Fun Fact: Chicago's O'Hare airport is named for Butch O'Hare, and they have a lovingly restored F4F-3 in an exhibit right in the airport. I'm 100% certain it's not airworthy, but it is an absolutely gorgeous restoration of the aircraft, painted in the markings of the aircraft that Butch O'Hare flew. The aircraft on display was pulled out of Lake Michigan (?) and lovingly restored. It sits inside the security zone, so anyone traveling through O'Hare can see it. If you fly to Chicago or are just passing through it's worth detouring to see it.
Yeah, pulled out of Lake Michigan. The USN converted a sidewheel steamer on the lake into a carrier for the purposes of training pilots in a mostly safe environment. Unsurprisingly, a number of wrecks ended up in the lake, and it's easier to salvage those than any lost in the Pacific.
I've seen it. It is a nice restoration, though they were a bit overzealous with painting the aircraft as there is plenty of overspray inside the main wheel wells. Even the supercharger intercoolers are painted over.
My great uncle was a navy test pilot, and I'm pretty sure the F4F was the first fighter plane that he flew for acceptance. I know that the last plane he flew for acceptance was the F4 Phantom, and he took great pride that he "came in flying an F4, and went out flying an F4". My dad still has his first generation jet helmet from flying an F9F Panther.
Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown had a soft spot for this aircraft and always rated it highly, possibly because he had his first kills in the Wildcat. Considering the number of planes he flew, praise from him was high praise.
More types of aircraft than any other pilot, ever. Including most captured Axis types. Great video Rex, becoming for aircraft what Drach’s channel is for warships.
So much of it comes down to configuration. I'm pretty sure that if they stripped it out like an A6M2, it would perform pretty similarly. The folding wings, armor, self-sealing tanks, etc. were options that could be forgone. The weaponry could be pared down to basically any configuration of browning MGs. The wildcat was as it was because of US Navy doctrine, not because it was inherently a dog.
The real life definition of making the most out of a bleak situation. The wildcat deserves more recognition as it's one of the only reasons why the Pacific War was manageable in the beginning phases.
Like some other channels pointed out: it is the plane that killed the bulk of the experienced pilots in the japanese navy. By the time Hellcats were available in numbers the attrition for the japanese was evident and more often then not hellcat pilots were fighting inexperienced or even barely trained pilots that culminated in the famous "marianas turkey shoot".
@@gusty9053 Absolutely. Similar story with the P-47 and Spitfire to a certain extent) They basically broke the back of the Luftwaffe by killing most of their experienced pilots before the Mustang arrived in numbers in Europe
Wildcats and their pilots don't get enough love. Everyone loves to laud the Hellcat and its 19:1 KDR, but everyone forgets that it was the Wildcat pilots (along with USAAF Airmen and USN AA Gunners) who managed to shoot down so many of the competent pilots that made the Kido Butai such a terror upon the seas. Others have said it better, but: the Zero was a spectacular dogfighter, but it was incredibly fragile, and mistakes were often fatal. Combined with an incredibly inefficient pilot training program, losses became irreplaceable, and by the time the Hellcat was introduced the Japanese Air Forces were shells of the former selves. Meanwhile, the Wildcat was spectacularly survivable, enabling pilots to survive otherwise lethal mistakes and pass on their experiences. Combined with a fantastically efficient training system, overall pilot quality grew, and when the Hellcat entered theater the pilots were better trained, in objectively superior aircraft, against much poorer trained pilots. It's no wonder the Hellcat was as successful as it was.
Thank you, it is often overlooked that it was the Wildcat that held the line decimating the flower of the Imperial Japanese pilots long before the Hellcats and Corsairs showed up to the fight.
The Curtiss and Grumman designs of the early war period were ESSENTIAL in stemming the Axis tide. Not brilliant - but good enough. Tough, easy to produce in large numbers and generally reliable and easy to fly. The Chieftain often states that ‘any tank is better than no tank at all’ - and these aircraft were what we had and WAY better than nothing. Good work Rex mate 👍👍
Lundstrom's First Team books have a comment somewhere which a quick perusal doesn't find, but from memory, he toted up F4F vs A6M carrier dogfights, and they were almost even, something like 94-95. The Hellcat gets the glory, but its opponents were not the veteran experts; those had been knocked out of the fight by the Wildcat pilots.
I agree that the Wildcat and Hurricane are both underappreciated, but apart from that I don't think the analogy holds. The Hurricane and Spitfire were contemporaries - developed at the same time, with the same engines and armament, featuring similar performance in the earliest models; and early in the war, before the Hurricane was eclipsed by further developmants of the Spitfire, they served in the same roles at the same battles. The F6F, OTOH, was always meant to be the F4F's successor: the project was started later, it was built around a much larger, more powerful engine, it was more heavily armed than (most of) the Wildcats, and right from its first flight the Hellcat outperformed the Wildcat in almost every way; and crucially, the F4F and F6F weren't generalky tasked with the same role(s) at the same time.
@@Philistine47 I guess the point I was trying to make is when people think of the Battle of Britain the Spit is the aircraft that comes into the mind of most people, just as in the war in the Pacific, the Hellcat gets the lion’s share of the attention even though the Wildcat had a pretty good kill to loss ratio
British pilot John Herbert, flying off the carrier Victorious: 'Concerning the Wildcat I echo the line of our best test pilots - it was probably the finest deck-landing aircraft ever built. I once landed a Wildcat with a hole in one wing big enough to put my desk through. I've landed with most of my tail shot away and with holes all over it, and bits dripping out of the engine, and the bloody thing still flew. It was incredibly good.'
Perfect aircraft for Atlantic & arctic convoy patrol off escort carriers, along with the swordfish. Didn't need high performance, needed to be reliable & easy to fly.
@ Ocrilat - Thanks for that story and quote, both of which were new to me. One of the joys of studying the history of WW2 is that, even after doing it for many years as I have, you still learn new things all the time. Another one of the underappreciated roles of the Wildcat was its use by the Fleet Air Arm flying off escort carriers and catapults on merchant vessels to interdict U-boats. And off of U.S. "jeep" carriers as well.
"Winkle Brown sung the aircraft's praises, and you cant get a much better reccomendation than that" quite true Capt Brown had flown most aircraft of the period capable of flight and a few things that shouldnt be.
Well done video about the F4F.. This airplane deserves more credit than it gets. I am a former USAF fighter pilot (15 years and 3000+ hours of fighter time).. and was I lucky enough to talk in-depth to several WW2 pilots who flew the F4F, (two of them aces most here would know) and NONE of them would say the A6M was superior to the F4F.. Yes the A6M did several thing better than the Wildcat, but the F4F did things that the Zero could not. Initial US losses against the Japanese air forces were do to the lack of real combat experience and valid tactics.. Read what Boyington wrote about his fist engagement with JAF Fighter.. It almost killed him because he tried to turn with it.. He got lucky and escaped.. after that he put a whole lot of confidence in Chennault's tactical doctrine..
I remember Birds of Steel including so many Pacific missions with these things. I always found it odd how the P-40 and even P-36 were more familiar to me than a plane that we basically entirely relied upon for the Pacific Theater, at least at the beginning. I've grown to absolutely adore the thing, and I'm glad to see a video on it!
Despite its performance not being the most impressive in comparison to some of its counterparts, this is my favorite naval fighter from ww2. It's various upgrades during the war showed that in the hands of a good pilot with the right tactics it was a good airplane. Thanks for another great video Rex. I managed to catch this one early because I'm getting ready for work lol.
I had the privilege of seeing (and hearing) a FM-2 Wildcat taking off at Duxford. The Wildcats are awesome little (compared to the Corsair and the Hellcat) tubs!
I can't imagine a true warbirds enthusiast NOT having a soft spot for the Wildcat! Its pilots fought the Japanese during that crucial first year-and-a-half, achieving an impressive loss-to-kill ratio, and when its successor arrived the tides of war in the Pacific had already turned. Imagine for a second that Grumman had thrown the towel after their initial problems, leaving the poor Navy pilots having to face Zeros flying the Buffalo.. PS : Incidently, one of the first model I built was a 1:72 model of the Wildcat. The assembly of the complex and fragile landing gear was such a nightmare that in the end I just glued the wheels to the fuselage and fixed the damn plane on its stand!
From my perspective as a fifty-year-old American and pretty much lifelong WW2 buff, the Wildcat has achieved a legendary status whereas the P-40 really hasn't. Probably because the Wildcat was the main American carrier based fighter during those first four carrier battles of 1942 and at Guadalcanal. A series of battles where it held its own against the deservedly legendary A6M Zero. While not quite the icon that the Spitfire, the P-51, or the P-38 are, the Wildcat is still a legend. Now I'll be quiet and watch the video
@ The Real Uncle Owen - It is impressive for any flyer to survive and thrive in the Darwinian world of air-to-air combat, but it is doubly so when the pilots in question are flying equipment which is not clearly superior to that used by the enemy. The fighter pilots who flew the Wildcat were not only fighter pilots of renown, they also had to be shrewd tacticians and strategists - to devise methods to neutralize and eventually overcome the advantages held by the enemy. The "Thach Weave" and other methods were the fruit of the innovation by these men, the means by which men like Joe Foss, Marion Carl and others bested the heretofore undefeated airmen of the Imperial Japanese Empire. A shout-out must go to the Coastwatchers, though: Those courageous men operating behind enemy lines, often on islands inhabited by Japanese occupiers (such as Buka, NW of Guadalcanal), who risked their lives to provide early warning to the pilots of the Cactus Air Force, so that they could get into the air in time to bounce approaching enemy aircraft. Also, to the code-breakers who cracked so many of the IJN and other codes, allowing U.S. intelligence personnel to read much of their radio and other comms traffic in real time.
This new format sounds like a great idea... and what a great little plane to start it on... keep up the good work it's a pleasure to listen to when doing jobs around the house...
Yeah vought really made a plane with too much power (the plane had so much torque and power it would just wheel off and crash if accelerated a little bit too fast after takeoffs and before landings) and too long of a nose to land. Still the best fighter of WW2
The Hellcat/Corsair crushed IJN and won the air war, but the Wildcat _held the line_ in 41-42, and worked hard the entire war. Fantastic little fighter.
The Wildcat shot down most A6M's that approached the bombers, at a rate of 3 Zero's to every Wildcat, those bombers then wrecked IJN carriers, which then saw most surviving A6M's, Kate's & Val's out of anywhere to land and had to ditch, few crews of which were rescued. By the time the F6F & F4U's made it to theater, the Japanese had almost no experienced air crews to counter them.
The Wildcat may not be my favourite plane (I don't dislike it, though) but I think that this video highlights that there's more than just performance figures that make a plane great. The Wildcat, P-40, and Hurricane were work horses and not as much a looker as many of their contemporaries. But they were able to talk the talk and walk the walk. That is what it takes to be a great plane. You may always have your top performers that stand out, but the bulk of the work is done by the average. Consistency is key. There's no shame in being average! :)
We should all keep your last three sentences in mind in the fight to save America from the current administration, globalists, elitists, the WEF, and others who want to sabotage America.
I am right there with you Rex about liking the F4F and the P-40 as well as thinking that they tend to be slighted. One of the first, if not the first, model my father ever bought for me to build is a Wildcat. A poor job of gluing and the canopy being half-fogged with the propeller blades long since broken off, it is still kept with great affection in my collection all these decades later.
glad the wildcat is getting some love. I have always loved this short, stubby but rugged plane. the Corsair and mustang are great show planes and I love them too, but the wildcat were the real work horse during the most dangerous times when we first entered the war.
Don't know exactly why 😊, but the P40 has always been my favorite WW2 fighter. As the F4 is the jet 😎. Great videos. I've watched the 3 part P40. So I'm looking forward to your F4F4 video.
Those two do go well with a shark mouth. Personally, my favorite WW2 fighter is a three way tie between the F4U, A6M, and Spitfire, but I am partial to the bulky beauty that is the P40.
I have a strange connection too the wildcat. No, I'm no way old enough to have flown, let alone ever even seen one in real life. However, I have had this memory of my childhood, my grandmother took me into a toy store. I don't remember the occasion, nor my age, but I must have been very very young and the store was one of those completely dedicated toy stores of the 60's and I could not have been more than 3 or 4 years of age. She told me to pick a toy, and my eager eyes lay on a wildcat! It's wings folded, and it being fairly large for my small hands and heavy being all metal. This was the first time my grandma ever gave me a smack for the price of the plane was more than she wished to spend. I had a habit of throwing myself on the ground and losing my everliving little mind in public which seemed to have worked on my parents but grandma? Not so much. I remember she And the owner of the store fighting to gain control of said toy from my aggressive claim of ownership. I then received my first spanking I had ever had, at least as far as I can remember, at the hands of my favorite person in my life at that time. To this day, I remember that toy 50 and change, years later With wishful regrets. I have no idea Why I was fixated on this toy wildcat, nor why it made such an impression on my small mind. But this is a very vivid memory and I have never had it diminish. Sorry for the far too long and personal tale of a spoiled brat being justifiably admonished in public by dear gran, but every time I see a wildcat that damn blue plane of which I wanted so badly, pops in my grayish head. Great video, and as always wonderful work!
I remember the Lindberg kits with a Wildcat for 50 cents..... I am real old..... I had just over $1.50 and could get 3 planes which I put together and used kitchen table as my carrier.......love those kits....
Its the older, less successful brother to the Hellcat. Its little wheel carriage system is cute though. I like the plane mainly for its oddly cute look.
Probably not news to you, but the book "the first team" by John B Lunstrom is a must read for F4F Wildcat enthousiasts. First hand accounts of its fighting history in the US navy, and a deep dive into the fighting tactics.
Well, it did not. That is a claimed ratio and the video failed to mention that. This means that in reality, the actual ratio is much lower due to overclaiming (generally speaking, you can divide the claimed aerial kills at least by 3 or more to get realistic values). Also, the ratio includes all aircraft (fighters, bombers, seaplanes, flying boats, etc.). Lundstrom's analysis showed that 25 A6Ms and 31 F4Fs were lost strictly in air combat during the height of the Guadalcanal campaign (i.e., between 1 August to 15 November). In addition, F4Fs had great situational advantages such early warning system (Coastwatchers+radar) and being in a defending position allowed them to predominately stick to high-altitude ambushes with hit-and-run attacks.
I was a big Hellcat guy and I am still a big Hellcat guy, but I appreciate the Wildcat now. It held the line for most of the war until the superstars finally showed up. The Wildcat was the Thin Red Line.
A Wildcat was the FIRST warbird I ever saw in person, when I was 12yo. In 1973 Flying Magazine featured an FM-2 owned and flown by a member of the DuPont (chemical) Family. I was thrilled to learn that it was based at a tiny airfield just a few miles from my home. Dad worked for DuPont and found out about an airshow at the field. He took the family. He got to chat with Lex DuPont, who let me crawl up on his Wildcat and look in the cockpit. Sadly I didn't have a camera!! (That was 1973) I've seen many Wilcats in museums and at airshows since then. That FM-2 I saw in 73 is still airworthy at Virginia Beach, USA. A few years back I toured the Military Air Museum and examined it up close without realizing it was the same airframe I crawled on when I was 12! Great work Rex! I envy your reference library.
Thank you Rex, for a very nicely done presentation of an important aircraft. Photos don't do justice to how small this airplane is compared to any more modern fighter. @ 3yrs ago I witnessed the first taxi and flight of a restored F4F-3 from Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona. It was minuscule next to the hanger doors. Trundled down the runway and 'brrrrrr'd' off into the sky. A week or so later I watched it repeatedly do the pattern at Mesa Gateway Airport (formerly Williams AFB) from my backyard overlook. The sound of the old radial engines is uniquely pleasant.
So from this video, the upcoming deep dive video, and the superb video you did on this aircraft on Drachinifels channel, we are going to get, "everything you wanted to know about the F4F, Martlette, and the FM-2, but were afraid to ask", by our very own Rex. Thanks for this video and very much looking forward to the new deep dive video. Very well done Rex.
This is one of my favorite war thunder naval fighters and is a very potent threat at it’s BR. I’m glad you’re covering it and I can’t wait to see more videos!
2:30. The Wildcat being overshadowed by the Hellcat and Corsair. Is similar to how the newer and larger Essex-Class Aircraft Carriers overshadowed the older Pre-War Fleet Carriers such as the Lexington and Yorktown-Classes and one offs such as USS Ranger and USS Wasp as well as the smaller Escort and Light Carriers.
@@paulgroeger33 I’m not sure about that. Ask anyone about a carrier named Enterprise these days and the answer would be CVN-65. Outside of history nerds and Azur Lane fans, not many would know of CV-6.
As one played a lot of Pacific Fighters (locally known as Pearlharbor PC game), this was one of "these planes" that you took to do the job but pretty much never for "casual one-off fun flight" (that went either for Spitfire, Corsair, P-38, Beaufighter or B25)
One of my most memorable combat flight simming experiences ever was playing through a community-generated campaign in PF called Cactus Diary. I can remember returning to base from one particular mission with a quarter of a wing and most of the vertical stab and rudder missing. It was an incredible experience, and made me fall in love with the Wildcat. I frequently flew casual one-off fun flights with it afterward!
My dad was a NAVY aircraft carrier mechanic during WWII and vigorously defended the F4F Wildcat when someone was throwing shade at it. If there was a model he did not appreciate it was the Brewster Buffalo. He had a LOT of good things to say about the F6F Hellcat.
Excellent presentation. I enjoy the fact that "Winkle" Brown, flying a Martlet, had 2 separate, single handed air to air kills vs Focke-Wulf Condors. He spoke highly of the firepower of the Martlet.
There is a wonderful video of him in a series about British WWII carrier pilots (Armoured Carriers), talking about how he did it. The "how" makes it even more remarkable. Some people, apparently, are not at all deterred by fear.
Well done. At the EEA "Air venture" last summer, I saw the F4F (or more likely an FM2 made to look like an F4F) next to the F6F Hellcat. I was amazed at how much smaller the F4F was.
Good video Rex, thank you. The Wildcat/Martlet was a war winning aircraft that deserves FAR more recognition than it gets. Your works tips the scale a bit more in the right direction 👍🏻
Honestly of all the airshows and demos I have seen the last twenty years I say honestly the demo of the wildcat years ago at Oshkosh brought the biggest smile to my face and now find memories of the love of aviation.
i always loved the wildcat. just trucked along and put in all the work, and the pilots got smart to deal with the zeros splitting up and then covering each other's tails
Upon researching escort carriers in search of Wildcat history (post Hellcat) I was astounded to find that Wildcats were seemingly in/at every battle. I had been told that they only hunted submarines and escorted merchant ships in the Atlantic after the coming of the Hellcat. NO NO NO they participated everywhere including D-day. Not all escort CVs were restricted to Wildcats only for their fighters, just the smaller ones. Escort CVs did a hell of a-lot in WWll. One company built 50 escort CVs "in one year" and they weren't re-fits they were CVs from the drawing board: Holy crap! Yep Escort CVs participated (usually in multiples even) nearly everywhere! I had no idea! Unsung hero's defined!
@@hlynnkeith9334 Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable... correct! lol Also nomenclated as CVL. They (Wildcats) were also land based pretty much everywhere and fought valiantly throughout the entire war.
@@robertshaver4432 CVLs are different. They're usually the converted cruiser hulls, like the Independence class carriers, who were built using Cleveland class CL hulls. CVLs could operate at fleet speeds, unlike the CVEs.
@@Axterix13 and they could operate with Hellcats for their slightly longer decks and catapult launch systems. that's one thing I can't find history for. Which CVLs and Which CVEs switched to Hellcats and when. Also the CVEs that couldn't tender Hellcats should have gotten the Wildcat FM-2 version but again did they and when?
I loved the buffalo in IL-2 Sturmovic as its low stall speed and beefy landing gear taught me how to land properly. But the wildcat is far more iconic in my eyes
@@petesheppard1709 That's largely dependent on what you put into the Buffalo. Early Buffaloes were rather manoeuvrable, but once the US Navy started cramming lot's of extra things in the aircraft, such as things related to survivability, performance started to suffer.
There are several aircraft worthy of serious recognition. The P40, PBY Catalina, the Kingfisher, the Wildcat, (obviously) to name a few. These aircraft were the backbone of U.S. airpower in their respective roles. Their contributions cannot be undervalued.
Thanks for your treatments of the F4F and P40. They don't get enough appreciation for their accomplishments when defeat in the war was still possible and victory only a hope.
My friends dad flew missions off escort carriers in the last year of the war. He said at that point it was more ground attack than dog fights. Nice old guy, greatest generation for sure.
While the A6M was the superior dogfighter - turning at slow speeds - an F4F pilot who chose dive-and-zoom tactics had a good chance of winning that fight. The F4F had strengths that were different from the strengths of the A6M (which also was longer ranged), strengths that were usable and useful: faster in a dive, less difficult to control in a high speed dive, a more balanced armament, and more rugged. The F4F also, early in the war, had better radios, i.e. better communication with other planes and with controllers. IMO, neither was "superior", they just had very different strengths and were suited to different usages.
I've always had a soft spot for the underdog planes. The Hurricane[1], the Wild cat, the P-40[2]. I hope you Deep dive,which I eagerly anticipate, discusses the Thatch Weave. Excellent work as always. [1] - from reading "Reach for the sky" [2] - from reading "You Live But Once" The Bobby Gibbs Autobiography. (of which I have a signed copy)
I look forward to the deep dive. Then again, I look forward to a Rex's Hangar video regardless of the dive or which craft it follows. There is always something to learn here.
I worked at Grumman for a while, company Philosophy always prioritized pilot survival, and planes were designed as a family of aircraft not just a single plane, which is why they could iterate designs quickly. The interaction with GM on the F4F only helped the concept along. You SHould watch the Footage of Leroy Hrumman telling how he designed the folding wing on youtube.
As a kid I played an old DOS flight simulator named Aces of the Pacific. Playing through the campaign as different branches in the service, I found the F4F Wildcat to be exactly as this video described: a reliable workhorse that did a lot of heavy lifting throughout the most crucial conflicts. By the time the Hellcat became available ingame, the Wildcat and its variants were already venerable and comfortable fighting machines. It came as a surprise to me years later when Hellcats were venerated and Wildcats were considered bad planes. I guess people put too much stock in biased firsthand accounts as the USN were at their weakest and the IJN at their strongest. Wildcats, to me, won the war and helped defeat the IJN. Hellcats were merely nailing the coffin shut.
Plus the pilots who fought the IJN to a standstill in a year then upgraded to a Hellcat or Corsair or went home to instruct rookies about to enter the war on tactics that work.
Hey, Rex. You were slightly wrong about F6F's not serving on escort carriers. During Operation Dragoon, VOF-1 and VF-74 operated Hellcats from USS Tulagi and USS Kasaan Bay
Fun Fact: Chicago's O'Hare airport is named for Butch O'Hare, and they have a lovingly restored F4F-3 in an exhibit right in the airport. I'm 100% certain it's not airworthy, but it is an absolutely gorgeous restoration of the aircraft, painted in the markings of the aircraft that Butch O'Hare flew. The aircraft on display was pulled out of Lake Michigan (?) and lovingly restored. It sits inside the security zone, so anyone traveling through O'Hare can see it. If you fly to Chicago or are just passing through it's worth detouring to see it.
I've been there and seen it.
Yeah, pulled out of Lake Michigan. The USN converted a sidewheel steamer on the lake into a carrier for the purposes of training pilots in a mostly safe environment. Unsurprisingly, a number of wrecks ended up in the lake, and it's easier to salvage those than any lost in the Pacific.
Correct me if I'm wrong , But isn't Hutch O'Hare the son of an accountant of All Capone aka Scar face ?
I've seen it. It is a nice restoration, though they were a bit overzealous with painting the aircraft as there is plenty of overspray inside the main wheel wells. Even the supercharger intercoolers are painted over.
@@kuckoo9036 I thought so too, but I had never seen another one so I didn't know. I agree they could tone it down a bit.
My great uncle was a navy test pilot, and I'm pretty sure the F4F was the first fighter plane that he flew for acceptance. I know that the last plane he flew for acceptance was the F4 Phantom, and he took great pride that he "came in flying an F4, and went out flying an F4". My dad still has his first generation jet helmet from flying an F9F Panther.
Awesome! If you’ve got more stories we’re all ears.
This helmet is a family heirloom. Treasure it, man.
Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown had a soft spot for this aircraft and always rated it highly, possibly because he had his first kills in the Wildcat. Considering the number of planes he flew, praise from him was high praise.
More types of aircraft than any other pilot, ever. Including most captured Axis types.
Great video Rex, becoming for aircraft what Drach’s channel is for warships.
even better than that, the elite Japanese Zero pilots respected the F4F in a dogfight and were careful not to underestimate it.
Joe Foss was Governor of my home state, South Dakota, when I was growing up. I learned in grade school that he was a WWII hero.
@@xenaguy01and he could’ve only been a Republican.
@@ラーメンのボス
He was.
Always loved the Wildcat. A chunky little scrapper that did worthy service against the odds.
Agreed.
So much of it comes down to configuration. I'm pretty sure that if they stripped it out like an A6M2, it would perform pretty similarly. The folding wings, armor, self-sealing tanks, etc. were options that could be forgone. The weaponry could be pared down to basically any configuration of browning MGs. The wildcat was as it was because of US Navy doctrine, not because it was inherently a dog.
The real life definition of making the most out of a bleak situation. The wildcat deserves more recognition as it's one of the only reasons why the Pacific War was manageable in the beginning phases.
Good to see this plane getting some recognition, I feel it really gets looked on poorly by people who don’t understand it’s true situation
Like some other channels pointed out: it is the plane that killed the bulk of the experienced pilots in the japanese navy. By the time Hellcats were available in numbers the attrition for the japanese was evident and more often then not hellcat pilots were fighting inexperienced or even barely trained pilots that culminated in the famous "marianas turkey shoot".
It's the warthunder players isn't it :) ? People who have a love for history mostly understand the planes significance.
It was also a very successful patrol fighter on Atlantic & Arctic convoy duty. Pilots loved it.
@@gusty9053 Absolutely. Similar story with the P-47 and Spitfire to a certain extent) They basically broke the back of the Luftwaffe by killing most of their experienced pilots before the Mustang arrived in numbers in Europe
@@guaporeturns9472 what about the P38 lightning? or even soviet aircraft if they apply here or another setting?
Wildcats and their pilots don't get enough love. Everyone loves to laud the Hellcat and its 19:1 KDR, but everyone forgets that it was the Wildcat pilots (along with USAAF Airmen and USN AA Gunners) who managed to shoot down so many of the competent pilots that made the Kido Butai such a terror upon the seas.
Others have said it better, but: the Zero was a spectacular dogfighter, but it was incredibly fragile, and mistakes were often fatal. Combined with an incredibly inefficient pilot training program, losses became irreplaceable, and by the time the Hellcat was introduced the Japanese Air Forces were shells of the former selves. Meanwhile, the Wildcat was spectacularly survivable, enabling pilots to survive otherwise lethal mistakes and pass on their experiences. Combined with a fantastically efficient training system, overall pilot quality grew, and when the Hellcat entered theater the pilots were better trained, in objectively superior aircraft, against much poorer trained pilots. It's no wonder the Hellcat was as successful as it was.
All too true ,The Wildcat crippled the IJN and the Hellcat and Corsair finished them off .
@Gary Hooper , much like the P-47 and P-38 in Europe. They fought the Luftwaffe at its strongest. The P-51 was the clean up hitter.
even the Japanese pilots had respect for the F4F.
@Solo Renegade there were reports of zeros exhausting there ammo on F4Fs and they kept flying. That's a testament to how rugged they truly were.
@@MrGary10k any aircraft with the R2800 Wasp or really any Pratt & Whitney engine gets into S-Tier in my book
Thank you, it is often overlooked that it was the Wildcat that held the line decimating the flower of the Imperial Japanese pilots long before the Hellcats and Corsairs showed up to the fight.
The Curtiss and Grumman designs of the early war period were ESSENTIAL in stemming the Axis tide. Not brilliant - but good enough. Tough, easy to produce in large numbers and generally reliable and easy to fly. The Chieftain often states that ‘any tank is better than no tank at all’ - and these aircraft were what we had and WAY better than nothing.
Good work Rex mate 👍👍
Lundstrom's First Team books have a comment somewhere which a quick perusal doesn't find, but from memory, he toted up F4F vs A6M carrier dogfights, and they were almost even, something like 94-95. The Hellcat gets the glory, but its opponents were not the veteran experts; those had been knocked out of the fight by the Wildcat pilots.
Any tank is better than no tank at all. Unless it's a Bob Semple.
This is the U.S. version of the Hurricane. The Wildcat & Hurricane were the workhorses while the Hellcat and Spitfire got the glory.
One could also argue that the not very pretty P47 Thunderbolt is unfairly underrated and eclipsed by the more glamorous P-51.
@@philiphumphrey1548 Love me a good Razorback or Jug.
@@philiphumphrey1548 i would also concur. “The Jug” was a deadly adversary in the hands of a pilot who knew her good and bad sides
I agree that the Wildcat and Hurricane are both underappreciated, but apart from that I don't think the analogy holds. The Hurricane and Spitfire were contemporaries - developed at the same time, with the same engines and armament, featuring similar performance in the earliest models; and early in the war, before the Hurricane was eclipsed by further developmants of the Spitfire, they served in the same roles at the same battles.
The F6F, OTOH, was always meant to be the F4F's successor: the project was started later, it was built around a much larger, more powerful engine, it was more heavily armed than (most of) the Wildcats, and right from its first flight the Hellcat outperformed the Wildcat in almost every way; and crucially, the F4F and F6F weren't generalky tasked with the same role(s) at the same time.
@@Philistine47 I guess the point I was trying to make is when people think of the Battle of Britain the Spit is the aircraft that comes into the mind of most people, just as in the war in the Pacific, the Hellcat gets the lion’s share of the attention even though the Wildcat had a pretty good kill to loss ratio
I am now building the AZ Model Grumman G-36 Grumman Martlet Mk I model kit .1/72 kit. Very nice fun build.
British pilot John Herbert, flying off the carrier Victorious: 'Concerning the Wildcat I echo the line of our best test pilots - it was probably the finest deck-landing aircraft ever built. I once landed a Wildcat with a hole in one wing big enough to put my desk through. I've landed with most of my tail shot away and with holes all over it, and bits dripping out of the engine, and the bloody thing still flew. It was incredibly good.'
Perfect aircraft for Atlantic & arctic convoy patrol off escort carriers, along with the swordfish. Didn't need high performance, needed to be reliable & easy to fly.
@ Ocrilat - Thanks for that story and quote, both of which were new to me. One of the joys of studying the history of WW2 is that, even after doing it for many years as I have, you still learn new things all the time. Another one of the underappreciated roles of the Wildcat was its use by the Fleet Air Arm flying off escort carriers and catapults on merchant vessels to interdict U-boats. And off of U.S. "jeep" carriers as well.
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 Agree, 100%.
I wonder how effective it is against Luftwaffe aircraft
Also the British enjoyed the Hellcat as well
"Winkle Brown sung the aircraft's praises, and you cant get a much better reccomendation than that" quite true Capt Brown had flown most aircraft of the period capable of flight and a few things that shouldnt be.
Sweet!
Who doesn't love the chunky cuddly Martlet/Wildcat!?
Wildcats/Martlets were the airgroup of the very first escort carrier HMS Audacity which was Eric Brown's first operational posting
Well done video about the F4F.. This airplane deserves more credit than it gets. I am a former USAF fighter pilot (15 years and 3000+ hours of fighter time).. and was I lucky enough to talk in-depth to several WW2 pilots who flew the F4F, (two of them aces most here would know) and NONE of them would say the A6M was superior to the F4F.. Yes the A6M did several thing better than the Wildcat, but the F4F did things that the Zero could not. Initial US losses against the Japanese air forces were do to the lack of real combat experience and valid tactics.. Read what Boyington wrote about his fist engagement with JAF Fighter.. It almost killed him because he tried to turn with it.. He got lucky and escaped.. after that he put a whole lot of confidence in Chennault's tactical doctrine..
I remember Birds of Steel including so many Pacific missions with these things. I always found it odd how the P-40 and even P-36 were more familiar to me than a plane that we basically entirely relied upon for the Pacific Theater, at least at the beginning. I've grown to absolutely adore the thing, and I'm glad to see a video on it!
Please do a video of the f4u corsair! My great granddad flew one for the navy!
Despite its performance not being the most impressive in comparison to some of its counterparts, this is my favorite naval fighter from ww2. It's various upgrades during the war showed that in the hands of a good pilot with the right tactics it was a good airplane. Thanks for another great video Rex. I managed to catch this one early because I'm getting ready for work lol.
I had the privilege of seeing (and hearing) a FM-2 Wildcat taking off at Duxford. The Wildcats are awesome little (compared to the Corsair and the Hellcat) tubs!
The FM2. The wilder wildcat. I agree Rex..P40 and the F4F.. two of my favorites of WW2. Thanks for the great content. Carry on, sir.
Was the FM2 the General Motors produced wildcat? I can't remember.
@@MrGary10k yes, it was. Grumman produced Wildcats had the F4F designation, while GM produced Wildcats were the FM-1 and FM-2.
I can't imagine a true warbirds enthusiast NOT having a soft spot for the Wildcat! Its pilots fought the Japanese during that crucial first year-and-a-half, achieving an impressive loss-to-kill ratio, and when its successor arrived the tides of war in the Pacific had already turned.
Imagine for a second that Grumman had thrown the towel after their initial problems, leaving the poor Navy pilots having to face Zeros flying the Buffalo..
PS : Incidently, one of the first model I built was a 1:72 model of the Wildcat. The assembly of the complex and fragile landing gear was such a nightmare that in the end I just glued the wheels to the fuselage and fixed the damn plane on its stand!
one of my favourite fighters, very much underrated
Another superbly researched and produced video. Top work, Rex!
This content is a pleasure to watch. Keep it up!
From my perspective as a fifty-year-old American and pretty much lifelong WW2 buff, the Wildcat has achieved a legendary status whereas the P-40 really hasn't. Probably because the Wildcat was the main American carrier based fighter during those first four carrier battles of 1942 and at Guadalcanal. A series of battles where it held its own against the deservedly legendary A6M Zero. While not quite the icon that the Spitfire, the P-51, or the P-38 are, the Wildcat is still a legend. Now I'll be quiet and watch the video
I think the P-40 is legendary because of the Flying Tigers.
@@spudskie3907 And shark's mouth.
@ The Real Uncle Owen - It is impressive for any flyer to survive and thrive in the Darwinian world of air-to-air combat, but it is doubly so when the pilots in question are flying equipment which is not clearly superior to that used by the enemy. The fighter pilots who flew the Wildcat were not only fighter pilots of renown, they also had to be shrewd tacticians and strategists - to devise methods to neutralize and eventually overcome the advantages held by the enemy. The "Thach Weave" and other methods were the fruit of the innovation by these men, the means by which men like Joe Foss, Marion Carl and others bested the heretofore undefeated airmen of the Imperial Japanese Empire.
A shout-out must go to the Coastwatchers, though: Those courageous men operating behind enemy lines, often on islands inhabited by Japanese occupiers (such as Buka, NW of Guadalcanal), who risked their lives to provide early warning to the pilots of the Cactus Air Force, so that they could get into the air in time to bounce approaching enemy aircraft. Also, to the code-breakers who cracked so many of the IJN and other codes, allowing U.S. intelligence personnel to read much of their radio and other comms traffic in real time.
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 we can't forget the Coastwatchers!
Taking carriers off the table and given the choice of being up against the IJN fighters in either aircraft, I'd take the P-40 over the F4F.
Now that's a pleasant surprise, one of Grummans carved from solid products.
Another product of the Grumman Ironworks.
This new format sounds like a great idea... and what a great little plane to start it on... keep up the good work it's a pleasure to listen to when doing jobs around the house...
Really, don't undervalue the quality of your voice Rex, a delight to listen to.
them Grumman flying barrels are something else
My heart goes to the F4U. And the Brits who taught us how to land them! Loved the explanation.
Yeah vought really made a plane with too much power (the plane had so much torque and power it would just wheel off and crash if accelerated a little bit too fast after takeoffs and before landings) and too long of a nose to land. Still the best fighter of WW2
Brought a tear to my eye when I saw one at an airshow a few years back
Unloved Hell, I've loved that little fighter since childhood.. it took on the Best and Above and beyond held it's own.
The Hellcat/Corsair crushed IJN and won the air war, but the Wildcat _held the line_ in 41-42, and worked hard the entire war. Fantastic little fighter.
The Wildcat shot down most A6M's that approached the bombers, at a rate of 3 Zero's to every Wildcat, those bombers then wrecked IJN carriers, which then saw most surviving A6M's, Kate's & Val's out of anywhere to land and had to ditch, few crews of which were rescued.
By the time the F6F & F4U's made it to theater, the Japanese had almost no experienced air crews to counter them.
The F6f became operational in late 43 !!
The Wildcat may not be my favourite plane (I don't dislike it, though) but I think that this video highlights that there's more than just performance figures that make a plane great. The Wildcat, P-40, and Hurricane were work horses and not as much a looker as many of their contemporaries. But they were able to talk the talk and walk the walk. That is what it takes to be a great plane. You may always have your top performers that stand out, but the bulk of the work is done by the average. Consistency is key. There's no shame in being average! :)
We should all keep your last three sentences in mind in the fight to save America from the current administration, globalists, elitists, the WEF, and others who want to sabotage America.
I am right there with you Rex about liking the F4F and the P-40 as well as thinking that they tend to be slighted.
One of the first, if not the first, model my father ever bought for me to build is a Wildcat.
A poor job of gluing and the canopy being half-fogged with the propeller blades long since broken off, it is still kept with great affection in my collection all these decades later.
glad the wildcat is getting some love. I have always loved this short, stubby but rugged plane. the Corsair and mustang are great show planes and I love them too, but the wildcat were the real work horse during the most dangerous times when we first entered the war.
One of my all time favorite planes!
Another great vid. Well done. The Cat was a good, solid transition fighter that did the job when it had to
My fav plane from WW2, if only because I love the way the landing gear folds into the fuselage
Iconic Grumman design :)
unsung heroes, P-40, Wildcat and the Hurricane, held the line and turned the tide. Its the Mechanic not the tools, thanks to our brave heroes
*_"P-40, Wildcat and the Hurricane, held the line and turned the tide."_*
No, they held the line. Big difference.
I've always been a huge wildcat fan.
The F4F was an outstanding aircraft for its time. The fact that it was used in front line combat for the duration of WWII is proof of that.
Don't know exactly why 😊, but the P40 has always been my favorite WW2 fighter. As the F4 is the jet 😎. Great videos. I've watched the 3 part P40. So I'm looking forward to your F4F4 video.
Those two do go well with a shark mouth. Personally, my favorite WW2 fighter is a three way tie between the F4U, A6M, and Spitfire, but I am partial to the bulky beauty that is the P40.
Great 👍 I actually hadn't thought about the sharks mouth. 😀 😆
I have a strange connection too the wildcat. No, I'm no way old enough to have flown, let alone ever even seen one in real life.
However, I have had this memory of my childhood, my grandmother took me into a toy store. I don't remember the occasion, nor my age, but I must have been very very young and the store was one of those completely dedicated toy stores of the 60's and I could not have been more than 3 or 4 years of age.
She told me to pick a toy, and my eager eyes lay on a wildcat! It's wings folded, and it being fairly large for my small hands and heavy being all metal. This was the first time my grandma ever gave me a smack for the price of the plane was more than she wished to spend. I had a habit of throwing myself on the ground and losing my everliving little mind in public which seemed to have worked on my parents but grandma? Not so much.
I remember she And the owner of the store fighting to gain control of said toy from my aggressive claim of ownership. I then received my first spanking I had ever had, at least as far as I can remember, at the hands of my favorite person in my life at that time.
To this day, I remember that toy 50 and change, years later
With wishful regrets.
I have no idea Why I was fixated on this toy wildcat, nor why it made such an impression on my small mind.
But this is a very vivid memory and I have never had it diminish.
Sorry for the far too long and personal tale of a spoiled brat being justifiably admonished in public by dear gran, but every time I see a wildcat that damn blue plane of which I wanted so badly, pops in my grayish head.
Great video, and as always wonderful work!
I remember the Lindberg kits with a Wildcat for 50 cents..... I am real old..... I had just over $1.50 and could get 3 planes which I put together and used kitchen table as my carrier.......love those kits....
The P40 and the F4F arre my favorite airplains too.
Its the older, less successful brother to the Hellcat. Its little wheel carriage system is cute though. I like the plane mainly for its oddly cute look.
love the Wild Cat - it did most of the toughest work in the Pacific extremely well - Wild Cat Aces would be an hour long vid I'd watch
The plane I've all been waiting for
Probably not news to you, but the book "the first team" by John B Lunstrom is a must read for F4F Wildcat enthousiasts. First hand accounts of its fighting history in the US navy, and a deep dive into the fighting tactics.
Fantastic work Rex!
Particularly like the Lady Lex's 'Action off Bougainville' in which Butch O'Hare played such a prominent role getting a mention.
I didn't know this thing had a 6:1 kill ratio. For a plane that was outclassed by the Zero, that's kindof amazing.
@Cancer McAids The Mitsubishi A6M was also faster than the Wildcat. Even quite a bit faster with later variants.
Well, it did not. That is a claimed ratio and the video failed to mention that. This means that in reality, the actual ratio is much lower due to overclaiming (generally speaking, you can divide the claimed aerial kills at least by 3 or more to get realistic values). Also, the ratio includes all aircraft (fighters, bombers, seaplanes, flying boats, etc.). Lundstrom's analysis showed that 25 A6Ms and 31 F4Fs were lost strictly in air combat during the height of the Guadalcanal campaign (i.e., between 1 August to 15 November). In addition, F4Fs had great situational advantages such early warning system (Coastwatchers+radar) and being in a defending position allowed them to predominately stick to high-altitude ambushes with hit-and-run attacks.
I was a big Hellcat guy and I am still a big Hellcat guy, but I appreciate the Wildcat now. It held the line for most of the war until the superstars finally showed up. The Wildcat was the Thin Red Line.
Looking forward to the deep-dive video - thanks for all the work!
Another outstanding video Rex. Hopefully one day you might find the time to do an video of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
The Wildcat has always been one of my favorite planes!
My all-time favorite aircraft. Thank you.
Loved the wildcat. Thatch weave 4 life!
Looking forward to the new format and long-form videos
A Wildcat was the FIRST warbird I ever saw in person, when I was 12yo. In 1973 Flying Magazine featured an FM-2 owned and flown by a member of the DuPont (chemical) Family. I was thrilled to learn that it was based at a tiny airfield just a few miles from my home. Dad worked for DuPont and found out about an airshow at the field. He took the family. He got to chat with Lex DuPont, who let me crawl up on his Wildcat and look in the cockpit. Sadly I didn't have a camera!! (That was 1973) I've seen many Wilcats in museums and at airshows since then. That FM-2 I saw in 73 is still airworthy at Virginia Beach, USA. A few years back I toured the Military Air Museum and examined it up close without realizing it was the same airframe I crawled on when I was 12!
Great work Rex! I envy your reference library.
Thank you Rex, for a very nicely done presentation of an important aircraft. Photos don't do justice to how small this airplane is compared to any more modern fighter. @ 3yrs ago I witnessed the first taxi and flight of a restored F4F-3 from Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona. It was minuscule next to the hanger doors. Trundled down the runway and 'brrrrrr'd' off into the sky. A week or so later I watched it repeatedly do the pattern at Mesa Gateway Airport (formerly Williams AFB) from my backyard overlook. The sound of the old radial engines is uniquely pleasant.
Funny, I'm heading to Falcon Field this weekend. Is the Wildcat still there? And if so, is it part of the CAF museum there, or is it owned privately?
@@ronjon7942 I don't know. This was years ago. Website?
So from this video, the upcoming deep dive video, and the superb video you did on this aircraft on Drachinifels channel, we are going to get, "everything you wanted to know about the F4F, Martlette, and the FM-2, but were afraid to ask", by our very own Rex. Thanks for this video and very much looking forward to the new deep dive video. Very well done Rex.
This is one of my favorite war thunder naval fighters and is a very potent threat at it’s BR. I’m glad you’re covering it and I can’t wait to see more videos!
Once upon a time my three plane element with two Wildcats and one Helldiver shot down the entire enemy team. 12 of 15 were scored by us.
26 minutes is now the short format. Looks like a drachinifelization of the channel. Not bad, not bad at all.
2:30. The Wildcat being overshadowed by the Hellcat and Corsair. Is similar to how the newer and larger Essex-Class Aircraft Carriers overshadowed the older Pre-War Fleet Carriers such as the Lexington and Yorktown-Classes and one offs such as USS Ranger and USS Wasp as well as the smaller Escort and Light Carriers.
yay Ranger, my favorite WWII warship, such a unique design.
Say no because you ask alot of people about ww2 carrier enterprise is probably number one now other pre-war carrier yeah overshadowed by Essex
@@paulgroeger33 I’m not sure about that. Ask anyone about a carrier named Enterprise these days and the answer would be CVN-65. Outside of history nerds and Azur Lane fans, not many would know of CV-6.
As one played a lot of Pacific Fighters (locally known as Pearlharbor PC game), this was one of "these planes" that you took to do the job but pretty much never for "casual one-off fun flight" (that went either for Spitfire, Corsair, P-38, Beaufighter or B25)
One of my most memorable combat flight simming experiences ever was playing through a community-generated campaign in PF called Cactus Diary. I can remember returning to base from one particular mission with a quarter of a wing and most of the vertical stab and rudder missing. It was an incredible experience, and made me fall in love with the Wildcat. I frequently flew casual one-off fun flights with it afterward!
The Wildcat is The Little Plane That Could
The wildcat and SBD basically laid the foundation for our victory in 1942.
My dad was a NAVY aircraft carrier mechanic during WWII and vigorously defended the F4F Wildcat when someone was throwing shade at it.
If there was a model he did not appreciate it was the Brewster Buffalo. He had a LOT of good things to say about the F6F Hellcat.
Excellent presentation.
I enjoy the fact that "Winkle" Brown, flying a Martlet, had 2 separate, single handed air to air kills vs Focke-Wulf Condors.
He spoke highly of the firepower of the Martlet.
There is a wonderful video of him in a series about British WWII carrier pilots (Armoured Carriers), talking about how he did it.
The "how" makes it even more remarkable. Some people, apparently, are not at all deterred by fear.
@@thomasknobbe4472 He was indeed quite a man, and a very talented pilot. I do "follow" the "Armoured Carrier" channel.
Well done. At the EEA "Air venture" last summer, I saw the F4F (or more likely an FM2 made to look like an F4F) next to the F6F Hellcat. I was amazed at how much smaller the F4F was.
Good video Rex, thank you. The Wildcat/Martlet was a war winning aircraft that deserves FAR more recognition than it gets. Your works tips the scale a bit more in the right direction 👍🏻
Honestly of all the airshows and demos I have seen the last twenty years I say honestly the demo of the wildcat years ago at Oshkosh brought the biggest smile to my face and now find memories of the love of aviation.
i always loved the wildcat. just trucked along and put in all the work, and the pilots got smart to deal with the zeros splitting up and then covering each other's tails
I’ve always loved the Wildcat…
Nice presentation. Nice graphics, great narration and information! I love the unsung heroes of the early war years like the Wildcat.
Upon researching escort carriers in search of Wildcat history (post Hellcat) I was astounded to find that Wildcats were seemingly in/at every battle. I had been told that they only hunted submarines and escorted merchant ships in the Atlantic after the coming of the Hellcat. NO NO NO they participated everywhere including D-day. Not all escort CVs were restricted to Wildcats only for their fighters, just the smaller ones. Escort CVs did a hell of a-lot in WWll. One company built 50 escort CVs "in one year" and they weren't re-fits they were CVs from the drawing board: Holy crap! Yep Escort CVs participated (usually in multiples even) nearly everywhere! I had no idea! Unsung hero's defined!
I believe the correct nomenclature for an escort carrier is CVE.
@@hlynnkeith9334 Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable... correct! lol Also nomenclated as CVL. They (Wildcats) were also land based pretty much everywhere and fought valiantly throughout the entire war.
@@robertshaver4432 CVLs are different. They're usually the converted cruiser hulls, like the Independence class carriers, who were built using Cleveland class CL hulls. CVLs could operate at fleet speeds, unlike the CVEs.
@@Axterix13 and they could operate with Hellcats for their slightly longer decks and catapult launch systems. that's one thing I can't find history for. Which CVLs and Which CVEs switched to Hellcats and when. Also the CVEs that couldn't tender Hellcats should have gotten the Wildcat FM-2 version but again did they and when?
Also known as "jeep carriers" if I'm not mistaken. They and a handful of destroyers saved the Leyte beachhead.
You covered way more unpopular aircraft than popular ones
I loved the buffalo in IL-2 Sturmovic as its low stall speed and beefy landing gear taught me how to land properly. But the wildcat is far more iconic in my eyes
I wonder how well the F2A would have fared if it had been built with Grumman quality.
@@petesheppard1709 That's largely dependent on what you put into the Buffalo. Early Buffaloes were rather manoeuvrable, but once the US Navy started cramming lot's of extra things in the aircraft, such as things related to survivability, performance started to suffer.
@@martijn9568 Great point! AIUI, it was the lighter aircraft that the Finns used so successfully.
What I love the most about the Wildcat is the heroic aviators who turned it into a Zero killer despite its performance deficiencies.
And it was there from the beginning to the end of WWII.
There are several aircraft worthy of serious recognition. The P40, PBY Catalina, the Kingfisher, the Wildcat, (obviously) to name a few. These aircraft were the backbone of U.S. airpower in their respective roles.
Their contributions cannot be undervalued.
Thanks for your treatments of the F4F and P40. They don't get enough appreciation for their accomplishments when defeat in the war was still possible and victory only a hope.
My grandfather served on an escort carrier in the Pacific. The FM-2 was a valuable component of their air power.
Same with my father.
What, Mr. Borkzilla?
You LIAR!
I applaud the direction you have chosen for the channel. I look forward to future installments.
My friends dad flew missions off escort carriers in the last year of the war. He said at that point it was more ground attack than dog fights. Nice old guy, greatest generation for sure.
Aeronave incrível! Gratidão pelo vídeo e pelas informações!🌟
This bird, along with the SBD Dauntless, were the heroes of The Battle of Midway. Even the mediocre Devastater played it's part.
Good video.
While the A6M was the superior dogfighter - turning at slow speeds - an F4F pilot who chose dive-and-zoom tactics had a good chance of winning that fight. The F4F had strengths that were different from the strengths of the A6M (which also was longer ranged), strengths that were usable and useful: faster in a dive, less difficult to control in a high speed dive, a more balanced armament, and more rugged. The F4F also, early in the war, had better radios, i.e. better communication with other planes and with controllers. IMO, neither was "superior", they just had very different strengths and were suited to different usages.
It would be worthwhile to mention the "Thatch Weave", a dogfighting tactic developed that give Wildcats a real chance against the Zero.
What a fantastic history lesson. This channel is a real gem. Thank you.
I was unaware of their continued use, I thought they just got replaced. Great Video 🙂👍
I've always had a soft spot for the underdog planes. The Hurricane[1], the Wild cat, the P-40[2]. I hope you Deep dive,which I eagerly anticipate, discusses the Thatch Weave. Excellent work as always.
[1] - from reading "Reach for the sky"
[2] - from reading "You Live But Once" The Bobby Gibbs Autobiography. (of which I have a signed copy)
I look forward to the deep dive. Then again, I look forward to a Rex's Hangar video regardless of the dive or which craft it follows. There is always something to learn here.
The photo at 23:58 with "fire plug" painted on the bulkhead behind the plane, is the best description of the plane's profile.
I worked at Grumman for a while, company Philosophy always prioritized pilot survival, and planes were designed as a family of aircraft not just a single plane, which is why they could iterate designs quickly. The interaction with GM on the F4F only helped the concept along. You SHould watch the Footage of Leroy Hrumman telling how he designed the folding wing on youtube.
How wonderful! The Wildcat and the Warhawk are my two favorite WWII aircraft.
..never would've guessed ;-D
Good too see the Wildcat getting a good press. Fond memories of one on the UK airshow circuit in the 1980s.
Yes, I really enjoyed this, as I did the long form videos on the P40. Looking forward to those for this aircraft.
As a kid I played an old DOS flight simulator named Aces of the Pacific. Playing through the campaign as different branches in the service, I found the F4F Wildcat to be exactly as this video described: a reliable workhorse that did a lot of heavy lifting throughout the most crucial conflicts. By the time the Hellcat became available ingame, the Wildcat and its variants were already venerable and comfortable fighting machines.
It came as a surprise to me years later when Hellcats were venerated and Wildcats were considered bad planes. I guess people put too much stock in biased firsthand accounts as the USN were at their weakest and the IJN at their strongest.
Wildcats, to me, won the war and helped defeat the IJN. Hellcats were merely nailing the coffin shut.
Plus the pilots who fought the IJN to a standstill in a year then upgraded to a Hellcat or Corsair or went home to instruct rookies about to enter the war on tactics that work.
Hey, Rex. You were slightly wrong about F6F's not serving on escort carriers. During Operation Dragoon, VOF-1 and VF-74 operated Hellcats from USS Tulagi and USS Kasaan Bay
Great work Rex! The Wildcat is my favorite naval warbird.
Very informative video. I had models of the Wildcat, Hellcat and Corsair hanging in my bedroom as a teenager. I love their history.