Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat history and specifications

Grumman F6F Hellcat

A U.S. Navy Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat
Type: Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer: Grumman
Maiden flight: 26 June 1942
Introduced: 1943
Retired: 1954, USN
Primary users: United States Navy USN, United States Marine Corps USMC, Royal Navy RN, French Navy FN, Uruguayan Navy
Produced: 1942-1945
Number built: 12,275

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 Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary United States Navy carrier fighters in the second half of World War II.

The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,171 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France), plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II. Postwar, the Hellcat aircraft was rapidly phased out of front line service, finally retiring in 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons.

Data from Quest for Performance, Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of WWII, and Standard Aircraft Characteristic

SPECIFICATIONS F6F-5
Machinery: Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W Double Wasp 18-cylinder two-row radial engine rated at 2,200hp
Armament: 6x0.5in Browning M2 machine guns, optional six rockets under wings, optional 2,000lb of bombs
Crew: One
Span: 13.05 m
Length: 10.20 m
Height: 3.99 m
Wing Area: 31.00 m²
Weight, Empty: 4,101 kg
Weight, Loaded: 5,528 kg
Weight, Maximum: 6,000 kg
Speed, Maximum: 605 km/h
Rate of Climb: 17.80 m/s
Service Ceiling: 11,430 m
Range, Normal: 1,755 km

Performance

* Maximum speed: 330 knots (380 mph, 610 km/h)
* Stall speed: 73 knots (84 mph, 135 km/h)
* Combat radius: 820 nm (945 mi, 1,520 km)
* Ferry range: 1,330 nm (1,530 mi, 2,460 km)
* Service ceiling 37,300 ft (11,370 m)
* Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min (17.8 m/s)
* Wing loading: 37.7 lb/ft² (184 kg/m²)
* Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (260 W/kg)
* Time-to-altitude: 7.7 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
* Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.2
* Takeoff roll: 799 ft (244 m)

Armament

Guns:
6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rounds/gun, (F6F-3, most F6F-5)
2× 20 mm cannon, 225 rounds/gun
4× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns 400 rounds/gun (F6F-5N only)
Rockets:
6 × 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or
2 × 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets
Bombs: up to 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) full load, including:
Bombs or Torpedoes: (Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
+ 1 × 2,000 lb (910 kg) bomb or
+ 1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo;

Underwing bombs: (F6F-5 had two additional weapons racks either side of fuselage on wing centre-section)
+ 1 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) or
+ 2 × 250 lb (110 kg)
+ 6 × 100 lb (45 kg)