F6F Hellcat  World War 2 Aircraft History,  DVD Movies and Videos.

Formula for Family Success

When Kids build an airplane model, they build their dreams and a future.  What ever direction a kid looks at by using his mind, is the direction that the kid will follow.  The purpose of the YellowAirplane website is to keep kids heading in the right direction.  By using airplanes and the whole spectrum of aviation, we can keep our kids heading into a direction of technology and education.  Here's a great formula for teaching kids about airplanes, technology and education.   Watch a movie + Build a model airplane + Go to an air show X  Spaced Repetition = An educated kid. Watch a movie about the kinds of airplanes that you will see at an upcoming air show.  +  Build a model of the kind of airplane you saw in the movie.  +  Go to a local air show, you will have the time of your life and see tremendous things.  Continued here 

Military History and Aviation Study Notes

The Grumman Hellcat was designed from the beginning to take back the skies over the Pacific from the Japanese Zero. Though not as maneuverable as the smaller Japanese Zero, the Hellcat's speed and firepower usually won the day.

Successor to the Grumman Wildcat, the F6F Hellcat made history in 1942 when it  decisively whipped the Japanese aircraft carrier based fighters opposing it in the Pacific during WW2. In addition to its duty as a aircraft carrier-based fighter, the Hellcat served  with the U.S. Marine Corps as a potent fighter-bomber.

In the summer of 1942, Jim Vernon joined the U.S. Navy's aviation cadet training program and by the spring of 1945 he was flying F6F Hellcats from the USS Ticonderoga off the coast of Japan. This memoir of his years at war provides a carrier pilot's view of the conflict in the Pacific during the final months of the war when the atomic bombs were dropped and Japan capitulated.

James H. "Jimmy" Flatley, who rose to the rank of Vice Admiral after World War II, helped introduce the F6F Hellcat into combat in 1943. the F6F-3 Hellcat, "White 00," that he flew as Commander of Air Group 5 on the USS Yorktown in May of 1943.

On November 19, 1943, Lt. (jg) Hamilton McWhorter III, operating off the USS Essex, downs a Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bomber to become the first pilot to claim five victories in the Grumman F6F Hellcat.

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Since 1946, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron has taken performance flying to new levels.

"Blue Angel Number One," Roy M. "Butch" Voris, this limited  edition print features a wonderful depiction of his Grumman F6F Hellcat that he flew  as Officer-in-Charge of the first Navy Flight Exhibition Team - the Blue Angels. His wartime accomplishments and flight team history are all here.

F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat versus the Japanese A6M Zero, the 617 Squadron "Dambusters" Operation Chastise bombing raids, B-24s on the Ploesti mission, the battle for the Island of Malta, the air war over the battlefields of the Kursk Salient between Russian and German aces.

Navy fighter piloted by  Commander David McCampbell, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient who shot  down 34 Japanese aircraft in one tour of duty, including nine enemy planes in one  mission - an unparalleled achievement in American fighter aviation.

F6F-5 "Minsi II," flown by the Air Group Commander of VF-15 (Fabled Fifteen) off the aircraft carrier "Essex." Here, Commander David McCampbell is engaged with Japanese aircraft over the Philippines  on October 24, 1944. Commander McCampbell and his wingman intercepted 60 enemy  aircraft en route to an attack on the U.S. Fleet, and in the ensuing fight he shot  down nine of the enemy and forced them to abandon their attack.

Naval fighter piloted by Lt. H. "Mac" McWorther III, the first Hellcat ace who ultimately scored 12 victories.

Cdr.  Hamilton McWhorter III, USN (Ret.), a Hellcat ace who flew first in North Africa then  flew from the USS Essex, from which he shot down 12 Japanese aircraft. He was the U.S. Navy's first Hellcat ace.

post-WWII era craft of the Blue Angels' first flight leader, Lt. Cmdr. Roy  "Butch" Voris.

VF-6 Hellcat piloted by Lt. (JG) Alexander Vraciu who, just weeks after leaving VF-6 for VF-16, shot down an amazing total of six Japanese "Judy" dive bombers during what came to be known as The Marianas Turkey Shoot   He shot down a total of six Japanese "Judy" dive bombers in a period of only eight minutes…

Gadget, the F6F Hellcat flown by 19-victory ace Lt. Alexander Vraciu - the U.S. Navy's fourth-leading ace of all time - with VF-6 in the Pacific Theater of World War II.

F6F Hellcat pilot and Medal of Honor recipient Capt. David McCampbell departs the USS Essex during the Marianas Turkey Shoot.  The Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II.  Tillman. In June, 1944, American and Japanese carrier fleets both hoped to take control of the vital Marianas Islands - and when they met, their engagement escalated into the most spectacular aircraft carrier battle in history.  The battle in which more than 300 Japanese aircraft were destroyed.

VF-27 markings of Lt. Carl Brown, who flew from the USS Princeton in October 1944.

Preparing to attack a Japanese force of 60 aircraft over the Philippines during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 24, 1944, Cmdr. David McCampbell and his wingman Lt. Roy Rushing are about to fly their F6F Hellcats into history by splashing 15 enemy aircraft, including nine by McCampbell.

F6F Hellcat flown from the USS Santee (CVE-29) in 1945

 804 Squadron markings from the Pacific campaign of 1945

The N1K2-J Shiden-Kai "George" flown by CPO Shoichi Sugita of the 343rd Kokutai  claims four F6F Hellcats and another three probable's during the shredding of an unsuspecting and overconfident carrier strike group near Kure on March 19, 1945.

Though production of the Hellcat ceased shortly after the end of World War II, some aircraft - such as this one flown by the French Navy over Indochina in 1953 - remained in service for years.

U.S. Navy's VU-1/VC Utility Squadron from Hawaii, 1959

Radar-equipped night fighter with a wing-mounted AN/APS-6 radar flown by 12-victory ace Lt. William E. Henry, who was executive officer of VF(N)-41 squadron on the USS Independence in 1944 and the top U.S. Navy night fighter ace of World War II with 6 nighttime victories.