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Grumman F6F Hellcat

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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 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 Template:Cvt 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 superiority over the 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>Template:Refn This was more than any other Allied naval aircraft.<ref>Template:Cite book</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 fighters.<ref name="Wilkinson">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Design and developmentEdit

XF6FEdit

File:Grumman XF6F-1 Hellcat 1942.jpg
Unpainted XF6F-1 prior to its first flight (1942)
File:Ray Wagner Collection Image (16156795450).jpg
F6F-3 aboard USS Yorktown has its "Sto-Wing" folding wings deployed for takeoff (circa 1943-44).

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 Template:Cvt (the same engine used with Grumman's then-new torpedo bomber under development), driving a three-bladed Curtiss Electric propeller.<ref>Kinzey 1996, p. 16.</ref> 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-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.<ref name="Taylor p. 503."/> 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.<ref>Kinzey 1987, p. 14.</ref>

Throughout early 1942, Leroy Grumman, along with his chief designers Jake Swirbul and Bill Schwendler, worked closely with the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) and experienced F4F pilots,<ref>Thruelsen 1976, p. 166.</ref> 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.<ref>Ewing 2004, p. 182.</ref> 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.<ref name="Ewing Thach Weave p. 86">Ewing 2004, p. 86.</ref>Template:Refn Buaer's Lt Cdr A. M. JacksonTemplate:Refn directed Grumman's designers to mount the cockpit higher in the fuselage.<ref>Francillon 1989, p. 200.</ref> In addition, the forward fuselage sloped down slightly to the engine cowling, giving the Hellcat's pilot good visibility.<ref name="Kin966">Kinzey 1996, p. 6.</ref>

Change of powerplantEdit

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.<ref>Ewing and Lundstrom 2004, pp. 155, 156.</ref> Grumman complied by redesigning and strengthening the F6F airframe to incorporate the Template:Cvt 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.<ref name="Sul4"/> 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 on Template:USS in February 1943.<ref name= "Kinzey p. 6">Kinzey 1987, p. 6.</ref>Template:Refn

Further developmentEdit

File:Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat of VF-1 in flight over California (USA), in 1943 (80-G-K-605).jpg
An early F6F-3 in blue-gray over light gull-gray (1943)

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 Template:Cvt of cockpit armor was fitted, along with armor around the oil tank and oil cooler. A Template:Cvt self-sealing fuel tank was fitted in the fuselage.<ref name= "Kinzey p. 6"/> 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 under the fuselage could carry a single Template:Cvt 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 Template:Cvt. Six Template:Cvt High Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVARs) could be carried – three under each wing on "zero-length" launchers.<ref>Sullivan 1979, pp. 24, 30, 33.</ref><ref>Parsch, Andreas. "5 inch FFAR/HVAR." designation-systems.net, 2010. Retrieved: 28 October 2012.</ref>

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.<ref>Kinzey 1996, pp. 30–31.</ref> 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.<ref>Kinzey 1996, pp. 28–29.</ref> Hellcat night fighters claimed their first victories in November 1943.<ref>Green 1975, p. 91.</ref> In total, 4,402 F6F-3s were built through until April 1944, when production was changed to the F6F-5.<ref name="Kin966"/>

File:F6F-5 HVAR NOTS NAN4-2-45.jpg
An early-production F6F-5 being tested with eight 5-inch HVAR rockets (circa 1944–45)

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 ailerons, 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.<ref name="Taylor p. 503.">Taylor 1969, p. 503.</ref><ref name="Kin966"/> 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.<ref>Kinzey 1996, pp. 6–7.</ref> After the first few F6F-5s were built, the small windows behind the main canopy were deleted.<ref>Kinzey 1996, p. 7.</ref> 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.<ref>Green 1975, pp. 93–94.</ref> While all F6F-5s were capable of carrying an armament mix of one 20-mm (.79-in) M2 cannon 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.<ref name= "Kinzey p. 27">Kinzey 1987, p. 27.</ref> The F6F-5 was the most common F6F variant, with 7,870 being built.<ref name="Kin966"/>Template:Refn

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.<ref>Kinzey 1996, p. 32.</ref> 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.<ref>White 2001, pp. 260, 508.</ref> 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.<ref>Kinzey 1996, pp. 17–18.</ref> Two XF6F-6s (70188 and 70913) were converted from F6F-5s and used the 18-cylinder Template:Cvt Pratt and Whitney R-2800-18W two-stage supercharged radial engine with water injection and driving a Hamilton-Standard four-bladed propeller.<ref>Kinzey 1996, pp. 50–51.</ref> The XF6F-6s were the fastest version of the Hellcat series with a top speed of Template:Cvt, but the war ended before this variant could be mass-produced.<ref name="Taylor p. 503."/><ref>Sullivan 1979, p. 46.</ref> 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.<ref>Winchester 2004, p. 110.</ref> This high production rate was credited to the sound original design, which required little modification once production was under way.

Operational historyEdit

U.S. Navy and MarinesEdit

The U.S. Navy much preferred the more docile flight qualities of the F6F compared with the Vought F4U Corsair, despite the Corsair's superior speed. 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 devastating 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).<ref>Styling 1995, p. 67.</ref> 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.<ref>Tillman 1996, p. 6.</ref> Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacturing and ability to withstand significant damage.

File:F6F5 VF82 CV20.jpg
VF-82 Grumman F6F-5 ready for launch from Template:USS off Okinawa in May 1945: Most of the F6F-5s built were painted overall glossy sea blue.

The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943, when fighters off Template:USS shot down a Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat.<ref name="Dean p. 559.">Dean 1997, p. 559.</ref> 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.<ref name="Dean p. 559."/> 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.<ref name="Dean p. 559."/>

When trials were flown against a captured Mitsubishi A6M5 model Zero, they showed that the Hellcat was faster at all altitudes. The F6F out-climbed the Zero marginally above Template:Cvt and rolled faster at speeds above Template:Cvt, however, the Japanese fighter could out-turn its American opponent with ease at low speed, and enjoyed a slightly better rate of climb below Template:Cvt. The trials report concluded:

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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.<ref>Tillman 1979, p. 9.</ref> 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.<ref>"Fact Sheets: Kawanishi N1K2-Ja Shiden Kai." National Museum of the US Air Force. Retrieved: 23 November 2015.</ref>

Sortie, kill, and loss figuresEdit

File:127-GW-1627-134956 (30267672180).jpg
A U.S Marine inspects a Japanese-captured F6F-5 in Yokosuka in September 1945.

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).<ref name="Barber2">Barber 1946, Table 2. Template:Webarchive</ref> 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.<ref name="Barber28">Barber 1946, Table 28. Template:Webarchive</ref> 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.Template:Refn In the ground-attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons (5,899 metric tonnes) of bombs.<ref name="Barber2"/>

The U.S. Navy's all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell, scored all of 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."<ref>Kinzey 1987, p. 58.</ref>

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.<ref>OPNAV-P-23V No. A129, 17 June 1946, p. 15.</ref>

Hamilton McWhorter III, 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.<ref name="SSHellcat">Template:Cite news</ref>

Arthur Van Haren, Jr., a Navy combat Hellcat ace of WWII from Arizona, was credited with shooting down 9 Japanese planes. He was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

British useEdit

File:Hellcats 1840 NAS in flight 1944.jpg
A section of Fleet Air Arm Hellcat F Mk.Is of 1840 Squadron in June 1944

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.Template:Refn 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.<ref>Green 1975, p. 93.</ref> The Pacific War being primarily a naval war, the FAA Hellcats primarily faced land-based aircraft in the European and Mediterranean theaters,<ref>Thruelsen 1976, p. 181.</ref><ref>Tillman 1996, p. 96.</ref> 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, on board Template:HMS of the British Pacific Fleet was the highest-scoring unit, with 32.5 kills.<ref>Tillman 1996, p. 78.</ref>

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 still retaining Hellcats by the end of 1945.<ref name="thetford naval p217">Thetford 1994, p. 217.</ref> These two squadrons were disbanded in 1946.<ref name="thetford naval p217"/> When the war ended, 889 Squadron FAA, equipped with 6 Hellcat Is and II (PR) photo-reconnaissance variants, was preparing to depart from Scotland for the Far East (the squadron had been based at RAF Woodvale since its re-formation after VE Day, and practising carrier operations on HMS Trouncer before moving to HMS Ravager), to replace 888 Squadron FAA, and intended to photograph Japanese beaches in anticipation of the planned invasion that was forestalled by the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With the cessation of hostilities, the squadron (which included pilot William Stevenson) was disbanded and the Hellcats dumped off the Scottish coast. (That was the fate of much lend-lease equipment that survived the war, including aircraft; under the terms of lend-lease agreements, any aircraft that were not returned to the United States or paid for, had to be destroyed.)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Postwar useEdit

File:F6F target drone.jpg
Postwar service: A bright orange F6F-3K target drone

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.<ref>O'Leary 1980, pp. 147–148.</ref>

The Hellcat was used for second-line USN duties, including training and Naval Reserve squadrons, and a handful were converted to target drones.<ref name="Wilkinson"/> In late 1952, Guided Missile Unit 90 used F6F-5K drones, each carrying a Template:Cvt bomb, to attack bridges in Korea. Flying from Template:USS, the Hellcat drones were radio controlled from an escorting AD Skyraider.<ref>Jackson 1998, p. 126.</ref>

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.<ref>"Historical aircraft of the Blue Angels." Template:Webarchive Blue Angels. Retrieved" 31 March 2015.</ref>

File:Grumman F6F-5K Hellcat target drone is shot down in 1954.jpg
A F6F-5K Hellcat target drone is shot down by the heavy cruiser USS Saint Paul, in 1954.

The French Naval Aviation 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.<ref>http://img.wp.scn.ru/camms/ar/576/pics/21_1.jpg Template:Webarchive Template:Bare URL image</ref> The French Air Force 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Uruguayan Navy also used them until the early 1960s.<ref name ="donald american">Donald, 1995, p. 145.</ref>

VariantsEdit

Template:Refimprove section

XF6F prototypesEdit

XF6F-1
First prototype, powered by a two-stage Template:Cvt 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.
File:Grumman XF6F-2 Hellcat.jpg
XF6F-2 showing the later R-2800-21 installation with Birman turbocharger (1943)
XF6F-3
Second prototype fitted with a two-stage supercharged Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp radial piston engine.
XF6F-4
One F6F-3 fitted with a two-stage, two-speed supercharged Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 Double Wasp radial piston engine.
XF6F-6
Two F6F-5s that were fitted with the Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W radial piston engine, and four-bladed propellers.

Series productionEdit

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 Template:Cvt 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 Template:Cvt 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.
File:F6F-5N NAS Jax 1944-45.jpg
F6F-5N night fighter with AN/APS-6 radar and 2 20mm M2 cannon (c. 1944/45)
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 guns 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.<ref name="Norton">Norton 2008, p. 38.</ref>

OperatorsEdit

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  • Training units, and non-operational units
  • East Indies units
  • Atlantic & Mediterranean units
  • Pacific units
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Surviving aircraftEdit

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:<ref>Krist 2006, pp. 91–92.</ref>

United KingdomEdit

On display
F6F-5

United StatesEdit

File:Grumman F6F Hellcat, Chino, California.jpg
Chino Warbirds' F6F-3 painted as a Fleet Air Arm Hellcat Mk. I (2007)
Airworthy
F6F-3
F6F-5
On display
F6F-3
F6F-5
File:Air Zoo December 2019 091 (Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat).jpg
F6F-5 on display at the Air Zoo
Under restoration or in storage
F6F-3
F6F-5

Specifications (F6F-5 Hellcat)Edit

File:Grumman F6F Hellcat 3-view line drawing.svg
File:Carrier Air Group 3 aircraft in flight 1946.jpeg
An F6F-5 flown by Air Group Commander (CAG), Cdr. Louis H. Bauer of Carrier Air Group 3 (CVG-3), leads a formation of CVG-3 aircraft (a Helldiver, Avenger and Bearcat) in 1946.

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See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

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CitationsEdit

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BibliographyEdit

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  • Anderton, David A. Hellcat. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1981. Template:ISBN.
  • 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. Template:ISBN.
  • 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. Template:ISBN.
  • Dann, Lcdr. Richard S., USNR. F6F Hellcat Walk Around. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1996. Template:ISBN.
  • Dean, Francis H. America's Hundred Thousand. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. Template:ISBN.
  • Donald, David, ed. American Warplanes of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995. Template:ISBN.
  • Drendel, Lou. "Grumman F6F Hellcat". U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of World War II. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1987, pp. 45–68. Template:ISBN.
  • Ewing, Steve. Reaper Leader: The Life of Jimmy Flatley. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2002. Template:ISBN.
  • Ewing, Steve. Thach Weave: The Life of Jimmie Thach. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2004.Template:ISBN.
  • Ewing, Steve and John B. Lundstrom. Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O'Hare. Annapolis, Maryland: Bluejacket Books, (Naval Institute Press), 2004. Template:ISBN.
  • Faltum, Andrew. The Essex Aircraft Carriers. Baltimore, Maryland: The Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1996. Template:ISBN.
  • 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. Template:ISBN.
  • Graff, Cory. F6F Hellcat at War (The At War Series). Minneapolis, Minneapolis: Zenith Press, 2009. Template:ISBN.
  • Green, William. Famous Fighters of the Second World War. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1975.Template:ISBN.
  • 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. Template:ISBN.
  • Gunston, Bill. Grumman: Sixty Years of Excellence. London: Orion Books, 1988. Template:ISBN.
  • Hill, Richard M. Grumman F6F-3/5 Hellcat in USN-USMC-FAA-Aeronavale & Uruguayan Service. Reading, Berkshire, UK: Osprey Publications Ltd., 1971. Template:ISBN.
  • Jackson, Robert. Air War Korea 1950–1953. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1998. Template:ISBN.
  • Jarski, Adam and Waldemar Pajdosz. F6F Hellcat (Monografie Lotnicze 15) (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 1994. Template:ISBN.
  • 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.Template:ISBN.
  • Kinzey, Bert. F6F Hellcat in detail and scale: Revised edition (D&S Vol.49). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1996. Template:ISBN.
  • 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. Template:ISBN.
  • Mendenhall, Charles A. Wildcats & Hellcats: Gallant Grummans in World War II. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1984. Template:ISBN.
  • Mondey, David. American Aircraft of World War II (Hamlyn Concise Guide). London: Bounty Books, 2006. Template:ISBN.
  • Norton, Bill. U.S. Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects: Fighters 1939–1945. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008, pp. 80–85. Template:ISBN.
  • O'Leary, Michael. United States Naval Fighters of World War II in Action. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press, 1980. Template:ISBN.
  • "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. Template:ISBN.
  • Styling, Mark. Corsair Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 8). London: Osprey Publishing, 1995. Template:ISBN.
  • Sullivan, Jim. F6F Hellcat in action. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1979. Template:ISBN.
  • 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. Template:ISBN.
  • Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Fourth Edition. London: Putnam, 1994. Template:ISBN.
  • Thomas, Geoff. US Navy Carrier Aircraft Colours: Units, Colours, Markings, and Operations during World War 2. New Malden, UK: Air Research Publications, 1989. Template:ISBN.
  • Thruelsen, Richard. The Grumman Story. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 1976. Template:ISBN.
  • Tillman, Barrett. Hellcat Aces of World War 2. London: Osprey Aerospace, 1996. Template:ISBN.
  • Tillman, Barrett. Hellcat: The F6F in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979. Template:ISBN.
  • White, Graham. R-2800: Pratt & Whitney's Dependable Masterpiece. Warrendale, Pennsylvania: Society of Automotive Engineers Inc., 2001. Template:ISBN.
  • Winchester, Jim, ed. "Grumman F6F Hellcat." Aircraft of World War II (Aviation Fact File). Rochester, UK: Grange Books plc, 2004. Template:ISBN.
  • Zbiegniewski, Andre R. Grumman F6F Hellcat (Kagero Monografie No.10) (Bilingual Polish/English). Lublin, Poland: Kagero, 2004. Template:ISBN.

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External linksEdit

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