type was "Emily".
The Kawanishi H8K was a large, four-engine aircraft designed ...
"Emily"
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
.
[Dean 1997, p. 559.] Soon after, on 23 and 24 November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over
Tarawa, shooting down a claimed 30 Mitsubishi Zeros for the loss of one F6F.
Over
Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943, Hellcats and F4U Corsairs were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M Zeros, claiming nearly 50 aircraft.
When trials were flown against a captured
A6M5 model Zero, they showed that the Hellcat was faster at all altitudes. The F6F out-climbed the Zero marginally above and rolled faster at speeds above . The Japanese fighter could out-turn its American opponent with ease at low speed and enjoyed a slightly better rate of climb below . The trials report concluded:
Hellcats were the major U.S. Navy fighter type involved in the
Battle of the Philippine Sea, where so many Japanese aircraft were shot down that Navy aircrews nicknamed the battle
the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". The F6F accounted for 75% of all aerial victories recorded by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.
Radar-equipped Hellcat night-fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944.
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.
Sortie, kill, and loss figures
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).
[Barber 1946]
Table 2.
Claimed victories were often highly exaggerated during the war. Even so, the aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a claimed 13:1 kill ratio against the A6M Zero, 9.5:1 against the
Nakajima Ki-84, and 3.7:1 against the
Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war.
[Barber 1946]
Table 28.
The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces. The U.S. successes were not just attributed to superior aircraft; from 1942 onwards, they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators and had the advantage of increasing numerical superiority. In the ground-attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons (5,899 tonnes) of bombs.
The U.S. Navy's all-time leading ace,
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
David McCampbell, scored all his 34 victories in the Hellcat. He once described the F6F as "... an outstanding fighter plane. 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."
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. Of the total figure, 1,298 were destroyed in training and ferry operations, normally outside of the combat zones.
Hamilton McWhorter III
Commander Hamilton McWhorter III (February 8, 1921April 12, 2008) was a United States Navy aviator and a flying ace of World War II, credited with shooting down twelve Japanese aircraft. He was the first Hellcat ace, first USN carrier-based doub ...
, a Navy aviator and a
flying ace of World War II, was credited with shooting down 12 Japanese aircraft. 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.
Arthur Van Haren, Jr.
Arthur Van Haren Jr. (April 9, 1920 – August 11, 1992) was a World War II fighter pilot and considered the top fighter ace of World War II from Arizona. He may be one of very few highly decorated Hispanic fighter-pilot aces in the history of aer ...
, a Navy combat Hellcat ace of WWII from Arizona, was credited with shooting down 9 Japanese planes. He was awarded a DFC, and a Gold Star in lieu of a second DFC. In 2012, Van Haren, Jr. was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame.
British use
![Hellcats 1840 NAS in flight 1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Hellcats_1840_NAS_in_flight_1944.jpg)
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. The name Hellcat replaced it in early 1943 for the sake of simplicity, the Royal Navy at that time adopting the use of the existing American naval names for all the U.S.-made aircraft supplied to it, with the F6F-3 being designated Hellcat F Mk. I, the F6F-5, the Hellcat F Mk. II and the F6F-5N, the Hellcat NF Mk. II. They saw action off Norway, in the Mediterranean, and in the Far East. Several were fitted with photographic reconnaissance equipment similar to the F6F-5P, receiving the designation Hellcat FR Mk. II. The
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
being primarily a naval war, the FAA Hellcats primarily faced land-based aircraft in the European and Mediterranean theaters, so experienced far fewer opportunities for air-to-air combat than their USN/Marines counterparts; nevertheless, they claimed a total of 52 enemy aircraft kills during 18 aerial combats from May 1944 to July 1945.
1844 Naval Air Squadron
1844 Naval Air Squadron (1844 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land ...
, on board of the
British Pacific Fleet was the highest-scoring unit, with 32.5 kills.
FAA Hellcats, as with other Lend-Lease aircraft, were rapidly replaced by British aircraft after the end of the war, with only two of the 12 squadrons equipped with the Hellcat at
VJ-Day
Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...
still retaining Hellcats by the end of 1945.
[Thetford 1994, p. 217.] These two squadrons were disbanded in 1946.
Postwar use
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.
The Hellcat was used for second-line USN duties, including training and
Naval Reserve squadrons, and a handful were converted to target drones.
In late 1952, Guided Missile Unit 90 used F6F-5K drones, each carrying a bomb, to attack bridges in Korea. Flying from , the Hellcat drones were radio controlled from an escorting
AD Skyraider
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...
.
The F6F-5 was the first aircraft used by the U.S. Navy's
Blue Angels official flight demonstration team at its formation in 1946.
The French Navy (
Aéronavale) was equipped with F6F-5 Hellcats and used them in combat in
Indochina. These were painted in Gloss Sea Blue, similar to post-World War II US Navy aircraft until about 1955, but had a modified French roundel with an image of an anchor. The
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
also used the Hellcat in Indochina from 1950 to 1952. The plane equipped four squadrons (including the
Normandie-Niemen squadron of WWII fame) before these units transitioned to the F8F Bearcat.
The Uruguayan Navy also used them until the early 1960s.
[Donald, 1995, p. 145.]
Variants
XF6F prototypes
;XF6F-1
:First prototype, powered by a two-stage
Wright R-2600-10 Cyclone 14 radial piston engine.
;XF6F-2
:The first XF6F-1 prototype revised and fitted with a turbocharged Wright R-2600-16 Cyclone radial piston engine. R-2600 replaced by turbocharged R-2800-21.
![Grumman XF6F-2 Hellcat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Grumman_XF6F-2_Hellcat.jpg)
;XF6F-3
: Second prototype fitted with a two-stage supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp radial piston engine.
;XF6F-4
:One F6F-3 fitted with a two-stage, two-speed supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 Double Wasp radial piston engine.
;XF6F-6
:Two F6F-5s that were fitted with the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W radial piston engine, and four-bladed propellers.
Series production
;F6F-3 (British designation Gannet F. Mk. I, and then later, renamed Hellcat F. Mk. I, January 1944)
:Single-seat fighter, fighter-bomber aircraft, powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp radial piston engine.
;F6F-3E
:Night fighter version, equipped with an AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing on the starboard outer wing.
;F6F-3N
:Another night fighter version, equipped with a newer AN/APS-6 radar in a fairing on the starboard outer wing.
;
;F6F-5 Hellcat (British Hellcat F. Mk. II)
:Improved version, with a redesigned engine cowling, a new windscreen structure with an integral bulletproof windscreen, new ailerons and strengthened tail surfaces; powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W (-W denotes Water Injection) radial piston engine.
;F6F-5K Hellcat
:A number of F6F-5s and F6F-5Ns were converted into radio-controlled target drones.
![F6F-5N NAS Jax 1944-45](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/F6F-5N_NAS_Jax_1944-45.jpg)
;F6F-5N Hellcat (British Hellcat N.F. Mk II)
:Night fighter version, fitted with an AN/APS-6 radar. Some were armed with two 20 mm (0.79 in)
AN/M2 cannon in the inner wing bays and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm)
M2 Browning machine gun
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
s in the outer.
;F6F-5P Hellcat
:Small numbers of F6F-5s were converted into photo-reconnaissance aircraft, with the camera equipment being fitted in the rear fuselage.
;Hellcat FR. Mk. II
:This designation was given to British Hellcats fitted with camera equipment.
;FV-1
:Proposed designation for Hellcats to be built by
Canadian Vickers; cancelled before any built.
[Norton 2008, p. 38.]
Operators
;
*
French Navy
*
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
;
*
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
:*Training units, and non-operational units
::*
706 Naval Air Squadron
706 Naval Air Squadron (706 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Established as a fighter and torpedo-bomber training unit in Australia at the end of World War Two, it was briefly reformed as a helicopter squadron in th ...
Crew Pool & Refresher Flying Training School.
::*
709 Naval Air Squadron Ground Attack School.
::*
778 Naval Air Squadron Service Trials Unit (STU)
::*
891 Naval Air Squadron
891 Naval Air Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II.
In August 1942 the squadron transferred from RNAS Lee-on-Solent where it had been formed in July to RNAS Charlton Horethorne with six Sea Hurri ...
not operational at war's end.
::*
1847 Naval Air Squadron
1847 Naval Air Squadron (1847 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land ...
merged into 1840, not operational.
:*East Indies units
::*
800 Naval Air Squadron , first operational unit
::*
804 Naval Air Squadron , , ,
::*
808 Naval Air Squadron
::*
888 Naval Air Squadron detachments only
::*
896 Naval Air Squadron
896 Naval Air Squadron (896 NAS) was a List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons, Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
References
800 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons
Military units and formations established in 1942
Milita ...
::*
898 Naval Air Squadron /
:*Atlantic & Mediterranean units
::*
881 Naval Air Squadron
881 Naval Air Squadron (881 NAS) was a squadron of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm formed in June 1941. It served as a fighter squadron in the Second World War, taking part in the British invasion of Madagascar in 1942, in the Allied inva ...
::*
892 Naval Air Squadron
::*
1832 Naval Air Squadron
1832 Naval Air Squadron (1832 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land ...
:*Pacific units
::*
885 Naval Air Squadron
885 Naval Air Squadron (885 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. First formed on 1 March 1941, the squadron served as a fighter squadron during the Second World War. It operated in the Mediterranean in 1942–43, whe ...
::*
1839 Naval Air Squadron
1839 Naval Air Squadron (1839 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land ...
NAS Eglington/
::*
1840 Naval Air Squadron
1840 Naval Air Squadron (1840 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. During World War II over 80% of the pilots were from the Royal Netherlands Naval Aviation Service
The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service ( nl, Marine ...
::*
1844 Naval Air Squadron
1844 Naval Air Squadron (1844 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land ...
;
*
United States Navy
*
United States Marine Corps
;
*
Uruguayan Navy
The National Navy of Uruguay () is a branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the commander in chief of the Navy (''Comandante en Jefe de la Armada'' or COMAR).
History Independence
Unde ...
Surviving aircraft
A relatively large number of Grumman F6Fs survive to this day, either in museums or in flyable condition. In order of Bu.No. they are:
United Kingdom
;On display
;;F6F-5
* 79779 –
Fleet Air Arm Museum
The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...
in
RNAS Yeovilton.
United States
![Grumman F6F Hellcat, Chino, California](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Grumman_F6F_Hellcat%2C_Chino%2C_California.jpg)
;Airworthy
;;F6F-3
* 41476 – based at the
Collings Foundation in
Stow, Massachusetts.
* 41930 – privately owned in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
.
;;F6F-5
* 70222 – based at
Commemorative Air Force (Southern California Wing) at
Camarillo Airport
Camarillo Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Camarillo, a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The airport has one runway and serves privately operated general avi ...
(former Oxnard AFB) in
Camarillo, California
Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...
.
* 78645 – based at Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in
Granite Falls, Minnesota.
* 79863 – based at
Flying Heritage Collection
The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the display and preservation of rare military aircraft, tanks and other military equipment. The plan is for the museum to reopen in 2023.
On rotation in t ...
in
Everett, Washington.
* 94204 – based at Erickson Aircraft Collection in
Madras, Oregon.
* 94473 – based at
Palm Springs Air Museum in
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...
.
;On display
;;F6F-3
* 25910 –
National Naval Aviation Museum at
NAS Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
.
* 41834 –
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
in
Chantilly, Virginia.
* 42874 –
San Diego Aerospace Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...
in
San Diego, California.
* 66237 –
Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum
The Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located at the Cape May Airport in Lower Township, New Jersey, Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.
History
The Cape May A ...
at
Cape May Airport
Cape May Airport or Cape May County Airport is a public use airport in Lower Township, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by the Delaware River and Bay Authority, the airport is four nautical miles (7 km) northwest o ...
in
Lower Township, New Jersey.
;;F6F-5
![Air Zoo December 2019 091 (Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Air_Zoo_December_2019_091_%28Grumman_F6F-5_Hellcat%29.jpg)
* 77722 –
Naval Air Facility Washington
Naval Air Facility Washington or NAF Washington is a United States Naval Reserve installation located near Camp Springs, Maryland in the United States of America. The facility was established at Andrews Air Force Base in 1958. As part of the 2 ...
at
Joint Base Andrews
Joint Base Andrews (JBA) is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 316th Wing, Air Force District of Washington (AFDW). The base was e ...
* 79192 –
New England Air Museum in
Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
* 79593 – /
Patriots Point
Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston.
Museum ships and exhibits
Patriots Point is home to two museum ships:
* , ...
Naval & Maritime Museum in
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
* 79683 –
Air Zoo
The Air Zoo, founded as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, is an aviation museum and indoor amusement park next to the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan. The Air Zoo holds many historical and rare aircraft, inc ...
in
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
.
* 94203 –
National Naval Aviation Museum at
NAS Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
.
* 94263 –
Cradle of Aviation Museum in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. It is on loan from the
USMC Museum
The National Museum of the Marine Corps is the historical museum of the United States Marine Corps. Located in Triangle, Virginia near MCB Quantico, the museum opened on November 10, 2006, and is now one of the top tourist attractions in the st ...
in
Quantico, Virginia.
;Under restoration or in storage
;;F6F-3
* 43014 – in storage at the
Fantasy of Flight in
Polk City, Florida.
;;F6F-5
* 72094 – to airworthiness by private owner in
Caldwell, Idaho
Caldwell (locally CALL-dwel) is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho. The population was 59,996 at the time of the 2020 United States census.
Caldwell is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area. Caldwell is the location of ...
.
* 79133 – to airworthiness by private owner in
Wilmington, Delaware.
* 80040 – to airworthiness by private owner in
Wilmington, Delaware.
* 93879 – to airworthiness by
Yanks Air Museum in
Chino, California.
* 94038 – to airworthiness by private owner in
Wilmington, Delaware.
* 94385 – to airworthiness by private owner in
Livermore, California.
"FAA Registry: N7861C"
Federal Aviation Administration Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
Specifications (F6F-5 Hellcat)
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Anderton, David A. ''Hellcat''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1981. .
* Barber, S.B. ''Naval Aviation Combat Statistics: World War II, OPNAV-P-23V No. A129''. Washington, D.C.: Air Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, 1946.
* Bridgman, Leonard, ed. "The Grumman Hellcat." ''Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II''. London: Studio, 1946. .
* Brown, Eric, CBE, DCS, AFC, RN., William Green and Gordon Swanborough. "Grumman Hellcat". ''Wings of the Navy, Flying Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War Two''. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1980, pp. 167–176. .
* Dann, Lcdr. Richard S., USNR. ''F6F Hellcat Walk Around''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1996. .
* Dean, Francis H. ''America's Hundred Thousand''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. .
* Donald, David, ed. ''American Warplanes of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995. .
* Drendel, Lou. "Grumman F6F Hellcat". ''U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of World War II''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1987, pp. 45–68. .
* Ewing, Steve. ''Reaper Leader: The Life of Jimmy Flatley.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2002. .
* Ewing, Steve. ''Thach Weave: The Life of Jimmie Thach.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2004..
* Ewing, Steve and John B. Lundstrom. ''Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O'Hare.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Bluejacket Books, ( Naval Institute Press), 2004. .
* Faltum, Andrew. ''The Essex Aircraft Carriers''. Baltimore, Maryland: The Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1996. .
* Ferguson, Robert G. "One Thousand Planes a Day: Ford, Grumman, General Motors and the Arsenal of Democracy."''History and Technology'', Volume 21, Issue 2, 2005.
* Francillon, Réne J. ''Grumman Aircraft Since 1929.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989. .
* Graff, Cory. ''F6F Hellcat at War (The At War Series)''. Minneapolis, Minneapolis: Zenith Press, 2009. .
* Green, William. ''Famous Fighters of the Second World War''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1975..
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Grumman F6F Hellcat". ''WW2 Fact Files: US Navy and Marine Corps Fighters''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1976, pp. 47–56. .
* Gunston, Bill. ''Grumman: Sixty Years of Excellence.'' London: Orion Books, 1988. .
* Hill, Richard M. ''Grumman F6F-3/5 Hellcat in USN-USMC-FAA-Aeronavale & Uruguayan Service''. Reading, Berkshire, UK: Osprey Publications Ltd., 1971. .
* Jackson, Robert. ''Air War Korea 1950–1953.'' Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1998. .
* Jarski, Adam and Waldemar Pajdosz. ''F6F Hellcat (Monografie Lotnicze 15)'' (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 1994. .
* Jarski, Adam and Waldemar Pajdosz. ''F6F Hellcat (Aircraft Monograph 20)''. Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 2007.
* Kinzey, Bert. ''F6F Hellcat in detail and scale (D&S Vol.26)''. Shrewsbury, UK: AirLife Publishing Ltd., 1987..
* Kinzey, Bert. ''F6F Hellcat in detail and scale: Revised edition (D&S Vol.49)''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1996. .
* Kit, Mister and Jean-Pierre DeCock. ''F6F Hellcat'' (in French). Paris, France: Éditions Atlas s.a., 1981.
* Krist, Jan. ''Bojové Legendy: Grumman F6F Hellcat'' (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Jan Vašut s.r.o., 2006. .
* Mendenhall, Charles A. ''Wildcats & Hellcats: Gallant Grummans in World War II''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1984. .
* Mondey, David. ''American Aircraft of World War II'' (Hamlyn Concise Guide). London: Bounty Books, 2006. .
* Norton, Bill. ''U.S. Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects: Fighters 1939–1945''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008, pp. 80–85. .
* O'Leary, Michael. ''United States Naval Fighters of World War II in Action''. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press, 1980. .
* "OPNAV-P23V No. A129, 17 June 1946." ''Naval Aviation Combat Statistics World War II.'' Suitland, Maryland: Air Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1946.
* Spick, Mike. ''Fighter Pilot Tactics . The Techniques of Daylight Air Combat''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens, 1983. .
* Styling, Mark. ''Corsair Aces of World War 2'' (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 8). London: Osprey Publishing, 1995. .
* Sullivan, Jim. ''F6F Hellcat in action''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1979. .
* Taylor, John W. R. "Grumman F6F Hellcat." ''Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. .
* Thetford, Owen. ''British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Fourth Edition''. London: Putnam, 1994. .
* Thomas, Geoff. ''US Navy Carrier Aircraft Colours: Units, Colours, Markings, and Operations during World War 2''. New Malden, UK: Air Research Publications, 1989. .
* Thruelsen, Richard. ''The Grumman Story.'' Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 1976. .
* Tillman, Barrett. ''Hellcat Aces of World War 2''. London: Osprey Aerospace, 1996. .
* Tillman, Barrett. ''Hellcat: The F6F in World War II''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979. .
* White, Graham. ''R-2800: Pratt & Whitney's Dependable Masterpiece''. Warrendale, Pennsylvania: Society of Automotive Engineers Inc., 2001. .
* Winchester, Jim, ed. "Grumman F6F Hellcat." ''Aircraft of World War II'' (Aviation Fact File). Rochester, UK: Grange Books plc, 2004. .
* Zbiegniewski, Andre R. ''Grumman F6F Hellcat (Kagero Monografie No.10)'' (Bilingual Polish/English). Lublin, Poland: Kagero, 2004. .
External links
*
*
Final flight test report of F6F-3, USN Air Station, Patuxent River (pdf file)
* ttp://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/f6f/f6f-5-58310.pdf Performance test, each 1,00th aircraft; F6F-5 No 58310, USN Air Station, Patuxent River (pdf file)br>USN & USMC Aircraft Serial and Bureau Nos. 1911 to present
"How The Hellcat Got That Way", ''Popular Science,'' December 1943, World War Two article which is large and detailed
{{Authority control
F06F Hellcat
Grumman F6F
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. 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 ha ...
Grumman F6F
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. 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 ha ...
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1942