It is no wonder that the Grumman F6F Hellcat no doubt was the war’s most effective fighting fighter. From the prototype flying status breakout, it progressed into actual service for over 18 months from its original test runs.
The Hellcats of an attack by the men of VF-5 on the waters surrounding Marcus Island came off bloodied in August of 1943 aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10). This aircraft outstripped the legendary Japanese A6M Zero, boasting a kill tally of 5,156 hostile aircraft, accounting for 75 percent of the U.S. Navy’s air-to-air victories.
Grumman had started the G-50 design, to be called XF6F-1 by mid-1941. The prototype was first flown in June 1942, powered with an early version of the 1,700 horsepower Wright R-2600-10. Because of redesigning, the second prototype accommodated a 2,000 horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 and first took to the air a month later. That proved to be an immediate large production contract for the XF6F-3.
The first production F6F-3 flew in October 1942, and the first deliveries were made to VF-9 in early 1943. VF-5 put the first combat mission for the F6F-3 into the Marcus Island raid on 31 August 1943 from the carrier Yorktown (CV-10).
By 1944 it had become the Navy’s standard carrier-based fighter. The company produced 4,403 F6F-3s with a further 150 F6F-3Ns plus F6F-3Es, some Photographic reconnaissance variants F6F-3Ps.
The F6F-5 model entered service in 1944, with an overwhelming number of improvements over the F6F-3 model. Its cowling was entirely revised, the windshield was improved, and the 2,000 lb. bomb was fitted to centerline mounts.
The F6F-5 had rocket rails under the wings, and on some aircraft, a variation to two 20mm cannons and four 50-caliber machine guns in the wings.
A total of 6,681 F6F-5s were produced which also included 1,189 night fighters designated F6F-5N and a few photo-reconnaissance variants designated F6F-5P. More than 1,182 F6F-3s and -5s were accepted by the Royal Navy.
Grumman’s philosophy was to design an airplane to be mastered quickly, with easy takeoffs from the carrier, and that should exceed the enemy in capability. In short, the pilots fell in love with their Hellcat since it had an amazing 19:1 kill ratio.
Hellcat pilots accounted for 5,156 enemy aircraft shot down during the war, 75 percent of all the Navy’s aerial victories. Late in the war, the Navy conducted tests comparing Allied and captured Axis fighters; Hellcats bested most categories.
Greatly improved by their design-to-production time, a remarkable achievement that can well be pointed to with pride. Within three years, Grumman would be churning out 12,275 Hellcats from its still partially uncompleted Bethpage Plant Number 3, even as the first F6Fs were being built inside.
But the Hellcat’s influence did not end when the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps were done with it. Lend-Lease delivered 1,268 F6Fs to the British Royal Navy, which renamed them initially Grumman Gannet Mk., then changed to Hellcat.
Like the Americans, Royal Navy Hellcats supported the invasion of Normandy, and the aircraft sported invasion identity stripes.
Perhaps the dominance of the Hellcat over the Pacific Theater can best be described in the exploits of Medal of Honor recipient Capt.
David McCampbell shot down a record nine Japanese aircraft in a single mission on October 24, 1944. The total for the top Navy ace was 34. Armed with rockets and four 20mm guns, but with armor designed to protect the pilot, once in the air, the Hellcat became hard to defeat, even against the very highly maneuverable Japanese Zero.