Grumman F6F Hellcat

The Grumman F6F Hellcat is a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed by the American manufacturer Grumman and introduced into United States Navy service in 1943, designed and rushed into production specifically to give American carrier pilots an aircraft capable of outperforming the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, which had given Japan an early advantage in Pacific air combat. Combining a powerful radial engine with a rugged airframe and heavier armament and armor protection than the more nimble Zero, the Hellcat gave American pilots a machine that could out-climb, out-dive and out-gun its main Japanese opponent while surviving battle damage that would down a lighter aircraft. Flying from American aircraft carriers across the Pacific theater, the Hellcat is credited with the large majority of all US Navy aerial victories claimed against Japanese aircraft during the Second World War, cementing its reputation as one of the most successful carrier fighters of the war.