31. The Rugged Hellcat
The F6F Hellcat featured folding wings for easier storage in less space, thus allowing aircraft carriers to carry more fighters. The F6F was faster, more powerful, more maneuverable, and longer-ranged than its predecessor, and outclassed the enemy’s Zeroes in every way except maneuverability at low speed.
Hellcats first saw combat in August, 1943, and proved so successful that, by 1944, they were the Navy’s standard carrier-based fighters. 12,275 Hellcats were produced during the war, and they were the main platform which the US Navy used to clear the Pacific skies of enemy planes. A versatile and rugged aircraft, F6Fs spearheaded America’s advance across the Pacific. They conducted fighter sweeps over enemy airfields, flew combat air patrols to shield the forces below from aerial attack, and performed ground attacks in support of soldiers and Marines.
