Grumman F6F Hellcat

what is it?

The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second half of the Pacific War. In gaining that role, it prevailed over its faster competitor, the Vought F4U Corsair, which initially suffered from several carrier-operating issues, including poor forward visibility, landing bounce and stall characteristics. Powered by a 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, the same powerplant used for both the Corsair and the USAAF Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, the F6F was an entirely new aircraft that retained only a general resemblance to the earlier Wildcat.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 13.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 629 km/htop speed
• range 1,520 kmwithout refuelling
• size 6,992 kgmax take-off weight
• built 12,275made 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 84 years ago, in 1942.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 13.1 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,520 km: 8× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.3× 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

1942-06-26

introduced

1943

retired

1960

status

retired

number built

12,275

role

carrier-based fighter aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Grumman

engines

1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W Double Wasp / R-2800 Double Wasp

crew

1

length

10.2 m

wingspan

13.1 m

height

4 m

max take-off weight

6,992 kg

top speed

629 km/h

range

1,520 km

ceiling

11,369 m

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