Why the Japanese Feared the F6F Hellcat
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มี.ค. 2024
- This is the second episode of the story of Don McPherson - an F6F Hellcat ace from Fighter Squadron 83, flying off of the USS Essex in 1945 at the Battle of Okinawa. This includes his first dogfight against Japanese Val Dive Bombers. This was made using the World War II flight simulator War Thunder - Download free here: playwt.link/tj3history2024 Hope you enjoy! Please like, comment, and subscribe. #WW2 #WWIIHistory #WarThunder
RESEARCH SOURCES: Research sources in all of my content include the United States National Archives (NARA) - and specifically, Missing Air Crew Reports, as well as combat reports and diaries from various fighter and bomber squadrons. catalog.archives.gov/
If you know another living WWII air war Veteran, please fill out this form so we can tell their story: forms.gle/aPpoEcnK7Vi2XAFv6
Join my FREE WWII History Newsletter:
tj3history.ck.page/0440475ff7
Want to fly with me in one of these great WWII flight sims? Join my discord!
/ discord
Have an idea for one of my videos? Submit it here! forms.gle/91xwbGKQsRCNZmwm9
If you want to support TJ3 History and get access to special VIP content, please check out these awesome links!
Patreon - / tj3history
TJ3 History Merch Store!
TJ3History.shop
Follow me on social media for updates!
Facebook - / tj3history
Twitter - / tj3history
Twitch - Twitch.com/TJ3History
Instagram - / tj3history - เกม
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 69 | คู่เอก "กุหลาบดำ vs นาบิล"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PNM6U8e_HMo/mqdefault.jpg)
Found these interviews of my Dad, Don McPherson this evening. These are very well done. Thank you.
Thank you! The privilege was ours.
Thank you for his service
Your father was a true warrior.
@@TJ3 This is SUCH a good Channel… I only discovered it TODAY & am SO glad that I did…
Really captivating & inspirational episodes of wartime history, BRILLIANTLY, sensitively & imaginatively presented. ✨🏆✨ INSTANT SUBSCRIPTION!
Thanks to your dad for giving my family air support. Semper Fi
My grandpa was in the engine room on the USS Essex. He had some crazy stories.
My dad was a Hellcat Pilot that served in pretty much the whole war in the Pacific
Salute to ur dad.
Presumably starting in the earlier years in a different aircraft type.
My dad was Army in that invasion force. I sent this to my friend because his father was on the USS Essex during this battle. Not sure his rating was. (MOS to non- Navy) He was certainly on the guns. So his dad was protecting my dad. We are searching for an old film that showed his father when they are pushing an aircraft off the deck into the sea. It's ust a quick shot of him but he would treasure it.
Rating isn't really equivalent to MOS. You have a rating, your general field, and then a specific job, which is a NEC these days. Specific rates are qualified for a range of NECs.
The Marines are identical to this, and go to the same schoolhouse.. they just don't get rated, even though they earned a rating. In Aviation, if you ask a Marine what rate they are, they will tell you a Navy rate lol.
@@ATBatmanMALS31 ok. Maybe when I was in things were different? 78-83. I was an E-5 upon discharge. As I understood it, rating was what I did. Ground Support Equipment tech, hydraulics and pneumatics. ASH2. I think it's all ASM now. If I stayed in for 6 more months, I could have taken the test for E-6 but by then you are expected to know both the mechanical & hydraulics and pneumatics. Maybe ASE which works on the electrical gse. So E-5 was my rank. ASH was my rating. What I did. I don't know what NEC is. You said these days so no wonder that I don't know about it. I am 70 but I hope that I haven't forgotten that much! I almost married a Marine. He was going to be the equivalent of the Navy rateing/rate of AT. Avionics Tech. They work on the black boxes. AE's can remove and install them and wiring on the aircraft. Etc. I don't recall if they called it AT in the Marines. Anyway, thanks for explaining.
@@ATBatmanMALS31I got out as an AX2 after 4 years in 1975 . I went to Avionics A school in Millington, Tn. And at least a third of the class were Marines. Us sailors would just walk into the class once we got there, they had an inspection every morning by one of the Marine instructors. An AX is an aviation anti submarine warfare technician. I served in a patrol squadron working on P-3Bs. We had ATs and AXs working out of the same shop. I worked doing electronics work in high school for two years doing component level work. The shop I worked at was run by two retired submarine ETs that taught me a lot. I remember in one class in A school they were amazed how fast I found all the problems. Both brothers and my son served in the Navy. One on submarines, one in a patrol squadron and my son on a carrier working the bow catapults.
@@Chris_at_Home i guess they split up AX between AT and FC. I knew a techrep that was a former AX, he said he preferred having the rate.. ASW is a big piece of the AT exam, but unless you're in with P8s, it's all theorhetical lol
@@ATBatmanMALS31 My comment was removed by the people that do that when they don’t understand what it was about. Yes, I did hear the combined the AX and AT rating.
At least I’m not sobbing at the end of this like your last few productions.
History from that war is BRUTAL. 😬
Yes, it is hard to keep your eyes dry when you think about what those young men had to go through. My dad(south Pacific), wouldn't talk about his experiences.
The older I get (I'm 62 now), the more apparent it becomes to me that while objectives maybe reached, and territory may be reclaimed from invaders, nobody really wins a war. I have nothing but admiration for those that fought and died for my country, but I am eternally grateful for the gift of fate that meant that I didn't have to go.
@@tjh44961 Yes, because they did the "dirty work"- we didn't have to.
The history is brutal because the war was brutal. The saying “War is Hell” was proven true so many times during the war in both theaters of operation.
My brother Tom was born on this day in Pecos Texas. Dad was US Army Air Force, he trained bomer pilots. He retired an US Air Force as a Major in 1962.
Royal Navy Spitfires successfully used their hi speed and climb to intercept Japanese kamikaze attacks at Okinawa and Iwo Jima. The British also used Corsairs and Hellcats.
I always thought the peak of U.S. and British cooperation was the P-51 Mustang. The addition of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine made them bad ass.
Might need to look into this one.
During WWII, Spitfires flew in the Mediterranean, northern Europe, Italy, North Africa, the Middle East, Malaya, Burma, and the Pacific.
The British naval task force served with the Americans during the fighting around Okinawa, but it was not directly involved in the Okinawa landing.
The Fleet Air Arm used Grumman Avenger, Supermarine Spitfires, Fairy Fireflies, they also had Corsair, Hellcats and Barracudas.
@@DeMan59the addition of American technology made the merlin what it was...
the vast majority of British carriers used American fighters....
People talk about Chi Chi Jima as if it had no tactical importance. In fact Chi Chi Jima was a huge radio relay station from the Japanese mainland to the rest of the Pacific.
Great video as always. I really appreciate hearing the stories directly from the veterans.
Great video. Also future video idea-describing unique engines of early Italian fighter planes and the crazy designs of some of the naval strike aircraft that they created
Thanks! Interesting idea!!
Thanks for what you do bro, I really look forward to hearing the stories of these men.
The only thing I dislike about your videos is when you put the actual black and white footage on the little TV where you can barely see it I wish it was on the whole screen like the rest of the video otherwise you do an absolutely incredible great job on these videos thank you very much❤❤❤
2:00 I remember watching this live as it happened on my TV set.
Superbly put together video paying tribute to these guys from the greatest generation. Many thanks!
Thanks for the story!
Your videos are truly outstanding Sir. Thank you very much!
A story so good it took two installments to tell! Thanks TJ
I think there is at least one more video coming of Dad.
My uncle was corps of engineers in the 77th division on Okinawa. "The professor" he was called because he loved reading books. Fredrick graves schrimper.
Awesome video! Thoroughly enjoyed this one :)
Great production TJ ! Super interesting ! Appreciate your hard work, keep on it !
Another great story, incredible research and visuals, talk about making history come alive! Thanks very much for passing on the legacy of the greatest generation.
Best presented and edited videography out there.
Great presentation. thanks
Outstanding! Thank you.
Your work is very good Tj!
I am in awe. Thank you, Sir!
Great video
my Dad said that by March of ‘45 Japan had about run out of seasoned experienced pilots and that even he shot down three in his P-40 Warhawk … he said that 3 months before he passed in 2011 saying further that nobody should brag about shooting down the enemy because one might have shot down the guy who would have later cured cancer !!!
Interesting, but you failed to answer the question posed. Click bait.
Your videos are great . Thanks
Most people did not have TV sets until 1955. News reals were played in moive theaters. Great job well done !!!
Thank you for your service
Excellent account and video production - clever and informative. Nice work.
Love watching these videos and hearing from the veterans who faught
Great video...👍
So important that you are doing this. Recording Don and people like him so his words will be here for future generations hear.
Thanks Jeff!
We had some superb aircraft! 💪🇺🇲
Superb pilots, as well!
I watch a lot of WW2 history videos, most are from the European theatre, I like how you mix it up! I really enjoy your videos
Another fine video my friend with Don McPherson in person❣ flying his F6F Hellcat 👍
Old F-4 2 Shoe🇺🇸
Lucky to have had him as a friend. I would call you both gunfighters, but I don’t think your F-4 had a gun.
@@duaneaikins4621 O yes later on thanks F-4 Shoe🇺🇸
You know its gonna be a good friday when a TJ3 masterpiece drops. I appreciate the great content TJ, stay awesome.
Thank you!!
Great video Tj3!! As a suggestion, could you please add in-video subtitles for your next interviews? Thanks!
I'll try!
@@TJ3 Thank you so much man!! Big fan :)
Hey T, was watching Masters of the Air recently and had never heard the story of the Tuskegee guys losing three planes while attacking that radar array.
Will you do a video on that? The movie didn't give much info on the before, during and after.
10:13 Nice Video @TJ3 .. I love it when you interview one of these old Vets!!! .. Is it teue that the Kamikaze Pilots received very little trainung??? .. 🙄🤔😲
My uncle was probably on the Essex at this time. Machinist mate, or something like that (USN).
Incredible true life story!
My father was navy on a supply ship. Large Slow Target..they didn't have the armament of a war ship. He never said much sbout it. Durvived the war. Stayed in Shanghai for many months after the war.
What kind of camera are you using for Don's interview?
Somehow this story didn’t make it to the “Dogfights” episode regarding the F6F.
I'd assume there weren't just a handful of them that you could put all out on TV, you know...
My uncle was on board the uss missouri BB 63 ! My dad was on a tin can destroyer the uss power . They never spoke too much or bragged .. but my uncle did say a kamikaze hit the ship w no damage 😮. The greatest men /women & generation to keep us free 🇺🇸
Wow! Another great story! True stories/life always trumps fiction!
Thank you!
My neighbor who has since passed landed on Okinawa, USMC.
what was a message drop mission?
what does tv have to do with any of this?
Imagine how crazy it would be if you and another person rode a rollercoaster with him in the front car
and you in the end car... you both have a sub-machine guns...and after the rollercoaster car ascends the peak
of the initial big hill, you and the other person are free to shoot the other person throughout the wild turns and
unexpected zooms and dives. NOW... multiply that 10x and you have a WWII fighter combat experience.
just started reading a book about this from the japanese perspective called the grenade form allan graths
I love the F6F, soo thicc😍
Grumman had a 'thang' for robust. :D
Good video but with one nitpick: When a plane gets its wing shot off it rolls uncontrollably in that same direction.
That's exactly the thing that vertical-diving plane did. All the way down. The horizontal flier... hmm.
By the Okinawan campaign the F6F-5 had superseded the F6F-3. Outwardly both Hellcats looked identical. The -5 possessed a slightly upgraded engine offering a top speed of 380 mph to the -3's top speed of 376 mph. More, the -5 could carry bombs and rockets underneath both wings while the -3 typically carried only an auxiliary fuel tank under the belly although a bomb could be hitched there. Thus the -5 Hellcat had been transformed into a versatile fighter-bomber. In addition a night-fighter version of the Hellcat was available over Okinawa, the F6F-5N, which carried an armament of two, 20mm cannon and four, .50 heavy machine guns, turning the night fighter into a gun ship.
Yet the deadly Hellcat was staring at obsolescence in the face. Its successor, the superlative F8F-1 Bearcat, had entered mass production and intensive pilot training. At the time of Japan's unconditional surrender, the F8F-1 was aboard U.S. Navy carriers racing across the Pacific to Japanese home waters.
Japanese Imperial Navy ace, Lieutenant Saburo Sakai (Sakai had just been promoted to lieutenant from warrant officer just before war's end.) related how Japanese Navy pilots respected and feared the Hellcat more than the Corsair. The Japanese pilots understood the Corsair was a high performance aircraft, faster than the Hellcat. But the Hellcat could dogfight against the A6M5 Zero-sen. The Hellcat could stay behind a Zero for 90 degrees of a turn in a dogfight, something the heavier Corsair could not do. There are anecdotal incidents of pursuing F4U Corsairs that dived into the sea or land while chasing a Zero. The lighter, nimbler Zero was able to pull up just in time while the heavy Corsair could not. The Corsair flew like a truck. Its forte was zoom climb and dive attacks on Japanese fighter aircraft.
By the end of 1944 only experienced Japanese fighter pilots could hope to cope against the Hellcat fighter. Sakai attested to that. Falling back on his flying skills and experience, Sakai could use the Zero's superior maneuverability defensively against the Hellcat whereas earlier in the war Japanese pilots used their Zero airplane's maneuverability offensively.
It was only with the introduction of the better, 2nd generation Kawanishi Shiden-Kai N1K2-J "George" that Saburo Sakai felt Japanese pilots gained supremacy over the Hellcat. But the tide of the Pacific War had turned against Japan. The Imperial Japanese Navy did not possess near enough the quantity of Shiden-Kai's, enough trained pilots, and the necessary aviation fuel for training and combat operations.
Hey, just an observation here. Are your scenes with an old TV generated by AI because the dials and other details are just 'fudgey' to me. No actual channel numbers and such. Curious to know.
Suggestion: rather than a 1950 & 1960s TV motif to display the WW II footage, you use an indoor movie theater since that is the way almost all film footage of the war would have been viewed by those in the USA. Newsreels were shown daily to keep the civilians informed of the progress of the war.
Nice waork man - wondering when you'll be getting your own Netflix show?
Just tell them to call me haha
Could you please get a little bigger TV to view bw WWII films for us thanks! Otherwise love your stuff!
Japanese pilots who fought on the newest planes in those days such as "Shidenkai" and "Goshikisen" told that they had no fear against F6F. But the number of these planes were too small to recover the fight.
My dad was there on a LST the 882 Kamakazi shot up his ship then flew into a LST the 447 next to him and sank it.
People watched news reels at movie theaters. There weren't TVs in the 40s.
Yes there were. Just look up the history of television. You should have done that before commenting.
Jumping low flying fixed gear Vals? A really interesting account is when Major Thomas McGuire flew a squad of four P-38's to try and beat Dick Bong's record. They had the altitude advantage initially but an Oscar and Frank (Ki-84) were present and two of the P-38's didn't return. McGuire was one of them. The story goes McGuire mishandled his plane, but with the Frank pushing him its likely that was merely a cover story for losing that flyer. However, if through ACM you force an enemy to auger in, thats a Kill too.
Do you have a second part that explains why the Japanese feared the hellcat?
The battle footage was amazing, and the men were ferocious.
But, I'm struggling with this presentation on the "black and white TV". Mainly because no one had "black and white TV" during WWII.
How is this appropriate? It would be much better in full screen.
The F6f hellcat and many others proves that having a bubble canopy wasn't really that much of a deal,as humans we don't get anything near swiweling 180° by neck or spinal column.
1 day before the Yamato went under.
I lived on Okinawa for 3 years. Saw many of the battle places. Toured the southern caves the Japanese command committed suicide in.
God bless our vets!!
They feared the F4u Corsair far more.
35yrs ago I worked in Japan. Two of the engineers had fathers who were Imperial Air Service. Both were adamant that the Corsair was scary to the Japanese pilots because in 1943/44 the performance differential was leaps beyond the Japanese pilots could even imagine. They gave the P-38 high marks because if the Americans used it right, the Lightning could dictate the terms of engagement.
nice war thunder footage
Don McFearsome was absolutely fearsomeless!✊😏
Actually, the Japanese called it Special Attack Corps, not Kamikaze.
Um, actually, your comment should have started with "Um, actually" because everybody *LOVES* when someone corrects them.
My dad wasn't a hellcat pilot.
I'm just here cuz I love hellcat lo
Thank you for your Service 🙏🇺🇸
Excellent story. Personally I use first hand accounts for historcal value.
Because when it came out Japan had lost most of their veteran pilots and you had new pilots in an old plane going up against the best in the Navy in a new plane.
F6F Hellcat: The Zero Killer.
whats with the tv?-no tvback then
All of that bombardment of the beaches were wasted. Almost all of the Japanese were in caves in the Southern parts of the Island.
Mine detonation
I did not know they used napalm in WW2.
Great story however the title of the video is misleading.
This video's simulation of a plane with one wing shot off is wrong. Minus a wing, a plane's lift is one-sided, causing the plane to violently rotate in a corkscrew motion around its fuselage. There's no lift on the side that's missing a wing, so that side drops. The side with the remaining wing continues to provide lift. So, missing a wing, there's a corkscrew motion. We don't see this on the video. Even so, this video depicted the actions of the battle, and added immeasurably to the telling of an important history that might have gone untold.
That was a really good, honest war! Men were still fighting with weapons in their hands. Today everything has degenerated into a video game. War is no longer fun! The real tough duel between real men has given way to the joystick. Unfortunately, you can no longer see success today if it tears your opponent into a thousand pieces. The killer instinct of real men has been lost.
The animation suxxx! Each Browning M2 only had 400rds, about a 40sec continuous stream. Short bursts were the key
Meets and exceeds my standards.
Great content, but what is the point of showing it on a TV from the 1950s?
4:06 is African-American, Proud to See Him, Heaven is for Heroes. Semper-Fi.
The F6F Hellcat , in the hands of the right fighter pilot , handled correctly could have served in Korea as a ground assault fighter.
The F6F did everything the F4F could do, only better. It also could do most of what a Zero did, only better, Lol. Imagine being a Japanese pilot and confusing a squadron of Hellcats with the Wildcat, Lol. Very similar looking despite the size difference. He would learn his mistake very quickly.
Bro making dogfights episodes in 2024
Of course they feared it. It, unlike the F4F wildcat, it could meet and beat the zero on _its own terms._ And the 6 nifty fifties would _shred_ them. That is why it had a 19:1 kill ratio.
Your discord has expired?
It should never expire. Here you go. discord.com/invite/KMuPR5c9uR
film news then was carried to to viewers in movie theatres USO facilities
Why on earth do you repeat everything Don says? We heard it the first time!
Nice story, but what has that got to do with the title of the video
Fm2