The Hellcat was ranked quite highly among WWII pilots, but perhaps wasn't as preferred as the Corsair among Navy/Marine pilots that had experience with both. At the Joint Fighter Conference held in 1944, the Hellcat came out on or near the top in many categories where it was judged directly with the P-51, Corsair, P-47, P-38, Seafire, Mosquito and Zero. The Hellcat was ranked #1 in all of the following categories when compared to all of the aforementioned aircraft:
- The best for overloaded take-off from a small area - The best ailerons at 100 mph (landing speed) - The best rudder - The best all-around stability - The best characteristics 5 mph above stall
Well known and appreciated as being a very docile, stable and near-viceless aircraft, with superlative stall and landing characteristics.
The Hellcat was ranked second behind the Corsair for best elevators, second behind the Corsair for best combination day/night fighter, second behind the Corsair for best carrier based fighter, third behind the P-47 and Corsair for best armor, third behind the P-47 and Corsair for best control and stability in a dive, third behind the Corsair and P-51 for nicest harmonization of control forces, third behind the P-51 and Corsair for best all-around fighter below 25,000 ft, fourth behind the P-51, Corsair and P-38 for best ailerons at 350 mph (high speed), and fourth behind the P-47, P-51 and Corsair for best all-around fighter above 25,000 ft. It was tied with the Mosquito in third place for best fighter bomber behind the Corsair and P-47, and tied with the P-51 for third best strafer behind the P-47 and Corsair. Of course it was powered by the R-2800, which was ranked (far and above) the best, most confidence-inspiring engine among those ranked (the others being the Merlin and Allison).
The Hellcat was about 37-71 mph slower than the Corsair, depending on variants - the official top speed in the F6F-5 was 385 mph at 23,200 ft with water injection and a service ceiling of 37,000 ft. The Navy and Marine Corps Hellcats are credited with 5,156 air-to-air kills, compared to 2,140 credited to Navy and Marine Corsairs. There were 306 Navy/Marine Hellcat aces compared to 93 Navy/Marine Corsair aces.
All of the above information is taken from the Thomas Brinkman book, The Vought F4U Corsair and its Contemporaries.
I recall Steve Hinton making very favorable descriptions of its performance and handling characteristics in the old Roaring Glory Hellcat checkout, with something like a 3,000 fpm climb rate at max-continuous power, and great forward visibility even in the three-point/ground attitude.
Perhaps the one thing that has contributed most to the Hellcat not receiving as much attention as some other types is its rather plain looks - it perhaps doesn't have as unique of a design or as sexy a look as its contemporaries. Other than the Grumman wing fold, it was a very straight-forward design, and appears all business.
Last edited by JohnTerrell on Mon Jul 02, 2018 9:30 am, edited 2 times in total.
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