The Grumman F6 Hellcat is an American low-wing, single-engine semi-armored fighter jet of World War II. The F6 Hellcat was developed as a development of the successful F4F design. Its design was based on 18 months of experience operating the F4F in the Pacific Ocean and numerous comments from pilots who fought on Wildcat aircraft. Structurally, the F6 Hellcat resembled its predecessor with one significant change. A low-wing system was used, which allowed the landing gear to be retracted into the lower center wing rather than into the fuselage. This increased the width of the track and stability in movement on the ground. Cabin reservation was additionally used and ammunition was increased. US Navy evaluation of Grumman's proposal led to an order in June 1941 for four prototypes - XF6F-1 to XF6F-4 - each with different power units. The XF6F-1 flew a year after the contract was signed, but due to the urgent need to strengthen the Wildcats (F4F), the same airframe was equipped with the most powerful Pratt-Whitney R-2800-10 engine available, allowing the aircraft to make its next maiden flight, this time as XF6F-3. Even before this second flight took place, Grumman was tasked with putting the F6F-3 into production as the Hellcat. At this stage, the similarity of the F4F and F6F led to a reduction in the time required to introduce the machine into mass production. The flight of the first such machine took place at the end of 1942. In January 1943, deliveries to the USS Essex began. In August of that year, VF-5 Squadron from the USS Yorktown was the first to use its Hellcats against the Japanese. The structure of the aircraft was made entirely of metal, joined by countersunk rivets, and the wings were folded with tips for the convenience of hangar on the deck of aircraft carriers. Standard armament consisted of six 12.7-mm machine guns mounted in the nose of the wing. The body and tail had a classic design, differing from the F4F only in dimensions. The three-support undercarriage was completely retracted using a hydraulic system, as was the hook for reducing the landing stroke. The spacious cockpit was raised high above the plane of the wings. The production of all versions of the F6 exceeded 12,200 examples, and its intensity was so high that it could very quickly replace the F4Fs still in use. Technical data (for the F6F-5 version): Maximum speed: 620 km / h, rate of climb: 14 m / s, practical ceiling 11400 m, maximum range: 1755 km, armament: fixed - six 12.7-mm Browning machine guns Outboard - up to 1800 kg of bombs or an additional fuel tank.
