How The Wildcat Grew Up

In December 1941, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps flew the Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, a stiff-wing design with four .50-caliber machine guns. Eight months later, both services operated the “dash four” version with folding wings and six guns. The advantage of folding wings was important on aircraft carriers, and the prewar complement of F4Fs doubled from 18 to 36 at Guadalcanal. But there were drawbacks: the folding wings plus extra guns and ammunition added about 800 pounds to the Wildcat’s basic weight without an offsetting increase in power. Both versions used the Pratt & Whitney R1830 rated at 1,200 horsepower. Consequently, the latter variant was somewhat slower in level flight but, more importantly, was more sluggish in a climb.

The original four-gun battery gave the F4F-3 450 rounds per gun (1,800 total): about 30 seconds firing time. Crowding the wing-fold mechanism and another gun into each wing reduced the dash four to 240rpg (1,440 total), or less than 20 seconds “trigger time.” Therefore, many Wildcat pilots fought with four guns, keeping two spares for “get me home” insurance.

Both Wildcats demonstrated Grumman Iron Works toughness, both in the demanding carrier environment and in combat. From early 1944 the FM-2 “Wilder Wildcat” perfected the design, operating entirely from escort carriers.