Hobby Master 1/72 - Hellcat 'French Navy'

Hobby Master 1/72 - Hellcat 'French Navy'

General Background

The F6F Hellcat was basically designed as the “Zero Killer”. It could fly about an average 55 mph faster than the Zero and it was heavier and more powerful than the Zero . The Hellcat also had the highest kill ratio of any American fighter plane during WWII (19 to1) . US Navy pilots referred the Hellcat as the "Aluminum Tank".

The Hellcat could carry two 1,000 pound bombs with its most destructive weapons being six 5-inch HVAR's (High Velocity Aircraft Rockets). It could also carry a torpedo under the fuselage but this was never seen in combat. When it was all over the F6F was one of the most feared and successful planes in WWII.

The Aircraft

The F6-F was widely used by the French Air Force and Navy after the WWII. The French Navy bought 124 F6F-5s and 15 F6F-5Ns between 1950 and 1953 .

French Navy Hellcats were first used by the far east carrier group including the CV Arromanches, CVL Lafayette and CVL Bois-Belleau during the Indochina conflict in 1952. This Hellcat of the French Aeronavale (French Navy) flotille 1F belonged to the carrier Arromanches. The 1F's Hellcats were moved to land base in Haipong in Nov 1952 after the Arromanches returned to France .

Specifications :

Total production :	F6F-3 (4,403), F6F-5 (7,870)
Powerplant :	Single 2,000-horsepower 18-cylinder, Pratt and Whitney R-2800-10W air cooled radial engine
Climb rate to 14,000 ft. :	6 minutes 42 seconds
Armament :	six .50-caliber M2 Browning machine guns a 2,000 lb. bomb load, or six 5-inch rockets
Wingspan :	42 ft. 10 in. (13.1 m)
Length :	33 ft., 7 in. (10.2 m)
Height :	13 ft., 1 in. (4.0 m)
Weight :	9,238 lb. empty
Maximum speed :	380 mph at 23,400 ft.
Ceiling :	37,300 ft.
Range :	945 miles