F4F-3 Wildcat
Manufacturter:
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp
Wingspan:
38 ft
Length
28 ft 9 in
Max Speed:
331 mph (at 21,300 ft)
Range:
860 mi
Service Ceiling:
37,000 ft
Entered Production:
1940
Total Manufactured:
285 (F4F-3)
Armament:
(If applicable)
4 x .50 cal machine guns
Summary
In 1931, the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation was awarded a contract by the US Navy for the XFF-1, a carrier-based fighter of biplane configuration. The XFF-1 would mark the beginning of linage of carrier fighter produced by Grumman. By 1935 Grumman was in the process of conducting flight tests on the XF3F-1, yet its engineers were already in the process of designing its predecessor, under the designation XF4F. After receiving a contract from Navy Bureau of Aeronautics for the XF4F-1, a biplane, it was quickly cancelled after Brewster received a contract for the XF2A, a monoplane, on June 1, 1936. Returning to the drawing board, Grumman redesigned the aircraft as a monoplane, resulting in the XF4F-2. Despite losing an intense design and evaluation competition conducted by the Navy against the Brewster XF2A and the Seversky XNF-1, Grumman would continue to develop the XF4F. In October 1938 Grumman was given a contract for the XF4F-3, design and construction work began in earnest with the first production model taking flight in February 1940. After completion of the first two production model the cowl guns were removed in favor of four .50 caliber machines in the wing. Grumman would continue to improve the design of the F4F-3 Wildcat resulting in the F4F-4 Wildcat which had folding wings as well as six .50 caliber machine guns instead of four. When a new Grumman fighter, the F6F Hellcat, loomed as a replacement, the Navy still needed Wildcats for the smaller escort carriers. To make room for Hellcat production at the Grumman plant, the production of F4F Wildcats was turned over to the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors for the remainder of the war. The Wildcat remains the only US Navy fighter that was produced throughout the entirety of World War II.
Overview
The Wildcat in PHAM’s collection, Bureau Number 12296, was accepted into Navy service on April 13, 1943. On June 21, 1943, Ensign George Hahn was attempting to complete carrier training in this aircraft aboard the USS Sable on Lake Michigan. A mechanical failure on takeoff caused Hahn to ditch in the icy water. He survived, but the fighter sank 220 feet to the lake bed. In December 1991, the Wildcat was recovered from the muddy bottom in remarkable condition. After four years of restoration it made its first post-restoration flight in June 1995 under the power of its original engine. The Wildcat is painted exactly the same as it was in 1943, and is one of only two flight-worthy examples of its type in the world.
