"All available fighter pilots! Man your planes!"
- Message barked into the squawk box of the Essex' ready room when the ship's radar had detected three large groups of incoming Japanese planes during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 24th, 1944

The F6F embodied the early lessons learned by users of Grumman's previous fleet-defense fighter, the Wildcat. In June 1941, Grumman lowered the wing center section to enable the undercarriage to be wider splayed, fitting more armor-plating around the cockpit to protect the pilot while also increasing the fighter's ammunition capacity. When the prototype made its first flight, it was realized that a more powerful engine was needed to give the fighter a combat edge. A Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 engine was installed for added power.

The aircraft made its combat debut in August 1943, and from that point on, the question of aerial supremacy in the Pacific was never in doubt. Hellcats served aboard most of the US Navy's fleet carriers, being credited with the destruction of 4,947 aircraft up to V-J Day. The Fleet Air Arm was also a great believer in the Hellcat, procuring almost 1,200 planes between 1943-45. The Hellcat saw only limited service in the post-war years, being replaced by the more powerful F9F Bearcat. Of the nine F6Fs believed to be airworthy today, seven are based in the USA and two are located in the UK.

This particular 1:32 scale Grumman F6F-5N Hellcat fighter was flown by Maj. Bruce Porter, commanding officer of VMF(N)-542, then deployed to Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, during May 1945. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 16-3/4-inches
Length: 12-1/4-inches

Release Date: December 2015

Historical Account: "Night Fighting" - Major R. Bruce Porter flew Grumman F6F-5N Hellcat night fighters in Squadron VMF-542N during the Battle of Okinawa. Equipped with a radome on the starboard wing, these Hellcats prowled the night sky searching for Japanese aircraft that were sent out to destroy American ships, airfields, and other installations. On the ground, U.S. radar stations would identify targets on the screen and vector the Hellcats towards them. The Hellcat's airborne radar was only really effective when they were within a couple miles of the target, so the ground radar controller would stay in communication with the Hellcats until the pilots were close enough to visually identify the Japanese aircraft. Usually, the exhaust flame from the Japanese plane would give them away and the Hellcat would move in extremely close and, still undetected, deliver a fatal burst of 20mm cannon fire. It took incredible flying skill and nerve to fly a night fighter, and only the very best pilots were selected to do this job. Major Porter scored a very rare double night kill on one mission and became an ace. He is depicted climbing out of Yontan airfield on Okinawa for one of his night missions.