Warbird Information Exchange

This is relatively new news to me. I'm aware of the F6F Hellcat drones but not F8F Bearcat drones. I'm thinking F8F "drone controller", just like the F7F's and not drones themselves. Edit: Never mind figured it out. (No F8F drones)
Sources, SDASM archives, NMNA archives, Kemon01 flickr account


Grumman F7F-2D Tigercat Drone Control BuNo 80349


F7F-2D, F6F-5K, F8F-2D


F7F-2D Tigercat & F8F-2D Bearcat Drone 1953



And of course these schemes never get old ....


Hellcat F6F-5K 7579120 Target Drone c 1953


Hellcat-F6F-Drone-VU3-1


Hellcat-F6F-Drone


Hellcat-F6F-Drone-VU3


Hellcat-F6F-5K drone 80173


Hellcat-F6F-5K 59VU-3USBHR c 1951

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Turn away if your squeamish ...


A Sidewinder 1-A missile fired from an F9F Cougar strikes an F6F-5K Hellcat target drone over Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) China Lake, California, 2 May 1958.








A Sidewinder missile fired from an F9F-8 Cougar hits an F6F-5K Hellcat drone over Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) China Lake, California, 19 August 1957

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Reason for wondering about the F8F drone is the third photo from the top in the first post is labeled as an "F8F drone" ... which is in error.

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They never droned Bearcats, but the French did use a lot of them up moving mud....

What is with the wingtips on this one? Some kind of radome? Looks to be on both tips?

The tips on many drone Hellcats were modified to accept flare pods as it was found that the R-2800 itself did not generate enough heat to attract the Sidewinders. This one has the modified tips but the flare pods are not attached in the picture.

Thanks for posting these Mark. As a scale modeler and died in the wool Hellcat fanatic I am fascinated by the drones with their bright color schemes. The photo of the Tigercat, Hellcats, and Bearcats lined up on the grass is particularly welcome as I had never seen it before and it is spectacular.


I know this is not the model forum but it seems a logical place to share a few pics of my F6F-5K if I may. Hopefully nobody is offended!

This one was at Planes of Fame (note Piccadilly Lily, a Lockheed 10 and the AT-10 that got scrapped in the background); it's now at the Palm Springs Air Museum.

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Well, here's my cheaper, crappier rendition of the same airplane, perpetrated on the ancient Monogram kit, built sometime in the '80s.

I don't know how much of that airframe is in the Bob Pond Hellcat

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Good looking models men. Nicely done. FYI ... First three photos state "F7F-2D Tigercat & F8F-2D Bearcat Drone Controller A/C. Taken at Dayton Airshow in Sept 1953"

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“With bottomless pockets...anything is possible”