F6F Hellcat

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Image:F6F Hellcat.jpg Image:F6f3 grumman hellcat tricolor.jpg Image:Hellcats F6F-3.jpg Image:F6F Saratoga.jpg Image:F6F Yorktown green.jpg The Grumman F6F Hellcat started development as an improved F4F Wildcat, but turned into a completely new design sharing a family resemblance to the Wildcat but with no shared parts. The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary United States Navy carrier fighters in the second half of World War II.

The Hellcat was also used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm where it was initially known as the "Gannet" (continuing the British tradition of alliterative aircraft names such as Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane and even the unfortunate Brewster Buffalo and Short Seamew) However, this name was discontinued in early 1944 and the Hellcat name used instead. After the conclusion of the Second World War, the Hellcat was found to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying over 4,700 aircraft with the U.S. Navy and some 800 more with the U.S. Marine Corps. The aircraft was then rapidly phased out of combat service, finally retiring as a night-fighter in composite squadrons in 1954, at least with U.S. fleets.

For being a safe, reliable, and loved by its crews, the Grumman F6F Hellcat remains one of the greatest fighting machines in all of aviation history.

1 Development
2 Construction
3 Action
4 Operators
5 Specifications (F6F Hellcat)
6 External links
7 Related content

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Development

A successor to the F4F Wildcat, the F6F was originally to be given the Wright R-2600 Cyclone engine of 1,700 hp (1,268 kW), but the Hellcat was given the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) after British combat experience with the Wildcat indicated better performance was necessary.

The contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on June 30, 1941. The first, Cyclone-equipped prototype flew on June 26 1942, and the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft on July 30, 1942. The first production aircraft off the line flew on 3 October 1942; the type reached operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex in March 1943.

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Construction

Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was a tough, straightforward aircraft, designed for ease of manufacture and ability to return safely to the carrier with severe damage. 212 lb (96 kg) of cockpit armor was fitted to aid pilot survival, as well as a bullet-resistant windshield and armor around the engine oil tank and oil cooler. Self-sealing fuel tanks further reduced susceptibility to fire and often allowed damaged aircraft to return home. It was so structurally strong that it could soak up more damage than other planes that had more armor and not fall to pieces. It was described by one Navy pilot as "tough, hard-hitting, dependable - one hell of an aircraft".

The family resemblance to the earlier aircraft was strong, but the Hellcat wasn't just a bigger, heavier, faster Wildcat. Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track undercarriage retracting into the fuselage by hand, the Hellcat had hydraulically-actuated undercarriage struts set wider and retracting backward into the wings. The wing was low-mounted instead of mid-mounted. It also had the greatest wing area of any World War II fighter with 334 square feet. The first operational Hellcats were designated F6F-3's.

Armament consisted of the same six 0.5 in. (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 400 rounds each, as later Grumman-built Wildcats; later aircraft gained three hardpoints to carry a total load in excess of 2,000 lb. (900 kg) bombs. The center hardpoint also had the ability to carry a single 150 U.S. gallon (568 L) disposable drop tank. Six 5 in. (127 mm) HVAR's (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) could be carried; three under each wing.

The next and most common variant was the F6F-5 which featured improvements such as all-metal control surfaces, replacement of rear windows with armor, improved visibility through the windshield as well as numerous other minor advances. Another improvement of the F6F-5 was its ability to carry either the standard armament of six 0.5 in. (12.7 mm) machine guns, or a new, more powerful fit of a pair of Hispano 0.79 in. (20 mm) cannon carrying a minimum effective load of 220 rounds each along with two pairs of 0.5 in. (12.7 mm) machine guns; each armed with 400 rounds. All production F6F-5's had the ability to be fitted with the different armament fits, but only F6F-5N night-fighters, equipped with radar, ever used the latter gun fit.

Two F6F-5's were fitted with the 18-cylinder 2,100 hp (1,567 kW) Pratt and Whitney R-2800-18W two-stage blower radial engine which was also used by the F4U-4 Corsair. The new Hellcat variant was fitted with a four-bladed propellor and was called the XF6F-6. The aircraft proved to perform better than the F4U-4 in many respects but was less diligent than the F4U mainly in the classes of top speed and rate of roll. The F6F-6 did not enter service as the P & W R-2800-18W was reserved for the less numerous F4U.

The last Hellcat tolled out in November 1945, the total production figure being 12,272, of which 11,000 had been built in just two years. This impressive production rate was credited on the sound original design, which required little modification once production was underway.

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Action

The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943 when fighters off the USS Independence (CVL-22) shot down a snooping seaplane. Soon after, on 23 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 November 11, 1943, Hellcats were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M Zeroes, claiming more than 100 victories while losing few F6Fs. The "Thach Weave" had developed into a formation tactic by that time. Each time an enemy fighter made a run at a section of US fighters, the pursued Hellcats would break towards the opposing formation who would cross over and force the Japanese to break off or set themselves up for disaster. All in all, the Hellcat did well against the Japanese fighters, and proved that with the right tactics & teamwork the beginning of the end was at hand for the Japanese Empire in the Pacific.

Hellcats were involved in practically all engagements with Japanese air power from that point onward, and they were war-winning aircraft. With an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1, the F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 306 Hellcat aces. (The P-51 Mustang, considered the best overall aircraft of World War Two, produced 275 American aces.) The F6F's omnipresence in the Pacific firmly swung the air-power balance in favor of the United States. It was 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.

The British Fleet Air Arm received 1,263 F6Fs under the Lend-Lease Act and dubbed it Gannet. The name Hellcat was eventually retained for the sake of simplicity, with the F6F-3 being called Hellcat F.I, the F6F-5 the Hellcat F.II, and the F6F-5N the Hellcat NF.II. They saw action off Norway, in the Mediterranean, and in the Far East. They were rapidly replaced by British aircraft after the end of the war.

Though extensively replaced in U.S. service by the Grumman F8F Bearcat after the war, the Hellcat already made a great reputation for itself, being very maneuverable and extremely tough in terms of structural strength - as well as earning a combat record second to none, with its unbeatable kill ratio.

The French Aéronavale was also equipped with Hellcats and used them in Indochina. The navy of Uruguay also used them until the early 1960s.

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