Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat

From The Air Combat Wiki

Contents 1 Fighter Ace Screenshots 2 Fighter Ace Ratings 3 Fighter Ace Performance 4 Historical Statistics 5 Strengths 6 Weaknesses 7 History 8 Sources 9 See Also

Fighter Ace Screenshots

Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ
Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ

Fighter Ace Ratings

Durability: 3

Speed: 6

Maneuverability: 8

Firepower: 3

Climb Rate: 4

Ground Attack: 1

Fighter Ace Performance

Top Speeds						Climb Rates
	Sea Level	4921' 1500m	9843' 3000m	19685' 6000m	Best Speed	Best IAS	to 1000m	to 3000m	to 6000m
mph	281	291	297	324	330@ 21982'	149 mph	1:42	4:58	10:29
kph	452	469	478	521	531@ 6700m	240 kph

Historical Statistics

Service Date: December 1940

Primary Guns: 2x Browning M2 0.5" (12.7mm) machine guns with 430 rpg in wings

Secondary Guns: 2x Browning M2 0.5" (12.7mm) machine guns with 430 rpg in wings

Ordnance: 2x 100 lb (45 kg) bombs or 2x 348 lb (158 kg) drop tanks

Engine(s): 1x Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76 radial rated for 1,200 hp at sea level.

Int Fuel Capacity: 864 lbs (392 kg)

Ext Fuel Capacity: 696 lbs (316 kg)

Maximum Speeds: 281 mph (452 kph) at sea level, 328 mph (528 kph) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m).

Ceiling: 37,500 ft (11,278 m)

Loaded Weight: 7,002 lbs. (3,176 kg)

Wing Area: 260.0 sq ft (24.2 sq m)

Wing Loading: 26.9 lbs/sq ft (131.2 kg/sq m)

Strengths

Maneuverability: Of all the planes in the game, only the A6M2 Zero and the Spitfire Mk.Ia are markedly superior to the F4F-3 Wildcat in terms of maneuverability.

Weaknesses

Speed: Although not as slow as the A6M2 Zero or Hurricane IA, the F4F-3 Wildcat is not going to run away from or catch contemporary planes like the Bf-109E, I-16, Yak-1b and P-40C.

History

In 1936 the US Navy began looking for a successor to Grumman's F3F carrier-based biplane fighter. They commissioned prototypes of a biplane from Grumman and a monoplane from the Brewster company, playing it safe in case the new monoplane design couldn't stand up to the rigors of carrier operations. Grumman's new design was designated the F4F Wildcat and retained much of the F3F's design features, including the Wright Cyclone 9-cylinder radial engine and the distinctive fuselage-mounted, retractable landing gear. However, after a design review revealed that the new plane would be only marginally superior to the existing F3F, the Navy asked Grumman to build a monoplane instead.

The new plane, designated XF4F-2, was first flown on September 2, 1937 and proved inferior to Brewster's XF2A-1 Buffalo, which won the contract in June 1938 for the new Navy fighter. However, three months later, Grumman received permission to begin work on a second prototype, the XF4F-3, which was redesigned around the new Pratt & Whitney 14-cylinder Double Wasp radial engine equipped with a two-speed supercharger. The first flight proved the superiority of the reworked Wildcat fighter over the Buffalo and after extensive evaluation, the Navy finally awarded Grumman a contract for 54 Wildcats.

Prior to delivery of the first batch of Wildcats to the US Navy in December 1940, the British Royal Navy took over a French Navy order for 81 of the new planes. Designated the Martlet, they were put into action over Scapa Flow on Christmas Day 1940, downing a Junkers Ju-88. By the time of the Pearl Harbor attack a year later, the US Navy and Marine Corps had a total of 248 F4F-3s in service.

The Wildcat's main claim to fame was earned on Wake Island, when four VMF-211 F4F-3s repulsed Japanese air attacks for two weeks - and even managed to sink a cruiser and a submarine with 100 lb. bombs. The last two Wildcats were destroyed on December 22, 1941, the day the Japanese finally managed to land on the island and overcome its meager defenses.

Sources

Green, William; War Planes Of The Second World War: Fighters Volume Four; Macdonald & Co., London; 1961.

See Also

Fighter Ace Planes Inventory

Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation

Aircraft Manufacturers During World War II