Hellcat Vs Zero WWII, Wake Island. Pt.2

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Wildcat Hellcat World War II Grumman Zero Dauntless
bruce235001
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  • Added: 01-Sep-08

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.

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 enemy aircraft (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, 28:0 against Kawanishi N1K-J, and 3.7:1 against Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war.

The British Fleet Air Arm received 1,263 F6Fs under the Lend-Lease Act and dubbed it Gannet I. The name Hellcat was eventually retained in early 1943 for the sake of simplicity.

They saw action off Norway, in the Mediterranean and in the Far East. A number were fitted with photographic reconnaissance equipment.

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.
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Hellcat Vs Zero WWII, Wake Island. Pt.2

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  • So you saying even ...

    So you saying even with experience, pilots in outdated planes couldn't fight better planes, yet that's exactly what happened with Saburo Sakai and other pilots who destroyed the formidable f6f in old planes like the A6m and the ki-43. You also contradicted yourself with the 13 to 1 statement. if experienced fighters aren't attributed with that 1 kill then who or what killed the f6f? japanese geese?

    By ponchoyo [Affiliate User] 1226846557 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • and it had an ...

    and it had an unreliable engine. mind you the Frank was ok as well

    By EmperorTiger [Affiliate User] 1226836521 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • upload the whole ...

    upload the whole episode

    By EmperorTiger [Affiliate User] 1226836250 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Hellcats dealt 13 ...

    Hellcats dealt 13 fatalities to one loss with the zero. A clone army of Richthofens could have piloted them and still met the same fate. Not all the fault of the pilots but the lack of innovation the engineers afforded them. An 1800 hp zero,moderate armor,self sealing tanks and an airfoil to handle speed. Could have,should have,would have. The Hellcat was unstoppable. Dont like it build a time machine.

    By Mhabalzizhari [Affiliate User] 1226807821 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • cool thanks

    cool thanks

    By Cotton926 [Affiliate User] 1226381697 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • I think I have the ...

    I think I have the clips on file - if so I will post the Part 3 in the next week or so. Glad you enjoyed this - Bruce.

    By bruce235001 [Affiliate User] 1226370988 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • is there part 3?

    is there part 3?

    By Cotton926 [Affiliate User] 1226356737 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • That's true. The ...

    That's true. The Kawanishi N1K2-J was outstanding--the equal of any of of the U.S. Navy fighters. But the Japanese only managed to build about 400 of this variant before the war ended. And they had few pilots left with the skill to really use it to its potential.

    By galoon [Affiliate User] 1226180741 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • you know its funny ...

    you know its funny to think that Japan developed a plane near the end of the war that could actually defeat the hellcat, it was called the Kawanishi N1K

    By Necrodermis [Affiliate User] 1224496004 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • i agree yes but ...

    i agree yes but saki was a master a skilled pilot its the man not the machine.
    yes its biased.then its american.show.
    but good.

    By terryjohn [Affiliate User] 1222987094 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
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