Grumman F4f Wildcat

Download or read book F4F Wildcat vs A6M Zero-sen written by Edward M. Young and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-08-20 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Grumman F4F Wildcat and the Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen were contemporaries, although designed to very different requirements. The Wildcat, ruggedly built to survive the rigors of carrier operations, was the best carrier fighter the US Navy had available when the USA entered World War II, and it remained the principal fighter for the US Navy and the US Marine Corps until 1942–43. With a speed greater than 300mph, exceptional manoeuvrability, long range, and an impressive armament the slick Zero-sen could out-perform any Allied fighter in 1941–42. The battles between the Wildcat and the Zero-sen during 1942 represent a classic duel in which pilots flying a nominally inferior fighter successfully developed air-combat tactics that negated the strengths of their opponent.

Download or read book F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat Aces of VF-2 written by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-02-20 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated history of the pilots of VF-2 who had a spectacular scoring rate and fought in many of the major aerial campaigns of the Pacific War. The first VF-2 was a prewar unit that had been dubbed the 'hottest outfit afloat' due to the skill of their non-commissioned pilots. This first unit only saw combat at the Battle of the Coral Sea, although VF-2 pilots flying Grumman F4F Wildcats were able to rack up 17 claims there during the bitter 48-hour period of fighting. The second 'Fighting Two' was armed with the new Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter. Arriving in Hawaii in October 1943, the squadron so impressed Cdr Edward H 'Butch' O'Hare, the Medal of Honor-winning first US Navy ace of World War 2, that he requested the squadron replace VF-6 in his CAG-6 aboard USS Enterprise. No unit US Navy unit created more aces than VF-2, whose pilots went into action over the Carolines, Marianas, Guam, Iwo Jima and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Using exquisite photographs and first-hand accounts from the elite fliers themselves, this volume tells the story of the ace pilots who comprised the original VF-2 and the second.

Download or read book Grumman F6F Hellcat written by Corwin H. Meyer and published by Naval Fighters. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Grumman F6F Hellcat was the most important Naval aircraft in WWII. Without it the Pacific war would have had a very protracted conclusion. The F6F was built to Roy Grumman's simple design philosophy "Grumman will only build an easily-produced, maintained and reliable combat aircraft that can be readily mastered by a 200-hour, war-time pilot trained to fly from a carrier, engage in successful combat, sustain combat damage, return to the carrier, and land his aircraft after dark so that he can be available for combat again the next day." Because the F6F was all that, it earned Grumman the nick name "The Ironworks." Grumman built 12,275 Hellcats during WWII in its successful effort of clearing the skys of the Japanese. The XF6F was first flown on August 8, 1942 and the production version, the F6F-3 flew on October 3, 1942. The F6F-3 first entered squadron service with VF-9 on January 16, 1943 and drew its first blood over Marcus Island on August 31, 1943. The Hellcat shot down 5,156 enemy aircraft, for a kill-to-loss ratio of 19-to-1, while producing 307 aces. This was the aircraft of the largest one-day air battle of all time, the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" where more than 540 Hellcats fought 440 Japanese naval aircraft backed by up to 600 Japanese Army aircraft. Result was 354 enemy aircraft kills were claimed by the Hellcats while only 16 F6Fs were lost to Japanese aircraft. The Hellcat would see combat as photo birds (F6F-3P/5Ps) and night fighters (F6F-3E/3N/5E/5Ns) too as well as the improved F6F-5 fighter. The book covers the F6Fs development, testing, and production written by Grumman's test pilot "Corky" Meyer. This is followed by technical details and a running combat narrative. The Marines, British, French, and European action is covered as well as training command during and after WWII and sections on post war, reserve, drones, and Hellcat prey.

Download or read book Grumman F4F wildcat written by Andre R. Zbiegniewski and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Grumman F4F Wildcat written by Oleksandr Boiko and published by Topdrawings. This book was released on 2018-01-23 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Grumman's fighters represent the strength of the US Navy Air Force during World War 2. The first of the family to prove itself in combat was F4F Wildcat which took part in defense of Wake Atoll as well as Battle of Midway. Its successor - remarkably good F6F Hellcat - became a legend for being the best carrier-based fighter in the mentioned conflict. The line was continued by F8F Bearcat which entered the service at the end of war but did not manage to take part in combat. The Grumman Company continued the tradition of designing excellent carrier-based aircrafts after the war, in the jet era. Surely, the two most recognizable jets from Grumman's stable were supersonic F-14 Tomcat (with variable-sweep wing) and A-6 Intruder. In the second half of the thirties, Grumman developed a line of carrier-based biplanes. A very good SF-1 started the series. It was the first American fighter with retractable undercarriage. SF-1 became the base for the F2F fighter. After lengthening of the fuselage and increasing the wings bearing surface it quickly became the F3F version. Every next model was better than previous. The F4F was planned next, also as the biplane, but during the construction the conception was changed and engineers decided to apply the mid-wing airframe. It started the long line of superb Grumman's fighters. The new aircraft was tested in air on the 2nd of September 1937. The first serial planes, marked as F4F-2, were manufactured from August 1939. The plane had innovative wing folding system which put both wings along the fuselage to minimize the space needed to store it in carriers' hangar. This unique mechanical solution became one of the hallmarks of Grumman's planes. Interestingly, the undercarriage was retracted manually by the pilot with the help of a special crank installed in the cockpit. The name "Wildcat" was used for the first time in 1941.

Download or read book Modelling the F4F Wildcat written by Mark Glidden and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-08-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The F4F Wildcat was an aircraft of the type of which legends are made. Without the handling performance that made the Japanese Zero so famous, it was well regarded for its ruggedness and firepower and, in the hands of a skilled pilot who understood both its strengths and weaknesses, it was capable of holding its own against the best that its opponents had to offer. This book details projects that encompass four variants of the F4 Wildcat. As they were supplied to a number of air forces during the war, including the RAF, there is a wide range of markings available to modellers which are also dealt with in detail. Covering a range of modelling abilities from a beginner's first build to an expert scratch-building extras, this book is illustrated with full-colour step-by-step photographs.

Download or read book Grumman F4F Wildcat written by Zbigniew Kolacha and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-10 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 40 color profiles of the Grumman F4F Wildcat versions. Specially commissioned profiles with high level details.