U.S. Navy and Marines The U.S. Navy greatly preferred the more docile flight characteristics of the F6F over the
Vought F4U Corsair, despite the Corsair's superior speed. This preference was particularly evident during carrier landings, which were a critical requirement for the Navy's success. Consequently, the Navy transferred the Corsair to the Marine Corps, which, not having to worry about carrier landings, utilized the Corsair for land-based sorties. The Hellcat remained the standard carrier-borne fighter for the U.S. Navy until the F4U series was finally cleared for U.S. carrier operations in late 1944. By that time, the carrier landing issues had largely been resolved, thanks in part to the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm's use of the Corsair, which began in 1943. In addition to its good flight qualities, the Hellcat was easy to maintain and had an airframe tough enough to withstand the rigors of routine carrier operations. Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacturing and ability to withstand significant damage. Grumman F6F-5 ready for launch from off
Okinawa in May 1945: Most of the F6F-5s built were painted overall glossy sea blue. The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943, when fighters off shot down a
Kawanishi H8K "Emily"
flying boat. Soon after, on 23 and 24 November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over
Tarawa, shooting down a claimed 30 Mitsubishi Zeros for the loss of one F6F.
Radar-equipped Hellcat night-fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944. A formidable opponent for the Hellcat was the
Kawanishi N1K, but it was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to affect the outcome of the war.
Sortie, kill, and loss figures inspects a Japanese-captured F6F-5 in
Yokosuka in September 1945. U.S. Navy and Marine F6F pilots flew 66,530 combat sorties and claimed 5,163 kills (56% of all U.S. Navy/Marine air victories of the war) at a recorded cost of 270 Hellcats in aerial combat (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1). The aircraft performed well against the various Japanese opponents with a claimed 13:1 kill ratio against the A6M Zero, 9.5:1 against the
Nakajima Ki-84, and 3.7:1 against the
Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war. The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 305 Hellcat aces. The U.S. successes were not just attributed to superior aircraft; from 1942 onwards, they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators and had the advantage of increasing numerical superiority. In the ground-attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons (5,899 metric tonnes) of bombs. During the course of World War II, 2,462 F6F Hellcats were lost to all causes – 270 in aerial combat, 553 to antiaircraft ground and shipboard fire, and 341 due to operational causes. Of the total figure, 1,298 were destroyed in training and ferry operations, normally outside of the combat zones.
Hamilton McWhorter III, a Navy aviator and a
flying ace of World War II, was credited with shooting down 12 Japanese aircraft. He was the first U.S. Navy aviator to become an ace while flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the first Navy carrier pilot to achieve double ace status.
Arthur Van Haren, Jr., a Navy combat Hellcat ace of WWII from
Arizona, was credited with shooting down 9 Japanese planes. He was awarded two
Distinguished Flying Crosses, and was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame in 2012.
British use in June 1944 The British Fleet Air Arm (FAA) received 1,263 F6Fs under the
Lend-Lease Act; initially, it was known as the Grumman
Gannet Mark I. The name Hellcat replaced it in early 1943 for the sake of simplicity, the Royal Navy at that time adopting the use of the existing American naval names for all the U.S.-made aircraft supplied to it, with the F6F-3 being designated Hellcat F Mk. I, the F6F-5, the Hellcat F Mk. II and the F6F-5N, the Hellcat NF Mk. II. They saw action off Norway, in the Mediterranean, and in the Far East. Several were fitted with photographic reconnaissance equipment similar to the F6F-5P, receiving the designation Hellcat FR Mk. II. In the European and Mediterranean theaters, these FAA Hellcats primarily faced land-based aircraft , so experienced far fewer opportunities for air-to-air combat than their USN/Marines counterparts; nevertheless, they claimed a total of 52 enemy aircraft kills during 18 aerial combats from May 1944 to July 1945.
1844 Naval Air Squadron, on board of the
British Pacific Fleet was the highest-scoring unit, with 32.5 kills. FAA Hellcats, as with other Lend-Lease aircraft, were rapidly replaced by British aircraft after the end of the war, with only two of the 12 squadrons equipped with the Hellcat at
VJ-Day still retaining Hellcats by the end of 1945. These two squadrons were disbanded in 1946.
Postwar use , in 1954. After the war, the Hellcat was succeeded by the
F8F Bearcat, which was smaller, more powerful (powered by uprated Double Wasp radials) and more maneuverable, but entered service too late to see combat in World War II. The Hellcat was used for second-line USN duties, including training and
Naval Reserve squadrons, and a handful were converted to
target drones. The F6F-5 was the first aircraft used by the U.S. Navy's
Blue Angels official flight demonstration team at its formation in 1946.
French Naval Aviation was equipped with F6F-5 Hellcats and used them in combat in
Indochina. These were painted in Gloss Sea Blue, similar to post-World War II US Navy aircraft until about 1955, but had a modified French roundel with an image of an anchor. The
French Air Force also used the Hellcat in Indochina from 1950 to 1952. The plane equipped four squadrons (including the
Normandie-Niemen squadron of WWII fame) before these units transitioned to the F8F Bearcat. The Uruguayan Navy also used F6F-5s until the early 1960s. ==Variants==