Editing Grumman F6F Hellcat (section)

{{Short description|United States Navy fighter airplane}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name= F6F Hellcat
 |image= File:Hellcats F6F-3, May 1943.jpg
 |caption= Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats in tricolor camouflage<ref name=NHC>[http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq2-1.htm "U.S. Naval Aircraft Marking."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115192545/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq2-1.htm |date=15 November 2010 }} ''U.S. Naval Historical Center.'' Retrieved 11 March 2008.</ref>{{refn|The insignia red outline around the national markings indicate that this picture was taken circa June–September 1943.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}|group=Note}}
 |type= [[Carrier-based aircraft|Carrier-based]] [[fighter aircraft]]
 |national_origin= United States
 |manufacturer= [[Grumman]]
 |first_flight= 26 June 1942
 |introduction= 1943
 |retired= 1960 [[Uruguayan Navy]]<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/uruguay/Uruguay-naf-EscCaza.htm |title=Uruguayan Navy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611152202/http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/uruguay/Uruguay-naf-EscCaza.htm |archive-date=11 June 2011 |work=aeroflight |access-date= 27 May 2012}}</ref>
 |primary_user= [[United States Navy]]
 |more_users= {{plainlist|
*[[United States Marine Corps]]
*[[Royal Navy]]
*[[French Navy]]}}
 |produced= 1942–1945
 |number_built= 12,275
 |variants=
}}

The '''Grumman F6F Hellcat''' is an American [[Carrier-based aircraft|carrier-based]] [[fighter aircraft]] of [[World War II]]. Designed to replace the earlier [[Grumman F4F Wildcat|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]]. 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 {{cvt|2,000|hp|kW|lk=in}} [[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]] fighters, the F6F was an entirely new design, but it still resembled the Wildcat in many ways.<ref>Thruelsen 1976, p. 135.</ref> Some military observers tagged the Hellcat as the "Wildcat's big brother".<ref name="Sul4">Sullivan 1979, p. 4.</ref>

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 supremacy#Second World War|air superiority]] over the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific theater]]. In total, 12,275 were built in just over two years.<ref>Kinzey 1996, p. 4.</ref>

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).<ref>Tillman 1996, p. 81.</ref>{{refn|This can be broken down as 5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France, plus 52 with the FAA during World War II.<ref>Tillman 1996, pp. 78–79.</ref>|group=Note}} This was more than any other Allied naval aircraft.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Williamson |title=War In The Air 1914–45 |date=2002 |publisher=Cassell |location=Wellington House, London |isbn=0-304-36210-7 |page=202 |edition=2002 Paperback }}</ref> 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 fighter]]s.<ref name="Wilkinson">{{Cite web|url=https://www.historynet.com/goldilocks-fighter-f6f-hellcat.htm|title=Goldilocks Fighter: What Made the F6F Hellcat "Just Right"?|first=Stephan|last=Wilkinson|date=8 March 2017|website=HistoryNet}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ericksoncollection.com/f6f5n-hellcat|title=F6F-5N HELLCAT|website=Erickson Aircraft Collection}}</ref>