F6F-5 Hellcat USS Bunker Hill (1 Viewer)

[mestell]

In my eager anticipation of collecting John's soon to be released F4F-3 Wildcat, I have been "reading up" on this carrier based aircraft that the U.S. entered into WWII with. Quite often when looking up information about the Wildcat, companion info about the F6F Hellcat is also found. What a wonderful way for John to continue with his WWII naval carrier based aircraft range than to offer a Hellcat assigned to the Bunker Hill sometime in the future. I can only hope. Here's a picture depicting a F6F-5 Hellcat #132 flown by Lt JG John J. Sargent of Fighter Squadron VF-84, U.S.S. Bunker Hill CV-17, February 1945, credited with 6 kills.

:smile2: Mike

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[ivanmoe]

In terms of Air Group composition, the F6F absolutely dominated after it was introduced. This became even more pronounced after the appearance of the kamikaze in 1944. By wars end, Essex class carriers took eighty-one of them into battle. Were it not for the contribution of the SBD in 1942, it would be hard to argue against the Hellcat being the most significant USN type of the war.

-Moe

 

[lancer]

In terms of Air Group composition, the F6F absolutely dominated after it was introduced. This became even more pronounced after the appearance of the kamikaze in 1944. By wars end, Essex class carriers took eighty-one of them into battle. Were it not for the contribution of the SBD in 1942, it would be hard to argue against the Hellcat being the most significant USN type of the war.

-Moe

Excellent post. The SBD was THE war winner. Hard to believe that US carriers went to war in 1941 carrying what, a couple of dozen fighters? This number gradually increased as experience showed that the fighters were stretched too thin providing CAPs and strike escorts, until, as Moe points out, optimum numbers were carried to combat any situation encountered. The history of US Naval aviation warfare in WW2 is absolutely fascinating. -- Al

 

[lancer]

To further the point of the SBD being so important, may I suggest two books by Stephen Moore; 'Pacific Payback: The Carrier Aviators Who Avenged Pearl Harbor at the Battle of Midway' and 'The Battle for Hell's Island: How a Small Band of Carrier Dive-Bombers Helped Save Guadalcanal'. Both excellent studies in US Naval air combat and specifically the crucial roll of the SBD and their crews. -- Al

 

[mestell]

Would certainly agree with the above statements. A Bunker Hill SB2C Hell Diver would be another wonderful addition to Johns US Navy aircraft carrier range . . . .
:smile2: Mike

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[mort-aux-rois]

The history of US Naval aviation warfare in WW2 is absolutely fascinating. -- Al

any books you'd recommend on the topic? thanks!

 

[lancer]

any books you'd recommend on the topic? thanks!

There are quite a few, as you might imagine. The best, IMO, are by John Lundstrom. These include 'The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway' and 'The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942'. Lundstrom has also done a couple of excellent bios, one on Butch O'Hare titled 'Fateful Rendezvous' and one on Adm. Jack Fletcher titled 'Black Shoe Carrier Admiral', both figures loom large in US Naval aviation. Barrett Tillman has done many books with titles covering such carrier aircraft as the F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F4U Corsair, and the SBD Dauntless. The 2 books by Stephen Moore that I listed in the earlier post are good. There are all sorts of battle histories on Coral Sea, Santa Cruz, Midway, etc. Eric Hammel wrote 'Carrier Strike: The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942' and 'Carrier Clash: The Invasion of Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, August 1942'. Two other useful bios on pilots are Steve Ewing's 'Thach Weave: The Life of Jimmie Thach', and 'Reaper Leader: The Life of Jimmy Flatley', again, both huge influences in US Naval aviation of the time. These titles are all good on the early war period and how US Naval Aviation developed into the war-winning weapon it became. If Midway is of interest, there are books by Gordon Prange, Peter Smith, Walter Lord, Mitsuo Fuchida, and especially Parshall and Tully's 'Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway'. I cannot recommend the Lundstrom 'First Team' books or 'Shattered Sword' too highly as they are simply superb books from both a research and writing POV. -- Al

 

[lancer]

There are quite a few, as you might imagine. The best, IMO, are by John Lundstrom. These include 'The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway' and 'The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942'. Lundstrom has also done a couple of excellent bios, one on Butch O'Hare titled 'Fateful Rendezvous' and one on Adm. Jack Fletcher titled 'Black Shoe Carrier Admiral', both figures loom large in US Naval aviation. Barrett Tillman has done many books with titles covering such carrier aircraft as the F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F4U Corsair, and the SBD Dauntless. The 2 books by Stephen Moore that I listed in the earlier post are good. There are all sorts of battle histories on Coral Sea, Santa Cruz, Midway, etc. Eric Hammel wrote 'Carrier Strike: The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942' and 'Carrier Clash: The Invasion of Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, August 1942'. Two other useful bios on pilots are Steve Ewing's 'Thach Weave: The Life of Jimmie Thach', and 'Reaper Leader: The Life of Jimmy Flatley', again, both huge influences in US Naval aviation of the time. These titles are all good on the early war period and how US Naval Aviation developed into the war-winning weapon it became. If Midway is of interest, there are books by Gordon Prange, Peter Smith, Walter Lord, Mitsuo Fuchida, and especially Parshall and Tully's 'Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway'. I cannot recommend the Lundstrom 'First Team' books or 'Shattered Sword' too highly as they are simply superb books from both a research and writing POV. -- Al

Wanted to add 2 books to the Midway list which are both tremendous fountains of knowledge and first person accounts: 'No Right to Win: A Continuing Dialogue with Veterans of the Battle of Midway' by Ronald Russell and 'A Glorious Page in Our History: The Battle of Midway, 4-6 June 1942' by various contibutors such as Robert Cressman, Steve Ewing, Barrett Tillman, Mark Horan, Clark Reynolds (author of the superb 'The Fast Carriers: The Forging of an Air Navy'), and Stan Cohen. -- Al

 

[Terp152]

In terms of Air Group composition, the F6F absolutely dominated after it was introduced. This became even more pronounced after the appearance of the kamikaze in 1944. By wars end, Essex class carriers took eighty-one of them into battle. Were it not for the contribution of the SBD in 1942, it would be hard to argue against the Hellcat being the most significant USN type of the war.

-Moe

Moe, for the point of discussion, the Pacific War was won at Midway, where the Wildcat contribution was not significant (IMO only). And in the Solomon's, where the Wildcat achieved superiority and greatly degraded the IJN naval air capability. They won the battle and paved the way for the Hellcats and Corsairs. If you're saying the Hellcat was a superior aircraft in performance, okay. They, Hellcats, did score more victories than any other US aircraft. Chris

 

[lancer]

Just ran across and watched the Smithsonian Channel show 'Air Warriors' and tonight's episode was about the Hellcat. Very interesting show. Grumman made 12000 of them and less than 250 were lost in combat. Also showed a restoration of a F6F-3 that has been in progress for several years...an actual aircraft of Alex Vraciu in which he scored 7 victories. Pretty cool to have such a significant aircraft in hand. -- Al

 

[mestell]

Just ran across and watched the Smithsonian Channel show 'Air Warriors' and tonight's episode was about the Hellcat. Very interesting show. Grumman made 12000 of them and less than 250 were lost in combat. Also showed a restoration of a F6F-3 that has been in progress for several years...an actual aircraft of Alex Vraciu in which he scored 7 victories. Pretty cool to have such a significant aircraft in hand. -- Al

Missed it . . . . would have liked to have watched it . . . will have to keep an eye out in case it shows again . . .
Mike

 

[lancer]

Missed it . . . . would have liked to have watched it . . . will have to keep an eye out in case it shows again . . .
Mike

Mike, if you don't already have it, I would suggest getting a copy of Barrett Tillman's excellent book 'Hellcat: The F6F in World War II'. It was done in 1979 by Naval Institute Press. It is readily available but prices fluctuate wildly, so be choosy. It is illustrated to a degree, but it is mostly a written history. -- Al