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Grumman F4F Wildcat

The Wildcat was the main shipboard fighter when the US entered WWII. The F4F was barrel-shaped, with angular wingtips and rudder and a narrow-track undercarriage. The Mitsubishi A6M outperformed it, but the F4F was well-armed and reliable, and was a natural shipboard aircraft, probably easier to land on a carrier deck than on land. It set the reputation of Grumman for building immensely strong aircraft. The F4F never had a operational speed limitation. Production continued to the end of the war, mainly for use on escort carriers; Eastern Aircraft built it as the FM.

General characteristics
Primary function	Fighter
Contractors	Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Eastern Aircraft
Power plant	One Pratt&Whitney R-1830-86 engine
Thrust	1,180 HP		880 kW
Wingspan	38 ft		11.58 m
Length	28.74 ft		8.76 m
Height	9.22 ft		2.81 m
Wingarea	260 sq ft		24.15 sq m
Weight	empty	5,760 lb	2,612 kg
	max.	7,952 lb	3,607 kg
Max. speed	318 mph		512 km/h
Initial climb rate	1,920 ft/min		585 m/min
Ceiling	34,780 ft		10,600 m
Max. range	1,274 miles		2,050 km
Armament	6x 12.7mm machine gun; 2x 113 kg bombs
Crew	One
First flight	prototype	September 2, 1936
	serial version	February, 1940
Date deployed	1940
Number built	7815

Jirka Wagner