A Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter aircraft from the US 33rd Fighter Squadron (VF-33) of the USAF in a drainage ditch at Barakoma airfield on the island of Vella Lavella (Solomon Islands). World War II in the Pacific.
In the background on the left of the US Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter photo is an American GMC CCKW-352 truck with the inscription “Pilots Only.”
The Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter is a US carrier-based fighter aircraft of the Second World War. It is a deep modernization of the F4F Wildcat fighter.
In June 1941, the US Navy entered into an agreement with Grumman on the radical modernization of the Wildcat. But as part of the task, they actually created a new aircraft with a different fuselage shape, landing gear design and a more powerful engine. Production of the F6F Hellcat fighter began in January 1943. First combat mission in August 1943.
The Grumman F6F was the easiest and most forgiving aircraft to fly in the US Navy. According to American data, over two years of fighting in the Pacific, American pilots flying the F6F shot down 5,156 aircraft – more than the Corsairs, Lightnings and Wildcats combined. Hellcats have flown 306 flying aces, including David McCampbell, the most successful ace in the US Navy.
A total of 12,275 fighters were produced, of which 1,263 of Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters were transferred to the Royal Air Force.