Warbirds! #10: Grumman F6F Hellcat Traditional Cache

As the United States Pacific Fleet advanced island by island toward Japan, the Grumman F6F Hellcat emerged as the Navy's new frontline fighter, replacing the Chance Vought Corsair in that role. The Hellcat resembled Grumman’s early wartime fighter, the F4F Wildcat, but it was a far superior airplane. With a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double-Wasp 18-cylinder radial engine, the Hellcat was as mean a machine as its name suggests. It was the fighter that helped the Navy secure air superiority in the Pacific as the Japanese Zero struggled to contend with it.