The
Grumman F4F Wildcat was the
frontline fighter of the US Navy at the beginning of WWII. What is
interesting is that the first 95 aircraft were built and exported, five
went to Canada and 90 went to the British. The F4F Wildcat was the
first American made aircraft to shoot down a German aircraft. On
December 25, 1940, 2 "Martletts" from the Royal Navy's 804 squadron
shot down a Junker Ju-88 near Scapa Flow. In US Navy service, the
Wildcat performed well. Joe Foss is the leading Wildcat ace with 26
victories. Despite being inferior in multiple aspects to the Mitsubishi
Zero, the US Navy pilots were able to hold there own. Development of
the "Thach Weave" and other strategies paid off for this rugged
fighter.
Two Wildcats are featured
on this page. When manufactured by Grumman, the designation was F4F.
When manufactured by General Motors, the designation was FM-2. The
lighter blue colored Wildcat with the red and white rudder is an F4F-3
made in 1943. It is privately owned. The darker blue Wildcat is an FM-2
made in 1945 and is owned and operated by the Planes of Fame Museum in
Chino.
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