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 where it was initially known as the Martlet.[2] First used by the British in the North Atlantic, the Wildcat was the only effective fighter available to the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during the early part of the Second World War. The disappointing Brewster Buffalo was withdrawn in favor of the Wildcat and replaced as aircraft became available.

F4F/FM/F2M Wildcat/Martlet
F4F-3 new pitot tube of later model.jpg
F4F-3 in non-reflective blue-gray over light gray scheme from early 1942
Role
Carrier-based fighter aircraft
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
Grumman
Built by
General Motors
First flight
2 September 1937
Introduction
December 1940
Retired
1945
Primary users
United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
Royal Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
Number built
7,885[1]
With a top speed of 318 mph (512 km/h), the Wildcat was outperformed by the faster (331 mph (533 km/h)), more maneuverable, and longer-ranged Mitsubishi A6M Zero. US Navy pilots, including John "Jimmy" Thach, a pioneer of fighter tactics to deal with the A6M Zero, were greatly dissatisfied with the Wildcat's inferior performance against the Zero in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway.[3][4][5] The Wildcat has a claimed air combat kill-to-loss ratio of 5.9:1 in 1942 and 6.9:1 for the entire war.[6]

Lessons learned from the Wildcat were later applied to the faster F6F Hellcat. While the Wildcat had better range and maneuverability at low speed,[7] the Hellcat could rely on superior power and high speed performance[8] to outperform the Zero. The Wildcat continued to be built throughout the remainder of the war to serve on escort carriers, where the larger and much heavier Hellcat could not be used. Even before the Wildcat had been purchased by the U.S. Navy, the French Navy and the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) had ordered the Wildcat, with their own configurations, via the Anglo-French Purchasing Board.

The type also pioneered combat operations from the smaller escort carriers.[18] Six Martlets went to sea aboard the converted former German merchant vessel HMS Audacity in September 1941 and shot down several Luftwaffe Fw 200 Condor bombers during highly effective convoy escort operations.[19][20] These were the first of many Wildcats to engage in aerial combat at sea, including Convoy HG 76 to Gibraltar, in December 1941.

The British received 300 Eastern Aircraft FM-1s giving them the designation Martlet V in 1942–43 and 340 FM-2s, (having changed to using the same name as the US) as the Wildcat VI.[21] Nearly 1,200 Wildcats were flown by the FAA and by January 1944, the Martlet name was dropped and the type was identified as the Wildcat.[22][18][N 2] In March 1945, Wildcats shot down four Messerschmitt Bf 109s over Norway, the FAA's last Wildcat victories.[20]

I would still assess the Wildcat as the outstanding naval fighter of the early years of World War II ... I can vouch as a matter of personal experience, this Grumman fighter was one of the finest shipboard aeroplanes ever created.

— Eric M. "Winkle" Brown, British test pilot[6]
The last air raid of the war in Europe was carried out by Fleet Air Arm aircraft in Operation Judgement on May 5, 1945. Twenty eight Wildcat VI aircraft from 846, 853 and
The Wildcat was generally outperformed by the Mitsubishi Zero, its major opponent in the early part of the Pacific Theater but held its own partly because, with relatively heavy armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, the Grumman airframe could survive far more damage than its lightweight, unarmored Japanese rival.[23] Many U.S. Navy fighter pilots were saved by the Wildcat's ZB homing device, which allowed them to find their carriers in poor visibility, provided they could get within the 30 mi (48 km) range of the homing beacon. (However, the Zed Baker was wildly inconsistent in practice, especially during the Battle of Midway, when an entire squadron of Wildcats crashed in the sea after failing to locate their carriers). #God #Jesus #Faith #american #vietnam #war #support #usa #thankyouforyourservice #veterans #army #navy #marines #usaf #pilot #extreme #jet #fighterjet #airplane #russia #ukraine #japan #china #technology #entrepeneur #godblessamerica #tripadvisor #travel #military #aviation #airshow #museum #helicopter #helicopteros #helicopterpilot #foryou #mybloopers #youtubeshorts #love #texas #houston #california #sandiego #turbine #photography #history #sf #2023 #strong #aviones #f22 #f22raptor #specialforces #ai #artificial #b25 #bomber #twinengine #nasa #robot #elonmusk #astronaut #universe #science #thunderbirds #f16 #topgun #maverick #blueangels #f18superhornet #supersonic #trendingsong #trending #trend #reels #tiktok #trendingvideo #trendingreels #russia #ukraine #china #shorts #trendingshorts #top #science #technology