NationMaster - Encyclopedia: F6F Hellcat

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a fighter plane descended from the earlier F4F Wildcat, but was a completely new design sharing only a familial resemblance to the Wildcat. Some tagged it as "Wildcat's big brother" ^[1]. The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary United States Navy carrier fighters in the second half of World War II. Grumman F6F Hellcat. ... An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading producer of military and civilian aircraft of the 20th century. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... (Redirected from 26 June) June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942: Events January January 30 - Canadian Pacific Air Lines formed by the acquisition and merger of Arrow Airways and Canadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1943: Events January January 27 - the USAAF makes its first daylight raid on Germany January 30 - Royal Air Force de Havilland Mosquitos make the first daylight air-raid on Berlin January 30-31 – the H2S radar is used by RAF... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1954: Events January January 10 - a BOAC de Havilland Comet crashes into the Mediterranean Sea near Elba with the loss of all 35 people aboard. ... USN redirects here. ... The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States military responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... The French Navy, officially called the National Navy (French: Marine Nationale) is the maritime arm of the French military. ... The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading producer of military and civilian aircraft of the 20th century. ... A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... F4F-3 Wildcat of Lt. ... The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was an American fighter aircraft that saw service in World War II and the Korean War (and in isolated local conflicts). ... USN redirects here. ... Four aircraft carriers, (bottom-to-top) Principe de Asturias, amphibious assault carrier USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and light V/STOL carrier HMS Invincible, showing size differences of late 20th century carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and in most cases recover aircraft, acting as a sea... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,171 aircraft in service with the US Navy and US Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and 8 more during the invasion of Southern France), plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II. Postwar, the Hellcat aircraft was rapidly phased out of front line service, finally retiring in 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons. This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ...

Design and development

Grumman was working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat well before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While the F4F was a capable fighter, early air battles revealed the Japanese A6M Zero was more maneuverable and possessed a better rate of climb than the F4F. The F4F did have some advantages over the Zero. Wildcats were able to absorb a tremendous amount of damage compared to the Zero, and had better armament. The F4F was also much faster in a dive than the Zero, an advantage Wildcat pilots used frequently to elude attacking Zeros. Image File history File links Hellcats_F6F-3. ... Image File history File links Hellcats_F6F-3. ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Randolph alongside a repair ship at Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands on 13 March 1945, showing damage to her after flight deck resulting from a kamikaze hit on 11 March. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... USS Yorktown (CV/CVS-10) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and is now a museum ship at Patriots Point , Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero wreck abandoned at Munda Airfield, Central Solomons, 1943. ...

These advantages carried over into the F6F and, combined with other improvements, created a fighter that outclassed the Zero almost completely. The contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The F6F was originally to be given the Wright R-2600 Cyclone engine of 1,700 hp (1,268 kW), but based on combat experience of F4F Wildcat and Zero encounters, Grumman decided to further improve their new fighter to overcome the Mitsubishi Zero's dominance in the Pacific theater. ^[1]Grumman installed the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) estimating a 25% increase in performance would result.^[1] The first, Cyclone-equipped prototype (02981) flew on 26 June 1942 while the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3 (02982) had its first flight on 30 July 1942. is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... The Wright R-2600 Cyclone 14 (also called Twin Cyclone) was an engine widely used in American aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. ... F4F-3 Wildcat of Lt. ... Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Model 52 The Mitsubishi A6M was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. ... Pratt & Whitney R-2800 The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was an aircraft engine, and part of the long-lived Wasp family. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Proposed at the same time as the first Hellcat prototypes, the XF6F-2 incorporated a turbo-supercharger but performance gains were only slight and until fleet demands for improvements in speed, this variant, along with the two-speed supercharger-equipped XF6F-3, languished. However, later F6F-4 and F6F-5 variants did benefit from these initial development programs.

Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage. A total of 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.^[2] Self-sealing fuel tanks further reduced susceptibility to fire and often allowed damaged aircraft to return home. The US Navy's all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell USN (retired) scored all his 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." ^[3] Self-sealing fuel tanks are an aviation technology developed during World War II, when it quickly became apparent that fighter aircraft lacked adequate protection. ... Captain David McCampbell (January 16, 1910 - June 30, 1996) was an American aviator, who became the US Navyâ€™s all-time leading ace with 34 aerial victories during World War II. McCambell was born in Bessemer, Alabama, and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. ...

The first production aircraft off the line, designated F6F-3s, flew on 3 October 1942 with the type reaching operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex in February 1943.^[2] is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The fourth USS Essex (CV-9) (also CVA-9 and CVS-9) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier, the lead ship of her class. ...

Two night fighter subvariants of the F6F-3 were also developed. The F6F-3E, converted from standard -3 frames, featured the AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing in the starboard wing. The later F6F-3N, first seen in July of 1943, was fitted with the AN/APS-6 radar in a similar fairing. By November of 1943, Hellcat night fighters had seen their first action.^[4] Fitting AN/APS-6 radar fairings to F6F-5s resulted in the night fighter F6F-5N, and a small number of standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P.^[5]

Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track undercarriage retracting into the fuselage requiring awkward hand-cranking by the pilot, the Hellcat had hydraulically-actuated undercarriage struts set wider and retracting backward, twisting through 90° into the wings^[6]. The wing was low-mounted instead of mid-mounted and folded the same way as the later versions of the Wildcat, allowing the Hellcat to take on a compact, tucked-in appearance on a flight deck. ^[7] Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87s, with fixed conventional landing gear. ...

Standard armament on the F6F consisted of six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 400 rounds each; later aircraft gained three hardpoints to carry a total bombload in excess of 2,000 lbs. (900 kg). 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) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) could be carried; three under each wing.^[8] A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... Drop tanks on a F-16 Fighting Falcon. ... Hvar (Croatia) For the acronym, see HVAR. Hvar (Lesina in Italian) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast. ...

The next and most common variant, the F6F-5, featured improvements such as all-metal control surfaces, replacement of rear windows with armor, improved visibility through the windshield, and numerous other minor advances^[6]. Another improvement in the F6F-5 was the availability of more potent armament than the standard six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns. Trials with cannon-armed Hellcats were not followed up by a production version, although the armament mix of a pair of Hispano 20 mm (0.79 in.) cannon carrying a minimum effective load of 220 rounds each, along with two pairs of .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns; each armed with 400 rounds was later used on many F6F-5N night fighters. ^[9] All production F6F-5s had the ability to be fitted with the different armament configurations, but only F6F-5N night-fighters, equipped with radar, ever used the latter gun fit^[9].

Two F6F-5s 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 propeller and was called the XF6F-6. The aircraft proved to be the best performer in the series with a top speed of 417 mph^[6]. Plans for mass production of this variant were cancelled with the advent of VJ day. ^[10]

The last Hellcat rolled out in November 1945, the total production figure being 12,275, of which 11,000 had been built in just two years.^[11] This impressive production rate was credited to the sound original design, which required little modification once production was underway.

Operational history

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.^{[citation needed]} Soon after, on 23 November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over Tarawa, shooting down a claimed 30 Mitsubishi Zeros for the loss of one F6F.^{[citation needed]} Over Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943, Hellcats were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M Zeros, claiming more than 100 victories while losing few F6Fs.^{[citation needed]} Hellcats also utilized the "Thach Weave", which had been developed into a formation tactic to compensate for the older F4F Wildcat's deficiencies. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links F6F_Yorktown_green. ... Image File history File links F6F_Yorktown_green. ... USS Yorktown (CV/CVS-10) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and is now a museum ship at Patriots Point , Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. ... Then Lt. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 394 pixel Image in higher resolution (1045 Ã— 515 pixel, file size: 80 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) F6Fs with wings folded, TBM Avenger on landing approach. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 394 pixel Image in higher resolution (1045 Ã— 515 pixel, file size: 80 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) F6Fs with wings folded, TBM Avenger on landing approach. ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of the Tarawa atoll Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. ... Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Model 52 The Mitsubishi A6M was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. ... Remains of an internal staircase in Rabaul. ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero wreck abandoned at Munda Airfield, Central Solomons, 1943. ... An example of the Thach Weave The Thach Weave was an aerial combat tactic developed by naval aviator John S. Thach of the United States Navy early during World War II. Thach had heard of the Japanese Mitsubishi Zeros extraordinary maneuverability and climb rate before he ever experienced it...

Hellcats were involved in practically all engagements with Japanese air power from that point onward. 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.^{[citation needed]} Radar-equipped Hellcat night fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944. Combatants United States Navy Imperial Japanese Navy Commanders Ray Spruance Jisaburo Ozawa Kakuji Kakuta Strength 7 fleet carriers, 8 light carriers, 7 battleships, 79 other ships, 28 submarines, 956 planes 5 fleet carriers, 4 light carriers, 5 battleships, 43 other ships, 450 carrier-based planes, 300 land-based planes Casualties... Combatants United States Navy Imperial Japanese Navy Commanders Ray Spruance Jisaburo Ozawa Kakuji Kakuta Strength 7 fleet carriers, 8 light carriers, 7 battleships, 79 other ships, 28 submarines, 956 planes 5 fleet carriers, 4 light carriers, 5 battleships, 43 other ships, 450 carrier-based planes, 300 land-based planes Casualties... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ...

Navy and Marine F6Fs flew 66,530 combat sorties (45% of all fighter sorties of the war, 62,386 sorties were flown from aircraft carriers^[12]) and destroyed 5,163 enemy aircraft (56% of all Naval/Marine air victories of the war) at a cost of 270 Hellcats (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1).^[13] The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a 13:1 kill ratio against Mitsubishi A6M, 9.5:1 against Nakajima Ki-84, 28:0 against Kawanishi N1K-J, and 3.7:1 against Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war.^[14] The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 306 Hellcat aces.^[15] That being said, it must be noted that the US successes were not only attributed to superior aircraft, but also because they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators from 1942 onwards. Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero wreck abandoned at Munda Airfield, Central Solomons, 1943. ... The Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (ç–¾é¢¨, Gale) was a single-seat fighter used by the Japanese Imperial Army in World War II. It was the last in Nakajimas line of classic fighters and considered one of the best-performing craft from any country. ... The Kawanishi N1K1-J Shiden (ç´«é›» Violet Lightning) was a land-based version of the companys N1K Kyofu seaplane fighter aircraft. ... The Mitsubishi J2M Raiden (é›·é›», Thunderbolt) was a single-engine, land-based fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The Allied codename was Jack. // The J2M was designed by Jiro Horikoshi, creator of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. It was strictly a local-defense interceptor intended to...

The British Fleet Air Arm received 1,263 F6Fs under the Lend-Lease Act and dubbed it Gannet I. The name Hellcat was eventually retained in early 1943 for the sake of simplicity, with the F6F-3 being designated 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. A number were fitted with photographic reconnaissance equipment similar to the F6F-5P, receiving the designation Hellcat FR II.^[16] 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 twelve squadrons equipped with the Hellcat at VJ-Day still retaining Hellcats by the end of 1945 ^[17]. These two squadrons were disbanded in 1946^[17]. In British service, the Hellcats proved to be a match even for the main Luftwaffe fighters, the Bf 109 and Fw 190. The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... The Lend-Lease program was a program of the United States during World War II that allowed the United States to provide the Allied Powers with war material without becoming directly involved in the war. ... For other uses, see Gannet (disambiguation) Species Morus bassanus Morus capensis Morus serrator Synonyms Moris Gannets are seabirds in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... The far east as a cultural block includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and South Asia. ... The Lend-Lease program was a program of the United States during World War II that allowed the United States to provide the Allied Powers with war material without becoming directly involved in the war. ... (Bf 109 was the official Reichsluftfahrtministerium designation, though some late_war aircraft actually carried the Me 109 designation stamped onto their aircraft type plates. ... Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in flight. ...

Postwar, the Hellcat was succeeded by the Grumman F8F Bearcat which eclipsed the F6F in performance but was developed too late to see combat in World War II. The Hellcat soldiered on in a number of second line USN duties including training. The French Aéronavale was equipped with F6F-5 Hellcats and used them in Indochina. The Uruguay Navy also used them until the early 1960s^[18]. The Grumman F8F Bearcat (affectionately called Bear) was the companys final piston engined fighter aircraft. ... The Aviation Navale (Naval Air Force) of the French Navy includes 162 airplanes (138 of them combat-capable) and 6 800 men, both civilians and military personel. ... Indochina 1886 Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ...

Operators

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Aviation Navale (Naval Aviation) of the French Navy includes 162 airplanes (138 of them combat-capable) and 6,800 men, both civilians and military personel. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Paraguay. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... USN redirects here. ... The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States military responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Uruguay. ... The armed forces of Uruguay are constitutionally subordinate to the president through the Minister of Defense. ...

Specifications (F6F-5 Hellcat)

Data from Quest for Performance^[19], Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II^[20], and Standard Aircraft Characteristics^[21] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The second USS Bennington (CV-20) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand Empire of Japan Commanders Simon B. Buckner â€ Joseph W. Stilwell Ray Spruance Mitsuru Ushijima â€ Isamu Cho â€ Strength 548,000 soldiers, 1,300 ships, ? aircraft 100,000 regulars and militia, ? ships, ? aircraft Casualties 12,513 dead or missing, 38,916 wounded, 33... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... For the kite, see foil kite. ... The NACA airfoils are airfoil shapes for aircraft wings developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... Pratt & Whitney R-2800 The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp was an aircraft engine, and part of the long-lived Wasp family. ... The radial engine is an internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel. ... A supercharger (also known as a blower) is an air compressor used to force more air (and hence more oxygen) into the combustion chamber(s) of an internal combustion engine than can be achieved at ambient atmospheric pressure (natural aspiration). ... In aerodynamics, the zero-lift drag coefficient is a dimensionless parameter which relates an aircrafts zero-lift drag force to its size, speed, and flying altitude. ... In aerodynamics, the zero-lift drag coefficient is a dimensionless parameter which relates an aircrafts zero-lift drag force to its size, speed, and flying altitude. ... The low aspect ratio wing of a Piper PA-28 Cherokee In aerodynamics, the aspect ratio is an airplanes wings span divided by its standard mean chord (SMC). ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... Stall speed is an aerodynamic term. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Power-to-weight ratio is a measure commonly used when comparing various vehicles (or engines), including automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft. ... In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio, or L/D ratio (ell-over-dee, as opposed to ell-dee), is the amount of lift generated by a wing, compared to the drag it creates by moving through the air. ... It has been suggested that K6 HMG be merged into this article or section. ...

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Sullivan 1979, p. 4.
^ ^a ^b Kinzey 1987, p. 6.
^ Kinzey 1987, p. 58.
^ Green 1975, p. 91.
^ Green 1975, p. 93-94.
^ ^a ^b ^c Taylor 1969, p. 503.
^ Kinzey 1987, p. 14.
^ Sullivan 1979, p. 24, 30, 33.
^ ^a ^b Kinzey 1987, p. 27.
^ Sullivan 1979, p. 46.
^ Winchester 2004, p. 110.
^ Barber 1946, Table 1
^ ^a ^b Barber 1946, Table 2
^ Barber 1946, Table 28
^ Airforce Magazine. April 2006, p. 98. Airpower Classics
^ Green 1975, p. 93.
^ ^a ^b Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Fourth Edition. London: Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
^ Donald, David, ed. American Warplanes of World War II. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-874023-72-7.
^ Loftin, LK, Jr. Quest for performance: The evolution of modern aircraft. NASA SP-468. [1] Access date: 22 April 2006.
^ Jane, Fred T. “The Grumman Hellcat.” Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946, p. 233-234. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.
^ Standard Aircraft Characteristics: F6F-5 Hellcat. NAVAER 1335A.

External links

Contents

Design and development

Operational history

Operators

Specifications (F6F-5 Hellcat)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

References

External links

Related content

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Designation sequence

Related lists

Contents

Design and development GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Operational history

Operators

Specifications (F6F-5 Hellcat)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

References

External links

Related content

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Designation sequence

Related lists

Design and development