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The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F
Wildcat in United States Navy service. Although the F6F bore a family resemblance to the Wildcat, it
was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as
the "Wildcat's big brother". The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters
during the second half of World War II.
The Hellcat was the first US Navy fighter for which the design took into account lessons from
combat with the Japanese Zero. The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval
history, destroying 5,271 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163
in the Pacific and eight 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 systematically phased out of
front line service, but remained in service as late as 1954 as a night-fighter in composite
squadrons.
The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943 when fighters off the USS
Independence shot down a Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat. 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. Over Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943,
Hellcats and Corsairs were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M
Zeros, shooting down nearly 50 aircraft.
When trials were flown against a captured Zero Type 52, they showed that the Hellcat was faster at
all altitudes. The F6F outclimbed the Zero marginally above 14,000 ft and rolled faster at speed
above 235 mph. The Japanese fighter could out-turn its American opponent with ease at low
speed and enjoyed a slightly better rate of climb below 14,000 ft. The trials report concluded:
“Do not dogfight with a Zero 52. Do not try to follow a loop or half-roll with a pull-through. When
attacking, use your superior power and high speed performance to engage at the most favourable
moment. To evade a Zero 52 on your tail, roll and dive away into a high speed turn.”
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. Radar-equipped Hellcat night fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944.
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) and destroyed 5,163 (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).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, and 3.7:1 against the Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war. The F6F
became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces. That being
said, it must be noted that the U.S. successes were not only attributed to superior aircraft, but also
because they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators from 1942 onwards, as well as
having the advantage of ever-increasing numerical superiority.
In the ground attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons (5,899 tonnes) of bombs.
The British Fleet Air Arm 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 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.[28] The FAA Hellcat units experienced far fewer
opportunities for air-to-air combat than their USN/Marines counterparts; a total of 52 enemy aircraft
were shot down during 18 aerial combats from May 1944 to July 1945. 1844 Naval Air Squadron,
on board HMS Indomitable of the British Pacific Fleet was the highest scoring unit, with 32.5 kills
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. These two squadrons were disbanded in 1946. In British
service, the Hellcats proved to be a match even for the main Luftwaffe fighters, the Messerschmitt
Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
Postwar, the Hellcat was succeeded by the F8F Bearcat which was smaller than the Wildcat yet
more powerful and more maneuverable than the Hellcat, but came online too late to see combat in
World War II. The Hellcat soldiered on in a number of second line USN duties including training. In
late 1952 Guided Missile Unit 90 used F6F-5K drones, each carrying a 2000lb bomb, to attack
bridges in Korea; flying from USS Boxer, radio control was from an escorting AD Skyraider. The
French Aéronavale was equipped with F6F-5 Hellcats and used them in Indochina. The Uruguayan
Navy also used them until the early 1960s.
Wildcat in United States Navy service. Although the F6F bore a family resemblance to the Wildcat, it
was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as
the "Wildcat's big brother". The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters
during the second half of World War II.
The Hellcat was the first US Navy fighter for which the design took into account lessons from
combat with the Japanese Zero. The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval
history, destroying 5,271 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163
in the Pacific and eight 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 systematically phased out of
front line service, but remained in service as late as 1954 as a night-fighter in composite
squadrons.
The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943 when fighters off the USS
Independence shot down a Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat. 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. Over Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943,
Hellcats and Corsairs were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M
Zeros, shooting down nearly 50 aircraft.
When trials were flown against a captured Zero Type 52, they showed that the Hellcat was faster at
all altitudes. The F6F outclimbed the Zero marginally above 14,000 ft and rolled faster at speed
above 235 mph. The Japanese fighter could out-turn its American opponent with ease at low
speed and enjoyed a slightly better rate of climb below 14,000 ft. The trials report concluded:
“Do not dogfight with a Zero 52. Do not try to follow a loop or half-roll with a pull-through. When
attacking, use your superior power and high speed performance to engage at the most favourable
moment. To evade a Zero 52 on your tail, roll and dive away into a high speed turn.”
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. Radar-equipped Hellcat night fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944.
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) and destroyed 5,163 (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).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, and 3.7:1 against the Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war. The F6F
became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces. That being
said, it must be noted that the U.S. successes were not only attributed to superior aircraft, but also
because they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators from 1942 onwards, as well as
having the advantage of ever-increasing numerical superiority.
In the ground attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons (5,899 tonnes) of bombs.
The British Fleet Air Arm 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 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.[28] The FAA Hellcat units experienced far fewer
opportunities for air-to-air combat than their USN/Marines counterparts; a total of 52 enemy aircraft
were shot down during 18 aerial combats from May 1944 to July 1945. 1844 Naval Air Squadron,
on board HMS Indomitable of the British Pacific Fleet was the highest scoring unit, with 32.5 kills
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. These two squadrons were disbanded in 1946. In British
service, the Hellcats proved to be a match even for the main Luftwaffe fighters, the Messerschmitt
Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
Postwar, the Hellcat was succeeded by the F8F Bearcat which was smaller than the Wildcat yet
more powerful and more maneuverable than the Hellcat, but came online too late to see combat in
World War II. The Hellcat soldiered on in a number of second line USN duties including training. In
late 1952 Guided Missile Unit 90 used F6F-5K drones, each carrying a 2000lb bomb, to attack
bridges in Korea; flying from USS Boxer, radio control was from an escorting AD Skyraider. The
French Aéronavale was equipped with F6F-5 Hellcats and used them in Indochina. The Uruguayan
Navy also used them until the early 1960s.
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| WWII TRAINING VIDEOS |
