F6F Hellcat

New threat: US Navy F6F Hellcat pilots recall the first encounter with Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force’s potent N1K1-J Shiden fighter

New threat: US Navy F6F Hellcat pilots recall the first encounter with Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force’s potent N1K1-J Shiden fighter

On a fighter sweep over the airfields north of Manila on Nov. 6, 1944, US Navy F6F Hellcat pilots encountered… Read More

5 months ago

Fox Four Uncle: The Legendary F4U Corsair was Plagued by Troubles as a carrier aircraft but became the Primary USMC Fighter during WW II

The Navy solved the F4U Corsair problems by giving them to the Marines. On May 29, 1940, the prototype XF4U-1… Read More

10 months ago

How US Navy aircraft sank Imperial Japanese Navy’s Oite Kamikaze destroyer during Operation Hailstone against the island base of Truk

The Oite Kamikaze-class destroyer was unique in that it was sunk entering Truk Lagoon rather than exiting it. In early… Read More

1 year ago

Here’s why an Imperial Japanese fighter pilot’s first encounter with the F6F Hellcat was usually his last

Outperforming the famous Japanese A6M Zero, the F6F Hellcat achieved an amazing 19:1 kill ratio, downing 5,156 enemy aircraft in… Read More

2 years ago

US Navy’s leading ace and top F6F Hellcat ace David McCampbell explains how he was able to shoot down six D4Y Judy dive bombers in a single sortie during the ‘Great Marianas Turkey Shoot’

‘During the last bursts on the leader, gun stoppages occurred. Both port and starboard guns were charged in an attempt… Read More

2 years ago

The story of Koga’s Zero, the captured A6M that helped the F6F Hellcat become the most effective carrier fighter of World War II

Perhaps the most significant Zero captured during World War II, and the one that contributed most to Allied victory in… Read More

2 years ago

Did you know the US Navy Blue Angels were named after a nightclub in New York by the original team in 1946?

“The Blue Angel nightclub was a big thing in its day. I think it took up a whole block. Four… Read More

2 years ago

Here’s how the Royal Navy fixed the F4U shortcomings for which the US Navy deemed the Corsair unsuitable for aircraft carrier operations

Several issues plagued the airframe and delayed introduction to carrier service, leaving it to Marine land-based squadrons to introduce the… Read More

3 years ago

Check out this dramatic photo of an F6F smashing into 6 other parked Hellcats with pilots aboard

A Hellcat smashes into 6 other F6F parked forward on Cowpens' flight deck as crewmen duck and run for cover. Note that there are… Read More

3 years ago

The Story of the First Kamikaze Attack in World War II

At 1053 hours on the morning of Oct. 25, 1944, an A6M5 Zeke deliberately hit USS St. Lo (CVE-63), survivor… Read More

4 years ago

This F6F Hellcat Pilot and his Puppy were Inseparable until he was shot down over Indochina

‘Rabbit’ Moranville and ‘Gunner’ were inseparable until Moranville was shot down over Indochina in January 1945. On the afternoon of… Read More

4 years ago