The prototype of this airplane flew for the first time on June 26, 1942, with initial deliveries of production F6Fs in January 1943. The Hellcat was credited with 4,947 enemy aircraft destroyed in air-to-air combat, and remained in first-line service with the US Navy for the remainder of World War II. When production of the airplane ended in November 1945, a total of 12,275 Hellcats had been built. The F6F-5 was powered by one 2,000-hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial piston engine, giving the airplane a maximum speed of 380 mph at 23,400 feet, cruising speed of 168 mph, initial climb rate of 2,980 feet per minute, service ceiling of 37,300 feet, and a range (with 150 gal drop-tank) of 1,530 miles. Airplane armament was six 50-caliber machine guns (some late models had two machine guns replace by 20-mm cannon), plus two 1,000-lb. bombs or six 5-in. rocket projectiles.

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a fighter aircraft 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". The name Hellcat was eventually retained in early 1943 for the sake of simplicity.

The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,171 aircraft in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II.

The first production aircraft off the line, designated F6F3s, flew on October 3, 1942 with the type reaching operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex i February 1943.

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 1943, was fitted with the AN/APS-6 radar in a similar fairing. Hellcat night fighters had their first action in November 1943.

The first real test of the F6F-3 against the Zero came a few months later in December when a groupof about a hundred Hellcats ripped into a like number of Japanese planes of which half were Zeros. In the ensuing battle, 28 of the Zeros were splashed for a total loss to the Hellcats of 3 planes.

Many U.S. Navy pilots had good cause to refer to the Hellcat as the "Aluminum Tank". With its six.50 caliber Browning M2 machine guns, it could spit out a veritable hail of destruction which no Japanese adversary could hope to survive. After the war, Japanese pilots related their fear and dread each time they were engaged by the Hellcat.

All airplane models are Hand Carved, Hand Painted Mahogany and come fully assembled with removable desk stand.

Dimensions: Wingspan, 16" -Length, 12.25" -Scale, 1/32

F6F Hellcat - Air Corps Price $127.95

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F6F Hellcat

F6F Hellcat $127.95

AM229AL or BL

This department is part of the Clem & Company store