Grumman F6F Hellcat PDF eBook & Aircraft Flight Manuals

General Characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 ft 7 in (10.24 m)
• Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)
• Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
• Wing area: 334 ft² (31 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23015.6 mod root; NACA 23009 tip
• Empty weight: 9,238 lb (4,190 kg)
• Loaded weight: 12,598 lb (5,714 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 15,415 lb (6,990 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W “Double Wasp” two-row radial engine with a two-speed two-stage supercharger, 2,200 hp (1,491 kW)
• Propellers: 3-blade Hamilton Standard
  • Propeller diameter: 13 ft 1 in (4.0 m)
• *Fuel capacity: 250 gal (946 L) internal; up to 3 × 150 gal (568 L) external drop tanks
• Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0211
• Drag area: 7.05 ft² (0.65 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 5.5

Performance

• Maximum speed: 330 kn (380 mph, 621 km/h)
• Stall speed: 73 kn (84 mph, 135 km/h)
• Combat radius: 820 nmi (945 mi, 1,520 km)
• Ferry range: 1,330 nmi (1,530 mi, 2,460 km)
• Service ceiling: 37,300 ft (11,370 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min (17.8 m/s)
• Wing loading: 37.7 lb/ft² (184 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (260 W/kg)
• Time-to-altitude: 7.7 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
• Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.2
• Takeoff roll: 799 ft (244 m)

Armament

• Guns:
  • either 6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 400 rounds per gun, (All F6F-3, and most F6F-5)
  • or 2 × 0.79 in (20 mm) cannon, with 225 rounds per gun
  • and 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns with 400 rounds per gun (F6F-5N only)
• Rockets:
  • 6 × 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or
  • 2 × 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets
• Bombs: up to 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) full load, including:
  • Bombs or Torpedoes:(Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
    • 1 × 2,000 lb (907 kg) 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 (450 kg) or
    • 4 × 500 lb (227 kg)
    • 8 × 250 lb (110 kg)

XF6F prototypes

• XF6F-1 – First prototype, powered by a two-stage 1,600 hp (1,500 kW) Wright R-2600-10 Cyclone 14 radial piston engine.
• XF6F-2 – The first XF6F-1 prototype revised and fitted with a turbocharged Wright R-2600-16 Cyclone radial piston engine. R-2600 replaced by turbo-charged R-2800-21.
• XF6F-2 – showing the later R-2800-21 installation with Birman turbo-charger.
• XF6F-3 – Second prototype fitted with a two-stage supercharged 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp radial piston engine.
• XF6F-4 – One F6F-3 fitted with a two-speed turbocharged 2,100 hp (1,567 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-27 Double Wasp radial piston engine.
• XF6F-6 – Two F6F-5s that were fitted with the 2,100 hp (1,566 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W radial piston engine, and four-bladed propellers.

Series production

• F6F-3 (British designations Gannet Mk. I then Hellcat Mk. I) – Single-seat fighter, fighter-bomber aircraft, powered by a 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 Double Wasp radial piston engine.F6F-3E – Night fighter version, equipped with an AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing on the starboard outer wing.
• F6F-3N – Another night fighter version, equipped with a newer AN/APS-6 radar in a fairing on the starboard outer wing.
• F6F-5 Hellcat (British Hellcat Mk. II) – Improved version, with a redesigned engine cowling, a new windscreen structure with an integral bulletproof windscreen, new ailerons and strengthened tail surfaces; powered by a 2,200 hp (1,640 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10W (-W denotes Water Injection) radial piston engine.
• F6F-5K Hellcat – A number of F6F-5s and F6F-5Ns were converted into radio-controlled target drones.F6F-5N – night fighter with AN/APS-6 radar and 2 20mm M2 cannon.
• F6F-5N Hellcat (British Hellcat N.F. Mk II) – Night fighter version, fitted with an AN/APS-6 radar. Some were armed with two 20 mm (0.79 in) AN/M2 cannon in the inner wing bays and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in the outer.
• F6F-5P Hellcat – Small numbers of F6F-5s were converted into photo-reconnaissance aircraft, with the camera equipment being fitted in the rear fuselage.
• Hellcat FR Mk II – This designation was given to British Hellcats fitted with camera equipment.
• FV-1 – Proposed designation for Hellcats to be built by Canadian Vickers; cancelled before any built.

United Kingdom

Airworthy

F6F-5

• 80141 – The Fighter Collection in Duxford.

On display

F6F-5

• 79779 – Fleet Air Arm Museum in RNAS Yeovilton.

United States

Chino Warbirds’ F6F-3 painted as a Fleet Air Arm Hellcat Mk. I.

Airworthy

F6F-3

• 41930 – Comanche Warbirds Inc. in Houston, Texas.

F6F-5

• 70222 – Commemorative Air Force (Southern California Wing) at Camarillo Airport (former Oxnard AFB) in Camarillo, California.
• 78645 – Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
• 79863 – Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington.
• 94204 – Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas.
• 94473 – Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs, California.

On display

F6F-3

• 25910 – National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida.
• 41834 – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia.
• 42874 – San Diego Aerospace Museum in San Diego, California.
• 66237 – National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida.

F6F-5

• 70185 – Quonset Air Museum at Quonset State Airport (former NAS Quonset Point) in Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
• 77722 – Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility at Andrews AFB in Maryland.
• 79192 – New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
• 79593 – USS Yorktown/Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
• 79683 – Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
• 94203 – National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida.
• 94263 – Cradle of Aviation Museum in New York. It is on loan from the USMC Museum in Quantico, Virginia.

Under restoration

F6F-3

• 40467 – for display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.
• 41476 – to airworthiness by Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts.
• 43041 – in storage at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.

F6F-5

• 94385 – to airworthiness by American Aircraft Sales LLC in Hayward, California.