History
This book provides a complete history of the Grumman F6F Hellcat, the U.S. Navy’s most successful fighter plane of World War II. The prototypes were developed during 1941 and 1942, and after extensive testing,finally entered service with Navy carrier-based units during 1943. Hellcat pilots were credited with more enemy aircraft destroyed than any other Navy aircraft, and at the end of the war, the type was phased out of front-line service because of the appearance of its successor, the F8F Bearcat, the F4U Corsair, and later by jet fighters. Hellcats were used by reserve units until the early fifties, and were also used as drones and drone control aircraft, resulting is some of the most colorful aircraft in the Navy. The F6F, unlike many other World War II aircraft, did not have a civilian career, except for a few flying today as warbirds.