Скачать или смотреть The Ace Maker: The Grumman F6F Hellcat

This Grumman F6F Hellcat Pilot Instruction film was shot in 1943. This training film was produced to help US Navy pilots learn how to operate the soon to be legendary fighter aircraft.

The F6F Hellcat first took to the skies on 26 June 1942 and was deployed operationally in the Pacific beginning in August of 1943. Design to replace the rugged F4F Wildcat, the Hellcat went on the produce an outstanding 19 to 1 kill ratio over the course of the Pacific War. US Navy and Marine F6F pilots flew a combine 66,530 combat sorties and claimed 5,163 kills by the end of the war, while losing only 270 Hellcats to aerial combat. In all, 305 US pilots became aces during World War 2 while flying the F6F, and Hellcats were responsible for 75% of the US Navy's aerial victories in the Pacific.

Some of the notable aces who flew F6Fs include Cmdr. David McCampbell (34 victories), Cmdr. Eugene Valencia Jr. (23), Lt. Alex Vraciu (19), Cmdr. Hamilton McWhorter III (12) and Lt. Arthur Van Haren Jr. (9).


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