More effective than the renowned Japanese A6M Zero, the F6F Hellcat downed 5,156 enemy aircraft in just two years, accounting for 75% of the Navy’s aerial wins throughout the war
The F6F Hellcat, one of the best fighters of World War II, was developed by Grumman and went from experimental to operational use in less than 18 months. Fighting Squadron (VF) 5 aboard USS Yorktown (CV-10) launched an attack on Marcus Island in August 1943, which marked the beginning of its combat operations. In just two years, the F6F downed 5,156 enemy aircraft (19:1 ratio), outperforming the renowned Japanese A6M Zero and contributing to 75% of the Navy’s aerial victories in the conflict.
But when did an Imperial Japanese fighter pilot first encounter the legendary Hellcat?
‘Ensign Robert Duncan was deployed on the USS Yorktown in Fighting Squadron 5 in the fall of 1943. This rookie naval aviator was the first to secure a victory against the vaunted A6M Zero in an F6F Hellcat,’ says Maryellen Reilly, a WWII expert, on Quora.
‘Duncan’s second chance at aerial combat involved an A6M Zero flown by Japanese Ace Warrant officer Toshiuki Sueda with nine victories.
‘Sueda was very good at luring F4F Wildcats into a climbing loop and when the Wildcat stalled and fell away, Sueda would wing over and destroy the Wildcat.
‘Misidentification is a bitch, and Sueda assuming his opponent was a Wildcat went into his climbing loop and Duncan with his spanking new F6F Hellcat with a 2000 HP P&W R-2800 engine followed Sueda into his climb and blew him out of the sky.
‘With its speed, armament, and armored protection the Grumman F6F Hellcat was a rude awakening for the Imperial Japanese pilots.’
Finally, Reilly says;
‘The question was about their first encounter…. It was usually their last encounter.’
The Navy evaluated captured Axis and Allied fighters toward the end of the war. Given the extremely quick turnaround from design to production, the Hellcat placed first in the majority of categories, making it among the best fighters in the war. Grumman’s Bethpage Plant Number 3 produced 12,275 Hellcats in just 30 months, with much of the facility still under construction when the first F6Fs were being assembled inside.
Photo by Osvaldo 201 via Live War Thunder and Marion Illinois History Preservation
