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The Grumman F6F-3
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Grumman F6F Hellcat
The F6F was largely a development of Grumman's earlier F4F Wildcat carrier fighter. Grumman's new F6F design was bigger than the F4F and featured a lower mounted wing with wide track undercarriage.
First flight of the aircraft took place in June 1942, and the aircraft was in service by late 1942 in F6F-3 form. Production F6F aircraft were powered by the widely used Pratt & Whitney R2800 Double Wasp radial engine of 2,000hp, the same type of engine as used in the Corsair and P-47. In the bulky F6F-3 Hellcat this gave a top speed of around 375mph and an operational ceiling of over 37,000ft.
The Hellcat had a range of over 1,000 miles and mounted six 0.5 inch Browning mgs in the wing.
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The F6F was designed to take on and win against the successful Japanese A6M Zero fighter. When employed against the Zero, F6F aircraft were superior in most respects. The American machine was faster, more powerful, had a higher ceiling and was far better armoured than the earlier Japanese aircraft, only losing out if the pilot tried to turn with the nimble Zero.
Other Japanese fighter planes were also at a disadvantage when up against the F6F, though the excellent Kawasaki Ki-61 Tony when flown well was a seriously able adversary.
First operations were made by the British Fleet Air Arm in July 43 followed by the U.S. Navy at the end of August. The aircraft quickly took it's place as the United State's major carrier fighter replacing F4F Wildcats from the fleets, and was used in just about all the major carrier engagements from late 1943 to V.J. day.
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Grumman F6F-5
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When it comes to combat wins the numbers chalked up by the F6F puts the aircraft in a league of it's own for a Pacific operated fighter aircraft. Around 80% of U.S. carrier based air to air victories in the Pacific were awarded to Hellcat pilots.
An improved version, the F6F-5 Hellcat entered service in 1944. This variant incorporated various modification including an improved 2,200hp Double Wasp engine, control surface changes and various aerodynamic changes. The F6F-5 was the largest production model of Hellcat with around 6,436 being manufactured. Total production for all Grumman F6F aircraft was around 12,272.
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| Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat |
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| Engine | Double Wasp R2800 radial
2000hp |
Top Speed | 375mph |
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| Weight | approx 12,440lb take off |
Wingspan | 42ft 10 inches |
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| Length | 33ft 7 inches |
Armament | 6x half inch Browning mgs |
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| Country | USA |
Crew | one |
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Plenty of manufacturers have produced fine models of the Grumman Hellcat in various scales. Italeri have produced 1/72nd scale models of both the F6F-3 and F6F-5 variants including the nightfighter version with the radome. Hasegawa have made Hellcats in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/32nd scale to their usual high standard. Trumpeter, Tamiya, Airfix and other manufacturers have also produced fine scale models.
There's an article on this site which looks inside the box of the /Revell Hellcat F6F-5N kit
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