Grumman F4F Wildcat

what is it?

The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy. The British made the first use of the type in combat, initially as a base-defense fighter; later they operated it from escort carriers in the North Atlantic, and later still from fleet carriers, under the name Martlet. By the time of Pearl Harbor the Wildcat was the best fighter available to the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and remained so until mid-1943.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.6 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 533 km/htop speed
• size 3,367 kgmax take-off weight
• built 7,885made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 89 years ago, in 1937.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.6 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1937-09-02

introduced

1940

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

7,885

role

carrier-based fighter aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Grumman

engines

1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76

crew

1

length

8.8 m

wingspan

11.6 m

height

3.6 m

max take-off weight

3,367 kg

top speed

533 km/h

range

—

ceiling

12,040 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.