Wildcat WTF???

[Jack Cook]

F4F-3S Wildcatfish at Bethpage Feb 1943

[hang the expense]

I always did think that was cool.Man it must have been a slug for sure.

[tom d. friedman]

it had great lines but slower than heck!! you should see a helldiver or c-47 on floats!! equally good looking but must have been like flying a cinder block!!

[CAPFlyer]

Well, with the XC-47C, it apparently did well becuase there's still one flying.

MAAM-SIM did the XC-47C and if the flight dynamics are remotely close, then it actually doesn't fly bad, and it's a very useful airplane able to operate pretty heavy loads in and out of lakes and rivers that give Beaver and Otter pilots headaches.

[hang the expense]

Didnt they bring a C-47 to oshkosh one year on floats?

[old iron]

The C-47 on floats is an impressive airplane to see in flight - much of its history has been here in Maine - but it is not original, but rather a "marriage of a C-47 and set of Edo floats put together in recent years. None of the original C-47 floatplanes survived.

[John Dupre]

The C-47 on floats is an impressive airplane to see in flight - much of its history has been here in Maine - but it is not original, but rather a "marriage of a C-47 and set of Edo floats put together in recent years. None of the original C-47 floatplanes survived.

I have been under the impression that the Maine C-47 on floats is not actually a C-47 but a DC-3 variant that would have had a some other C number than 47. Specifically I think it has Wright rather that Pratt and Whitney engines. Confirmation anyone?

[Holedigger]

C-53....on floats, here is a link and more pics and specifics on her history
http://www.douglasdc3.com/float/float.htm

[CAPFlyer]

The C-47 on floats is an impressive airplane to see in flight - much of its history has been here in Maine - but it is not original, but rather a "marriage of a C-47 and set of Edo floats put together in recent years. None of the original C-47 floatplanes survived.

I believe the more accurate statement would be that none of the XC-47C's survive as XC-47C's. My understanding is that most were "dismounted" from their floats and returned to regular C-47's.

[Dave Hadfield]

Wildcat -- at first glance it looks like the prop blades would erode fairly quickly. They'd be in the splash zone from the floats at the beginning of the take-off run.

The aircraft is set well back on the floats -- not that there's much choice for a short stubby airplane with a radial engine.

-- and where do you tie-on your canoe?...

Dave

[RickH]

The Wildcatfish. Grumman attempt to provide a recoverable convoy escort before the jeep carriers were available.

[Aircraft Mech Paul]

F4F-3S Wildcatfish at Bethpage Feb 1943

Now THERE'S something you don't see every day...Hmmmmm. Kinda gives me an idea though for fishing. Fly into a lake. Fish off of the wing for a while maybe take swim, dry off, and the fly away to my private seaplane dock on a lake.

Nice thought though don't you think ??

Paul

[Second Air Force]

At least one, maybe more, of the float equipped C-47s was photographed in the storage area at Walnut Ridge. As I recall it wasn't too far from the "disassembly" line and smelter complex in the photo I remember seeing. I doubt it escaped the reclamation process.

S