Pancake's Guide To The F6F Hellcat

By: Troy "Pancake" Whigham

The US Navy's leading ace in World War II was William McCampbell, and his aircraft was the Grumman F6F Hellcat. While Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was making the Corsair famous with the American public, it was the Hellcat that kept the Japanese away from the carriers and allowed the Marine air bases to survive.

The Hellcat is the epitome of "the sum is greater than the parts". It excels at nothing in particular, yet I believe that it is the most competitive aircraft in the FR Pacific theatre. It is the perfect balance of speed, maneuverability, lethality, and durability. It's the second slowest plane (the Zero is the slowest) and the second most durable (the Corsair can take more damage). Its armament of six .50 caliber machine guns gives it an average lethality, but it packs a larger ammo load than most other planes (except the Corsair). It has average maneuverability, though using the dive brake and flaps can give it an instantaneous "turn on a dime" effect if timed right. The P-47 and the F4U can out dive it (they're both heavier), the Zero and Ki can both outturn it over time, and the P-38 can out loop it.

So what does the F6F do well? It can hang in a stall fight like no other aircraft. It takes a lot of abuse to put a Hellcat into a spin and it doesn't require flaps to help its stall speed. Whenever I am teaching upcoming fighter pilots the ways of air combat, this is the plane I use because of its handling and ease of use. Its also a very effective dogfighter at speeds below 300 knots and under 20,000 feet altitude, which is where most of the fighting takes place anyway. Visibility is excellent up, back, to the sides and forward. Rearward visibility is good enough, but I'm spoiled by the Mustang's and the Thunderbolt's bubble canopy (the next Grumman fighter - the Bearcat - had a bubble canopy but it never saw action in WWII and isn't modeled in Air Warrior). The Corsair's rearward visibility is even worse, and since that's where most of a pilot's trouble comes from it can be a big liability. The Corsair also becomes an easy target at low speeds, where the Hellcat really begins to shine. It is for these reasons that I crow about the 'Cat.

Spinning a Hellcat can cause the oil to run out of the engine very quickly, and the same is true for the Corsair and Thunderbolt since they all share the same Pratt & Whitney R2800 power plant. Once you realize you're in a spin, chop throttle, apply counter rudder, and relax the stick. Keep your eye on your oil gauge. Your engine has already suffered irreparable damage but you can at least try to minimize your losses. As soon as the needle is back at the top, increase your thrust and plan your escape route. You probably won't be able to run away if you're fighting against anything other than a Zero, but you can at least try to drag the fight closer to your friends.

If you get in a situation where you're being attacked by a diving Corsair, Mustang, or George, you can use your superior maneuverability to spoil their shot. Jink back and forth to throw off their aim. As they pass by, use your brake and flaps to whip around behind them. You'll have a small firing window so shoot quickly. You want to try to get them to burn their energy because once they get down to around 200 knots, you will have the advantage.

The Hellcat tends to compress around 350 to 400 knots, but you have a dive brake and can use it to help you get out of those high-speed dives and to help decrease your turn radius when you're chasing those pesky Franks, Zeroes, Corsairs, and Lightning's (you don't need to worry about turning against a George. They don't turn too well anyway). There are only two positions for the flaps - full up or full down - and they should only be used for carrier landings or for short periods to make a
hard turn.

The Hellcat carries two 550 lb. bombs, but it shouldn't be used for dive bombing against a field where the flak is still active because its slow airspeed makes it a more vulnerable target. For pure dive bombing you'll want to fly either the Mustang or the Corsair - same payload in a faster package. You can come in fast, deliver your explosives, then speed off before the enemy can catch up to you. In the Hellcat, however, you may have to fight your way out of a sticky situation.