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United States' Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter^1,2,3

Grumman F4F Wildcat on a carrier off of Casablanca:

United States Army in World War II, Pictorial Record, The War Against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and Adjacent Areas, 1951, pg 22

Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat:

Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat:

Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat:

Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat:

Design

The US Navy chose the Buffalo over the Wildcat.¹ By December 1941 the decision was reversed.¹

Cockpit

Visibility wasn't very good and was cramped.¹

Engine

Initially the two-stage blower caused problems and was later replaced by a one-stage blower.¹

Undercarriage

The wheels retracted half way to fit against the fuselage.¹

Prototype

Was first flown on September 2, 1937 by Robert L. Hall.^1,2,3

The first F4F-3 flew in February 1940.³

The FM-1 first flew in August 1942.³ The FM-2 flew in November 1942.³

Production

In August 1939 44 were ordered.² 22 of these were delivered by the end of 1940.²

Production of the F4F moved from Grumman to General Motors in 1942.³

• F4F-3: 285³
• Martlet I: 100³
• Martlet II: 90³
• F4F-3A / Martlet III: 95³
• F4F-4: 1,168³, 1,169²
• F4F-7: 21³
• Wildcat IV: 220³
• FM-1 / Wildcat V: 1,060³
• FM-2 / Wildcat VI: 4,777³
• Total: 7,808³, 7,825¹, 7,885²
  • Grumman: 1,988¹
  • General Motors FMs: 5,237², 5,837¹

Variants

• XF4F-2: The first prototype to be flown.² Had Twin Wasp engine (1,050 HP).³
• XF4F-3: Had the two stage supercharged XR-1830-76 installed and could go 333.5 mph / 537 kph.² Appeared in February 1939.³ Had changes to wings and tail.³
• F4F:
• F4F-3:
• F4F-3A: Had R-1830-90 installed.²
• F4F-4: Wings could be manually folded.³
• F4F-7: Long range reconnaissance developed but was replaced by F6F.^1,2,3 Its range was 3,500 miles / 5,633 km.²
• FM-1 / Wildcat Mk V: Produced by General Motors.² Had a taller tail fin.² Had a Wright R-1820 engine.²
• FM-2 / Wildcat Mk VI: Produced by General Motors.² Had a taller tail fin.² Had a Wright R-1820 engine.² Had four 12.7 mm MGs and could carry two 250 lb / 113 kg bombs or six 5" / 127 mm rockets.² Intended for use on escort carriers.²

Usage

Early Delivery

The first 22 were delivered to the VF-4 and VF-7.²

United States

The first US Navy ace was Lt. Edward "Butch" O'Hare, who shot down five Japanese bombers in five minutes.¹

With a score of 19 Japanese warplanes shot down, Major John L. Smith was the top Wildcat ace.¹

France

The French ordered 81 Wildcats in 1939.² These were later transferred to the Royal Navy and called the Martlet.²

United Kingdom

Was initially named the Martlet but was later changed to the Wildcat in early 1944.^1,3

Orders of F4Fs by France and Greece were delivered to the Fleet Air Arm.^1,3 These were received in July 1940.³

The Wildcat was the first American fighter in British service to shoot down an enemy plane, a Ju 88 over Scapa Flow in December 1940.³

Royal Canadian Air Force

The RCAF also used the F4F Wildcats.¹

Escort Carrier Duty

As the F4F Wildcats became obsolete during the last two years of World War II, they were still used on Escort Carriers as they had a small size with the folded wings.²

	Grumman F4F Wildcat3	Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat3	Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat1,2,3	Grumman FM-1 Wildcat3	Grumman FM-2 Wildcat3
Type	Carrier based fighter3		Carrier based fighter1,2
Crew	13		11,2
Engine (Type)		Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76/86 Twin Wasp3	Wright R-1830-36 Cyclone piston1	Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76/86 Twin Wasp3	Wright R-1820-56 Cyclone3
OR			Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 piston2 Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76/86 Twin Wasp3
Cylinders		Radial 143	Radial1,2, Radial 143	Radial 143	Radial 93
Cooling
HP		1,2003	1,2001,2,3	1,2003
Propeller blades			31
Dimensions
Span	38'3 11.58 m3		38'1,2 11.58 m2, 11.6 m1
Length	28' 9"3 8.76 m3		28'1, 28' 9"2 8.5 m1, 8.76 m2
Height	11' 10"3 3.61 m3		11' 10"2, 12'1 3.6 m1,2
Wing area			260 ft2 1,2 24.15 m2 1,2
Weight
Empty			5,746 lb1, 5,895 lb3 2,612 kg1, 2,674 kg3		5,542 lb3 2,514 kg3
Loaded			7,935 lb1 3,607 kg1		8,221 lb3 3,729 kg3
Performance
Speed			317 mph1 512 kph1
Speed at sea level			274 mph3 441 kph3
Speed @ 18,800' / 5,730 m			320 mph3 515 kph3
Speed @ 19,400' / 5,915 m			318 mph2 512 kph2
Cruising speed			154 mph1, 155 mph3 249 kph1,3
Climb			1,950'/minute2,3 594 m/minute2,3
Service ceiling			34,900'2,3, 39,400'1 10,064 m2, 10,637 m3, 12,010 m1
Range			768 miles1, 770 miles2,3 1,239 km1,3, 1,240 km2
Armament
Wings		4: 0.5" MG3	6: 12.7 mm Browning air cooled MGs1 6: 0.5" MG3	6: 0.5" MG3	6: 0.5" MG3
Rounds			240 per MG1
Forward firing			6: 12.7 mm MGs2
Bombs			2: 100 lb1 2: 250 lb3 2: 45 kg1 2: 113 kg3	2: 250 lb3 2: 113 kg3	2: 250 lb3 2: 113 kg3

Sources:

1. Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
2. Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
3. Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998

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