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F6F-5 Hellcat Wingspan: 42 ft 1X in
The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1Y43
The actual cache location: N41 23.89X W88 39.13Y
This series is dedicated to the gallant service performed by the brave airmen of World War 2 who risked all so that we may enjoy our American way of life. The phrase “Big Brother, Little Brother” refers to the way the heavy bomber and fighter escort aircraft pilots called each other on the radio chatter.
On a personal note, my father “John” served as a flight engineer on a B-25 Mitchell out of Italy in 1944 and 1945. He made it back alive, as did my father-in-law “Danny” who served as a belly gunner on a B-24 Liberator out of Libya. “Danny” was one of the few airmen who flew in both Ploesti oil field raids to Romania (June 1942 and August 1943) and did so without so much as a scratch. He flew his 25 missions and returned to the US as a gunnery instructor (Lead, Dammit, Lead!).
Finding all the caches will display a GeoArt form of the Big Brother, Little Brother relationship on your map. The caches were not meant to be difficult to find. If you can’t find a cache, it’s probably missing. Send me a picture of the location by email, I’ll accept the find and replace the cache.
F6F Hellcat
The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy (USN) service. Although the F6F resembled the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the "Wildcat's big brother". The Hellcat was the first USN fighter designed in view of lessons from combat with the Japanese Zero. The F6F Hellcat was designed to enhance the favorable aspects of the F4F while having a much higher top speed and greater range, allowing it to outperform the Zero.
The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters during the second half of World War II. The Hellcat was credited with destroying 5,271 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, which was more than any other Allied aircraft.
The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943 when fighters off the USS Independence shot down a Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat. Soon after, on 23 and 24 November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over Tarawa, shooting down a claimed 30 Mitsubishi Zeros for the loss of one F6F. Over Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943, Hellcats and Corsairs were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M Zeros, claiming nearly 50 aircraft.
Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat Technicals
General characteristics-
Crew: 1
Length: 33 ft 7 in
Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in
Height: 13 ft 1 in
Wing area: 334 ft²
Empty weight: 9,238 lb
Loaded weight: 12,598 lb
Max. takeoff weight: 15,415 lb
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W "Double Wasp" two-row radial engine with a two-speed two-stage supercharger, 2,000 hp
Propeller diameter: 13 ft 1 in
Fuel capacity: 250 gal internal; up to 3 × 150 gal external drop tanks
Performance-
Maximum speed: 380 mph
Stall Speed: 84 mph
Combat radius: 945 mi
Ferry range: 1,530 mi
Service ceiling: 37,300 ft
Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min
Wing loading: 37.7 lb/ft²
Armament-
Guns:
either 6× 0.50 in M@ Browning Machine Guns, with 400 rpg, (All F6F-3, and most F6F-5)
or 2 × 20 mm cannon, with 225 rpg
and 4 × 0.50 in Browning machine guns with 400 rpg (F6F-5N only)
Rockets:
6 × 5 in HVAR’s or
2 × 11¾ in Tiny Tim unguided rockets
Bombs: up to 4,000 lb full load, including:
Bombs or Torpedoes:(Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
1 × 2,000 lb bomb or
1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo;
Underwing bombs: (F6F-5 had two additional weapons racks either side of fuselage on wing centre-section)
2 × 1,000 lb or
4 × 500 lb
8 × 250 lb
Survivors
Airworthy-
F6F-3 Hellcat, BuNo. 41930 owned by Chino Warbirds Inc. in Houston, TX.
F6F-5 Hellcat, BuNo. 70222 owned by Commemorative Air Force in Camarillo, CA.
F6F-5 Hellcat, BuNo. 78645 owned by the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, CA.
F6F-5K Hellcat, BuNo. 79683 owned by the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum in Kalamazoo, MI.
F6F-5 Hellcat, BuNo. 79863 owned by Vulcan Warbirds Inc., hangared at the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, WA.
F6F-5N Hellcat, BuNo. 94204 owned by Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, TX.
F6F-5N Hellcat, BuNo. 94473 owned by Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs, CA.
On display-
F6F-3 Hellcat, BuNo. 41476 at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, OR.
F6F-3K Hellcat, BuNo. 41834 at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
F6F-3 Hellcat, BuNo. 42874 at the San Diego Aerospace Museum in San Diego, CA.
F6F-5 Hellcat, BuNo. 66237 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, FL.
F6F-5K Hellcat, BuNo. 77722 at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility in MD.
F6F-5K Hellcat, BuNo. 79192 at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT.
F6F-5K Hellcat, BuNo. 79593 at the USS Yorktown/Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, SC.
F6F-5 Hellcat, BuNo. 94203 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, FL.
F6F-5K Hellcat, BuNo. 94263 at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in NY.
Under restoration-
F6F-3 Hellcat, BuNo. 25910 by the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, FL.
F6F-3 Hellcat, BuNo. 40467 by the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, CA.
F6F-3 Hellcat, BuNo. 43041 by the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, FL.
F6F-5 Hellcat, BuNo. 70185 by the Quonset Air Museum in Quonset Point, RI.