--The F6F Hellcat is a fighter launched by the prestigious carrier-capable fighter Grumman as a successor to the F4F Wildcat, and is the main aircraft of the US Navy in the latter half of World War II, along with the F4U Corsair.
--On June 30, 1941, a prototype order for the XF6F-1 was issued, and in June 1942, the XF6F-3 flew for the first time.
――However, the horsepower of this aircraft was insufficient and the performance was not satisfactory, so I immediately replaced the engine with a powerful P & W R-2800 double wasp.
--Delivery of mass-produced aircraft began in November 1942, and as early as January 1943, the first F6F unit VF-9 was formed, and training began on the aircraft carrier Essex as the top batter to overthrow the Zero fighter. ..
--The F6F-3 was delivered by 2,545 by 1943, 252 were lent to the United Kingdom under a loan agreement, assigned to the British Fleet Mobile Task Force from July 1943, and participated in the actual battle in December. Some of them engaged in operations against Japan in the Indian Ocean.
――The F6F-5 is equipped with the same R-2800-10W engine as the F6F-3 late production type, but the engine cowling, windshield, aileron, tail circumference, etc. are slightly redesigned production type.
――In addition, there is no window for rear view behind the movable windshield.
--In addition, bulletproof equipment has been strengthened.
――The F6F has a large body for the output of the engine, is heavy, and was not a masterpiece in terms of performance, but it is sturdy, has good mobility, and has excellent bulletproof equipment, so it can withstand bullets well. Fortunately, the wear rate was low, the total number of aircraft produced was 12,272, and Japan had a hard time developing a successor to the Zero fighter.
[Data F6F-5]
--Crew: 1 person
--Overall width: 13.06m
--Overall length: 10.23m
--Overall height: 4.9m
--Wing area: 31m2
--Engine: P & W R-2800-10W
--Separation output: 2,100 horsepower
--Cruising range: 1,750km
--Maximum speed: 594km / h (elevation 7,300m)
--Armed: 12.7mm machine gun x 6 or 20mm machine gun x 2 + 12.7mm machine gun x 4, bomb 450kg x 2
( This is a machine translation. Please allow for possible misinterpretations in the text. )