Military Propellor Planes
Grumman F7F Tigercat
ICAO: F7F
Overview
Grumman F6F Hellcat — carrier-based naval fighterThe Hellcat first flew in 1942 and entered service in 1943. It was developed rapidly to address lessons learned from early Pacific combat. The aircraft featured folding wings for carrier storage and a robust airframe able to absorb battle damage.Power came from a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine producing approximately 2,000 horsepower. Maximum speed approached 330 knots (611 km/h). Maximum takeoff weight exceeded 15,000 pounds (6,804 kg), allowing heavy armament and fuel loads.The F6F achieved significant success in Pacific operations, accounting for a large proportion of U.S. Navy aerial victories. Its forgiving handling made it effective for carrier pilots. The Hellcat remains one of the most successful naval fighters of World War II.
Live Fleet Activity (F6F)
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Specifications
Units
- Engine
- 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp
- Engine type
- Piston
- Power
- 2,000 hp · 1,491 kW
- Avionics
- AN/APS-4 Radar
- Wing tips
- No winglets
- Seats
- 1
- Crew
- —
- Cabin width
- —
- Cabin height
- —
- Cabin length
- —
- Exterior length
- 33 ft 7 in · 10.24 m
- Tail height
- 13 ft 1 in · 3.99 m
- Fuselage diameter
- 4 ft 11 in · 1.50 m
- Wing span
- 42 ft 10 in · 13.06 m
- Baggage volume
- —
- Gross weight
- —
- Empty weight
- —
- Max takeoff weight
- 15,400 lb · 7,000 kg
- Max landing weight
- 12,600 lb · 5,700 kg
- Max payload
- 3,950 lb · 1,800 kg
- Fuel capacity
- 250 gal · 900 L · 700 kg (AvGas)
- Max cruise speed
- 340 kt · 391 mph · 630 km/h
- Maximum speed
- —
- Cruise speed
- —
- Approach speed
- 75 kt · 86 mph · 139 km/h
- Range
- 950 nm · 1,090 mi · 1,760 km
- Fuel burn
- —
- Ceiling
- 37,000 ft · 11,300 m
- Rate of climb
- 3,650 ft/min · 19 m/s
- Takeoff distance
- 1,560 ft · 480 m
- Landing distance
- 1,870 ft · 570 m
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Operational Context
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is a single-crew carrier-based fighter aircraft with an external length of 10.24 meters, an external height of 4.4 meters, and a fuselage diameter of 1.5 meters. It has a wingspan of 13.06 meters and a wing area of 31.02 square meters. The tail height is 3.99 meters and the wheelbase is 6.5 meters. It has an empty weight of 4,190 kg and a maximum payload of 1,800 kg. The maximum takeoff and landing weights are 6,992 kg and 5,714 kg, respectively. It has a fuel capacity of 250 US gal.
The aircraft is powered by a single Pratt and Whitney R-2800-10W Double Wasp engine. It is an eighteen-cylinder, air-cooled, twin-row radial engine with water injection, two poppet valves per cylinder, variable-speed single-stage single-speed centrifugal-type supercharger, Stromberg injection carburetor fuel system, and an air-cooling system. It produces a maximum thrust of 2,200 hp and drives a three-bladed Hamilton Standard constant-speed propeller.
The maximum speed of the F6F Hellcat is 340 knots while the stall speed is 73 knots. It has a combat range of 821 nautical miles and a ferry range of 1,330 nautical miles. The service ceiling is 37,300 feet and the rate of climb is 2,600 feet per minute. It has a takeoff distance of 475 meters and a landing distance of 570 meters.
The fighter aircraft could be loaded with several armaments. It included six 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns with 400 rounds per gun or two 20 mm AN/M2 cannon with 225 rounds per gun and four 12.7 mm Browning machine guns with 400 rounds per gun. It was also equipped with six 127 mm High-velocity aircraft rockets or two 298 mm Tiny Tim air-to-ground rockets, up to 1,800 kg full load of bombs or torpedoes such as a 910 kg bomb or an Mk.13-3 torpedo, and some underwing bombs.
Sources and references used for research and fact-checking.