Grumman F4F Wildcat
Type: US naval fighter plane.
History: Designed as a biplane to continue Grumman's very successful F3F series of single seat carrier fighters, the F4F Wildcat was replanned on the drawing board in the summer of 1936 as a mid-wing monoplane. Though this machine, the XF4F-2, lost out to the Brewster F2A Buffalo, Grumman continued with the XF4F-3 with a more powerful engine and in early 1939 received a French Aeronavale order for 100 planes, the US Navy following with 54 in August. The French aircraft were diverted to Britain and named Martlet I.
Production built up with both Twin Wasp and Cyclone engines, folding wings being introduced with the F4F-4, of which Grumman delivered 1,169 plus 220 Martlet IVs for the Fleet Air Arm.
Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors very quickly tooled up and delivered 839 FM- 1 s and 311 Martlet Vs, the British name then being changed to the US name of Wildcat.
A Royal Navy Wildcat V (with four guns, and in this case with the Cyclone engine cowled as in the later FM-2) pictured aboard a Fleet carrier of the Royal Navy.
Grumman switched then to the new Avenger, Hellcat and other types, but made F4F-7 reconnaissance versions, weighing 10,328 lb and having a 24 hour endurance, as well as a floatplane version.
Eastern took over the final mark, the powerful and effective FM-2, delivering 4,777 of this type (including 340 British Wildcat VI) in 13 months.
A Martlet I shot down a Ju 88 on Christmas Day 1940, and an F4F-3 of VMF-211 squadron destroyed a Japanese bomber at Wake Island on 9 December 1941. Each event was the first of thousands of furious actions from which this quite old fighter emerged with a splendid reputation.
Wildcats were especially valuable for their ability to operate from small escort carriers, the pioneer work having been done with British Martlets based in November 1940 on the 5,000 ton captured German vessel Audacity on which a flat deck had been built.
Noted for their strength and manoeuvrability, Wildcats even sank Japanese submarines and a cruiser.
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Part of a squadron of Eastern Aircraft FM-1 Wildcats over the Pacific. All FM models carried only four 0.5in guns.
Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat |
| Type |
Naval fighter |
| Power plant |
one 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder two-row radial engine
|
| Accommodation |
1 |
| Wing span |
38 ft |
| Length overall |
28 ft 9 in |
| Height overall |
11 ft 10 in |
| Weight empty |
4,649 lb |
| Weight loaded |
6,100 lb |
| Maximum loaded |
7,952 lb |
| Maximum speed |
318 mph |
| Initial climb |
1,920 ft / min
|
| Service ceiling |
34,900 ft |
| Range |
770 miles |
| Armament |
Six 0.50in machine guns [ 800 rpm, velocity 2,810 f/s] in outer wings.
|
underwing racks for two 250 lb bombs. |
| First flight |
12 February 1939 |
| Production delivery |
F4F-3 February 1940, F4F-4 1941, FM-1 1942, FM-2 March 1943
|
| Final delivery |
August 1945 |
| Production figures |
aprox. 329 F4F-3; 1,389 F4F-4; 1,140 FM-1; 4,467 FM-2.
Total: aprox. 8,000
(over 1,000 for British Royal Navy)
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3d model Grumman F4F Wildcat
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