F6F Hellkat

[sc_rufctr]

Enjoy!

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by john70t

Wake was an overwhelming victory for the USA.

John, maybe you meant Midway?
Wake was bombed several hours after Pearl Harbor, and was lost two weeks later.
It remained in Japanese control for the rest of the war.

Four Marine F4F Wildcats defended Wake after the initial bombing raid, and sank a Japanese destroyer in a failed invasion attempt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wake_Island

[Jolly Amaranto]

I seem to remember that the F6F saw its first major air to air combat during a raid on Wake Island on October 5th and 6th 1943, where it proved its superiority over the Zero.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by smadsen

In the mid-90's I was wandering around Camarillo Airport and stumbled across the Commerative Air Force collection....

It was still the Confederate Air Force then.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by SpyderMike

edgemar - you are in So Cal...have you been to Chino Planes of Fame Museum? They have all kinds of WW2 warbirds there and fly a different one each month after a seminar on it. Pretty sure I have seen a Hellcat there.

They do not list a Hellcat in their inventory... they have a Jug, which some confuse with a Hellcat at a glance.

They have, maybe, 120 planes there from 10-12 different countries.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by Ryan_Cunningham

Concur. I think the reason you see so many more Mustangs, Spitfires, and Corsairs is largely because people recognized early on how beautiful and unique they were when compared to other aircraft of the time and made it a point to keep them.

The Mustang and Corsair stayed in inventory longer because they were also good ground attack platforms. A bit like the F4 Phantom had long inventory times because it was versatile. The Hellcat was a great adversary to the Japanese planes and freed the Corsair to carry the ground attack role and overcome its carrier teething problems. There were many Japanese pilots met their end thinking the Hellcat was a Wildcat due to the similar shapes and fighting them in the vertical.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Jon B

John, maybe you meant Midway?

omg. Yes I meant Midway. Midway. Not sure how I got those mixed up. Been watching some old war propaganda films WW2 Flying Fighters, War in the Pacific, War in Europe, Battle of Britain and trying to absorb all the details and stats.
Thx for correcting that.

[edgemar]

I went to the Chino airshow a few years back... Wow! Most warbirds I've ever seen flying at once.

Originally Posted by SpyderMike

edgemar - you are in So Cal...have you been to Chino Planes of Fame Museum? They have all kinds of WW2 warbirds there and fly a different one each month after a seminar on it. Pretty sure I have seen a Hellcat there.

[sc_rufctr]

This is an older video but it's still worth watching. Lots of info and they fold the wings near the end.

[Geronimo '74]

cool video.
How easy do those wings fold back! Amazing.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by Geronimo '74

cool video.
How easy do those wings fold back! Amazing.

Leroy Grumman figured out that folding mechanism with some paper clips and 3x5 cards, I read. Only Wildcat and Hellcat...

Everything else just folded straight up.

I built a model Hcat as a kid and it had that hinge as part of the kit, so the wings twisted and folded back on the kit, too. Very cool (Monagram, I think)
https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/us/lacombemcf6f.htm

[Halm]

My father-in-law flew both the Corsair and Hellcat toward the end of WW2 through Korea. His favorite was the Corsair but he thought the Hellcat was much easier to fly.

We went to a Confederate Air show in the early 1980's and it was the first time he had seen a Corsair in about 25 years. It was the emotional I have ever seen him.

[Ryan_Cunningham]

Originally Posted by Halm

My father-in-law flew both the Corsair and Hellcat toward the end of WW2 through Korea. His favorite was the Corsair but he thought the Hellcat was much easier to fly.

We went to a Confederate Air show in the early 1980's and it was the first time he had seen a Corsair in about 25 years. It was the emotional I have ever seen him.

I'd love to be able to talk to all those guys over a nice bourbon and compare experiences...

I interviewed a USMC Huey turned Phantom driver from Vietnam for a project in one of my senior year college courses. Great stories. He ultimately regretted the transition saying he didn't fit in with the fighter guys as they were too competitive in everything they did. He did remember busting Mach 2 though!

[Ryan_Cunningham]

Originally Posted by flipper35

The Mustang and Corsair stayed in inventory longer because they were also good ground attack platforms. A bit like the F4 Phantom had long inventory times because it was versatile. The Hellcat was a great adversary to the Japanese planes and freed the Corsair to carry the ground attack role and overcome its carrier teething problems. There were many Japanese pilots met their end thinking the Hellcat was a Wildcat due to the similar shapes and fighting them in the vertical.

I knew of the Corsair's air-to-ground capabilities, not as familiar with the Mustang's. Probably due to the fact that the USMC flew F4Us vice P-51s.

[KNS]

^^ During the Korean war many Mustangs were brought out of storage and guard units were activated for the ground attack role.

The Mustangs were certainly capable but were also vulnerable to ground fire from below. A hit to the cooling system/radiator resulted in a many losses.

As you probably know, Corsairs were also used for (mostly) ground attack in Korea but the air cooled radials could take more punishment without having to worry about loss of coolant.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by Ryan_Cunningham

I knew of the Corsair's air-to-ground capabilities, not as familiar with the Mustang's. Probably due to the fact that the USMC flew F4Us versus P-51s.

The Jug was much better in this role, but for some reason they were really not used in Korea.... just turned into ingots. With its radial, it could take a ton of punishment and still make it back. We built as many P-47's as P-51's also.

The Navy/Marines (Corsair) didn't fly AAF planes (Mustang), generally. They avoided liquid-cooled engines like the plague.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by KNS

^^ During the Korean war many Mustangs were brought out of storage and guard units were activated for the ground attack role.

The Mustangs were certainly capable but were also vulnerable to ground fire from below. A hit to the cooling system/radiator resulted in a many losses.

As you probably know, Corsairs were also used for (mostly) ground attack in Korea but the air cooled radials could take more punishment without having to worry about loss of coolant.

The Corsair also shot down at least one Mig-15 in Korea when the pilot came to play on the low and slow arena. The only piston engine aircraft to do so in Korea. AFAIK.

The Skyraider went on to build on the rugged radial CAS role.

Until it got the Merlin engine, the Mustang was used quite a bit in WWII for ground attack.

[Cajundaddy]

In SoCal we get a lot of air shows and I have seen a Hellcat a few times, also a rare P-38. Lots of Mustangs still around. A family friend with "too much money" owned a P-51 for a while and though a rated airline pilot it scared the sheit out of him. Add a little too much throttle on takeoff and the prop torque would flip the plane over. He sold it fairly quickly.

[flipper35]

I remember Spitfire pilots talking about that too, and the Spit had much narrower gear. Adding throttle too quickly was the issue.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by tcar

The Jug was much better in this role, but for some reason they were really not used in Korea.... just turned into ingots. With its radial, it could take a ton of punishment and still make it back. We built as many P-47's as P-51's also.

That's an interesting point. P-47s did serve with some National Guard units after the war (though in smaller numbers compared to the Mustang). I wonder why they weren't sent over.