Grumman F6F Hellcat


Plane: Grumman F6F Hellcat

Weight (Empty/Loaded/Max): 9,238lb / 11,381 lbs / 15,413lb

Wing Area: 334 sq ft

Wing Loading: 27.7 lb/sq ft / 34.1 lb/sq ft / 46.1lb/sq ft

Length: 33' 6"

Span: 42' 10"

Wing Aspect Ratio: 5.5

Engine: 2000hp Pratt and Whitney R2800-10 Radial

Flaps: 2 settings

Visibility:

Control Feel:

Stall Speed 1k (No Flaps/Full Flaps) 95mph/90mph

Guns:

  type/ammo ROF Duration WB Punch Muzzle Velocity Ammo/Gun
Primary: 2x.50cal Browning MG 12/s 33s 3x.50cal/ping 2810ft/s 400
Secondary: 4x.50cal Browning MG 12/s 33s 6x.50cal/ping 2810ft/s 400

Ordnance:
0: none
1: 6xRockets
2: 2x1000lb bombs
3: 6xRockets+2x500lb bombs

Fuel Time/Percent: 37 seconds/percent

Power/weight (Empty/Loaded/Max): 4.6 lb/hp / 5.7 lb/hp / 7.7 lb/hp

Corner Velocity: 280mph

Durability:Good

WEP time: 5 minutes

Maximum Angle-of-Attack (no flaps/full flaps): 15/14.5 degrees

Wing Incidence Angle (no flaps/full flaps): 4/2.5 degrees


Accleleration:

  1,000ft 5,000ft 10,000ft 15,000ft
Stall-200mph 15.5s 19.4s 20.4s 32.8s
150mph-200mph 9.8s 11.8s 14.4s 19.3s
200mph-250mph 11.8s 16.8s 19.7s 26.2s
250mph-300mph 29.0s 35.0s - -

Climb:
1k-5k: 46s
5k-10k: 73s
10k-15k: 77s

Zoom Climb:
1k 400mph: +5100ft
1k 300mph: +3300ft

Dive:

  Max Speed After 30s After 60s
15,000ft to 10,000ft 360mph 325mph 315mph
15,000ft to 5,000ft 480mph 355mph 340mph
10,000ft to 5,000ft 400mph 345mph 335mph
10,000ft to 1,000ft 500mph 380mph 350mph
5,000ft to 1,000ft 395mph 350mph 340mph

Max Speed:

  1,000ft 5,000ft
Climbing before levelling 325mph 320mph
Diving before levelling 335mph 325mph

Turn Performance

300mph 1,000ft 5,000ft 10,000ft 15,000ft
One 360 12.8s 14.3s 15.9s -
Two 360s 28.4s 32.1s 35.9s -
250mph
One 360 13.1s 14.8s 16.1s 17.6s
Two 360s 29.3s 32.9s 36.0s 42.3s
Sustained:
No Flaps 17.3s 18.5s 21.5s 24.0s
Full Flaps 16.3s 18.1s 20.4s 24.0s
Best Flap full full full full
Best Speed 110mph 110mph 105mph 105mph

Corner Speed and Radii (1,000ft):

Speed: 280mph
Radius: 571ft
Sustained Turn Speed: 160mph
Sustained Turn Radius: 646ft
Full Flaps Speed: 125mph
Full Flaps Radius: 475ft

Corner Times 1,000ft 5,000ft 10,000ft 15,000ft
180 degrees 5.7s 6.3s 6.8s 7.4s
360 degrees 12.6 13.8 15.2 16.8

Roll Rate:
150mph: 6.6s
200mph: 5.5s
250mph: 4.8s
300mph: 4.9s
350mph: 4.9s
400mph: 5.1s

Minimum Full-Flaps Full-Power Split-S altitude:
150mph: 1100ft
200mph: 1100ft
250mph: 1400ft
300mph: 1700ft

Maximum Angle-of-Attack (no flaps/full flaps): 15/14.5 degrees

Wing Incidence Angle (no flaps/full flaps): 4/2.5 degrees


Hoof's Tips And Opinions:

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was developed out of the need to produce a plane that could beat the A6M Zero. The main carrier-based fighter of the period was the F4F Wildcat, which turned worse than the Zero, was slower, and was beaten in virtually every respect except in diving performance. Not so for the F6F. The F6F combined good turning ability that was superior to the Zero above 225mph, good durability, especially against the Japanese Army's primary fighter, the Ki43 (which had only 2 machine guns as firepower), and it's high-speed handling was vastly superior to the Zero (but not as good as the Chance- Vought F4U that came out later). Plus it was significantly faster overall. The Hellcat racked up a 19-1 kill ratio against the Japanese Army and Navy Air forces, and this was in part due to the fact that in air combat, speed, not maneuverability is the biggest asset you can have, especially with regards to survival (just ask a FW190D9 pilot). F6F and F4Us could literally Boom and Zoom Zeros all day long with relatively minimal risk to themselves, and all the Zeros could do is hope for a head-on, or for a inept pilot to slow down to even get a chance to shoot one down (and with the zero's almost nonexistent durability, headons weren't a good idea).

In WB the Hellcat is a good overall plane except for two problems. Roll rate and the nonexistent 6 view. The huge armor plate behind the pilot was great at keeping a Hellcat pilot alive while some Zero or Ki43 was laying it into him from behind, but in WB, where wingmen are few and far between, the Hellcat can be a dangerous ride due to lack of a 6 view. Add to this the relatively poor roll rate, the F6F is very difficult to go defensive in, thus when someone appears on your 6 you usually first find out when pings start to land, and then can't defend effectively due to poor roll.

On the plus side, the F6F can turn with a Spit9, and give a P38 and Spit5 a run for their money. It isn't the fastest plane in the game, and with the horrible 6 view, it is not advised to do a straight/level high-speed extension, especially since that is the favorite target of the unmaneuverable and hard-to-die-in FW 190D9.

Basically to be successful with this plane, stay above the enemy, try not to get going fast until you have to (so you don't lose any E checking 6) and take any gunshot you can take. The gunsight is pretty good by WB standards, and with 33 seconds of fire with those .50 cals, you have lots of bullets to throw at the enemy. Feel free to turn with anything but a Zero, Spit5, or (to some degree) a P38, as you can turn very well in a Hellcat.

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