Aircraft Films F4F Wildcat

[@63DW89A]

The Wildcat is like the British Hurricane: overshadowed by the more glamorous fighters. Yet both the Wildcat and Hurricane were in the thick of the action when needed, and both performed their duties well and effectively held the line during desperate, doubtful times. Looking at the records of the Wildcat & Hurricane, makes you truly appreciate both these sadly overlooked fighters and greatly admire the pilots who flew both of them!

[@billdewahl7007]

This. Never forget the assembly lines for the hurricane were built and production started without an official order from the RAF.

[@skeeterhoney]

Let's not forget that in the early battles the Wildcat was up against a fresh, experienced crop of pilots. The quality of aviator that Corsairs and Hellcats faced later on was not as good. No doubt that contributed to the disparity in the F4F's kill ration and that of the F4U and F6F.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@skeeterhoney Exactly, it was the Wildcats that dealt with the hot shot Japanese pilots so by the time the Hellcats and Corsairs came along they were flying against Japanese pilots that were rushed into service with as little as 10 training time in the aircraft they were going to war in. Also despite the image that KZbin aviation experts throw around about the Wildcat being no match for the Zero it actually had an almost 5 to 1 kill ratio against the Zero, and that's when Zero's were being flown by the cream of the Japanese military.

[@nickhaynie5980]

Couldn't have said it better. I've been a fan of the Wildcat since I was Kid looking at a book about the Soloman campaign.

[@alexanderrahl482]

Wildcat love. The true scrappy fighter. Pure pre war American power.

[@higgydufrane]

So many brilliant young men, cut short in life. We owe them so much.

[@michaeltischuk7972]

I am sure God has rewarded those fine young gentlemen.

[@GlobalDrifter1000]

@@michaeltischuk7972 which god?

[@nickhaynie5980]

The Wildcat is my favorite plane. It's short, rounded, stumpy and unassuming appearance have always pleased me to look on it. It's adorable really.

[@iancostigan5047]

Hellcat looks similar but way better in every way.

[@clevlandblock]

The Wildcat looks a little frumpy with the gear down. But otherwise, especially airborne, I think it's a good looking aircraft. It's odd they were still making Wildcats in 1945 when they were gearing up for Bearcat production.

[@danweyant707]

@@clevlandblock lighter, slower landing for the escourt carriers

[@benlaskowski357]

Like the Urbanmech. Looks cute, even a little dumb, but fuck with it and you'll get your ass handed to you.

[@Eirik36]

The fm2 with its larger engine looks nice!

[@marcosambrosino]

What a beautiful documentary. A salute from Brazil!

[@sonnyburnett8725]

Thanks so much for making and sharing this video. I had always thought later F4F’s were re-engined with R-2600 or R-2800 engines giving them much better performance but this film explains things much better. All of these men are hero’s as many were downed and probably survived by bailing out or crashing onto the water only to die from not being rescued. Can you imagine how horrible that was and they all knew it was very possible each day they went up. Total respect for these guys and if you ever had the chance to talk to any of them they’re always such respectful people. Not just these pilot’s but any of them who saw combat in any form, land, sea or air. They’re amazing people!

[@wingmanjim6]

FM2s had the Wright R1820 ( one of the few errors I noted in this otherwise excellent narrative.

[@63DW89A]

S Smith, thank you for finding and putting this F4F documentary on YT. This is a wonderfully detailed, written and edited documentary. This is probably the finest documentary on a historic aircraft I've ever seen, and is THE model for how to do it RIGHT.

[@chandlerwhite8302]

Really enjoyed his video. The Wildcat pilots from 1941 to 1943 were the unsung hero of the Pacific War. They used inferior airplanes to basically break even against an experienced and aggressive enemy, and changed the momentum of the war. The determination and grit these men showed can not be underestimated.

[@chandlerwhite8302]

Derek Stairs Sorry, the Wildcat was fully inferior to the Zero. The tactics the pilots developed allowed them to survive and compete until it could be replaced by the Hellcat and Corsair.

[@markusdaxamouli5196]

Grumman sure does allot with very litle. They have made quite an impact from WWII to APOLLO program all out of that little shop. Impressively Done!

[@kortisbraun9798]

The wildcat did lots of the heavy lifting in pacific war, but never got nearly as much press. This is a truly Great Plane.

[@cal30m1]

The corsair and hellcat get most of the press, but the little wildcat and its pilots saved our ass in 1942

[@JoeInCT418]

Agree, fully. The F6F didn't go into service until November 43 at Wake Island along with the Essex carriers. Navy pilots had to learn every trick they could to keep the Zeke at bay. Interestingly, they kept making the F4F to use on the Jeep Carriers in both the Pacific and in the Atlantic; the F6F couldn't land on Jeep carriers, so the F4Fs were still needed. They helped to scout for U-Boats as part of the convoy escort groups, and were very effective. The Brits loved them, especially the FM-2s (upgraded versions mfgd by a Gen Motors subsidiary)

[@cal30m1]

+Joseph K I had a couple of aunts that worked in the GM plant in Linden NJ assembling the FM-2's.

[@JoeInCT418]

If still alive, plz thank them for their service. Making the tools of war is as important as using them.

[@SunnyIlha]

Yes. It was the Wildcat. The Pilots in them. That did it. Toe to Toe. No overwhelming advantages. In the worst of it. The hardest most uncertain times. Contended and Held the line.

[@nickhaynie5980]

And throughout the summer of 1943 when they put the big effort against Rabaul. There was a lot dogfights in those days.

[@codered5431]

These men are my heroes.

[@d.howerton9273]

Excellent video. Eternal gratitude to the "greatest generation". Thank you for your selfless service to the nation.

[@ResIpsaquitur]

Only about 10 percent of those in uniform saw combat. Also, this is the same generation that allowed the country to slip into the tail spin we are now in. They are the generation that allowed the Vietnam debacle to occur and accepted the bullshit Warren Report used to cover up the hit on the best President in modern times. Anybody that truly knows history knows the Japanese and the Germans stood no chance against the industrial might of the United States. Yamamoto himself knew that Japan could not withstand the might of the U.S. before Pearl Harbor ever took place. Yamamoto figured Japan could hold off the U.S. for six months and then the U Swould start to steam roll Japan. German Field Marshalls, Generals and officers in the actual fighting knew the war was lost when the U.S. entered the war in 1941. The moral fabric of this country was torn asunder in the 1960s and under the watch and control of the 'greatest generation'. It was under their watch we started down and well into the suicidal socialistic, welfare state we are now in. It was the 'greatest generation' that ushered in and firmly entrenched the monstrous military industrial complex . Yeah, they are 'greatest' for what? Beating up on two relative 90 pound weeklings that had relatively no resources or men. Shit the Germans were ground down on the he Russian Steps before we landed in Normandy. By D-Day the Germans were fighting with old men and 13,14 and 15 year old boys. The Luftwaffe only could get airborne TWO airplanes, only two ME-109s were able to fly against the massive invasion force. Yeah Germany was on a great footing to turn back the then biggest armada in history. After one decisive battle of Midway, Japan was done and it downhill from then and Guadal Canal on. Not one major offensive was won by the Axis powers once the U.S.got on a war footing in 1942. Sure the men that fought in WWII were brave and tough, but so were most combatants. Man for man, the Werhmacht and Luftwaffe may the best, but they had relatively not enough resources. How about the generations that fought the Revolutionary war or the Battle of 1812. How about the generations that settled the frontier. Just because Tom Brokaw coined the phrase, it is not true. When Social Security goes belly up and it comes time to pay the piper for the National Debt, who is most culpable for starting this whole mess? The 'Greatest Generation' of course. They allowed the infiltration of the Marxist agents into our college campuses, it all started in the post war period, once again, under their watch They are not any greater and they are possibly not any worse. They are no better than Vietnam Vets, Those Vietnam Vets in COMBAT in Vietnam may be the most valiant troops we ever fielded or those on both sides in the Civil War. But to say that the WWII generation is the 'greatest' may make you feel warm and fuzzy, but it is not true. Seven of my uncle's served in WWII. One uncle flew in the 8th Air Force and later Korea. Another uncle flew 57 strikes in the Solomon's in B-24s(DFC, 2 Bronze Stars, and too many air medals to count) My brother served in Vietnam with the Marine Corps. I myself served as an enlisted Marine and later as an Air Force officer flying C-130s. I am damned pissed off at the pissants that allowed my country to be in the state it is. The shitstorm is coming. We no longer are promoting the best and the brightest, the social engineering is in full force and it will not end well. Our military is being run by folks that would not have made it through basic training or OTS/OCS 40 years ago. We are blowing our wad on shitty weapons systems and stupid wars and doing the bidding for AIPAC and half you non-serving fucks get a woodie seeing Arabic people blown to vapor by drones or Apaches firing a chain gun or Hellfire missiles. You should find that shit revolting. I personally hate the idea of our foreign intanglements and as Smedley Butler said, "War is a racket". And my uncle that flew in the Solomon campaign, by the 1970s, he loathed his generation for sitting on their ass and allowing the marxist/socialists to undermine the traditional American values that made this country great. Now look at this mess, inmates in prison are getting sex change treatment, junkies are getting shooting galleries on Philly, illegals are getting free health care over citizens in California and homeless are shitting in the streets of San Francisco and Portland. We are as soft and decadent Rome when they fell. Just watch we are set up for a big fall and it all started with FDR, but the Great Society of LBJ really got us rolling down the slippery slope. Yes in deed, the 'greatest generation' once again. The lights are about to go out because the greatest generation used up all the electricity and did not pay their fair share of the bill.

[@michaeltischuk7972]

@@ResIpsaquitur yeah, but the Kennedy family was like the Gambino family, and Jack was like Clinton. Sorry Jack and Rob were assassinated, but they were gangsters nonetheless.

[@spudskie3907]

One of the underrated fighters of WWII.

[@anotherunoriginalcomment]

We meet again

[@hyghostgamer9495]

best plane documentary EVER!!!!

[@hymanocohann2698]

Gotta agree, respect...

[@martentrudeau6948]

The F4F is the WW2 hero we tend to forget, navy pilots back then said it was a good plane and they figured out how to counter the Zero using tactics that favored the F4F strengths.

[@jimhenry1262]

The Japanese in 1942 had it all their way with the sheer number of excellent well trained pilots,and a fantastic ,highly maneuverable fighter. The Japanese had been training for years and we had not. My dad was in the Pacific on a carrier. The Wildcat was good, but lacked the power to climb like the Zero, or perform any maneuver as good as the Zero. It wasn`t until we had the Hellcat and the Corsair, that we finally had fighters that surpassed the Zero,and with the attrition that we inflicted on the Japanese carriers and their flight groups they could not maintain the impetus they started the war with. Simply put, by 1943 and 1944, just like Yamamoto feared, we increasingly improved in skills and developed much better planes and we built ships and trained mass numbers of new pilots finally. The Japanese could never replace their pilots and aircraft carriers at the rate we could. Nothing new here, but I remember listening to my dad as a very little boy in the 1950`s, as he talked about his friends on shipboard during those years. He enlisted at 16 with his mother`s signature required. I went through the Army induction center in 1969 ,but i wasted my time with girls and muscle cars and never joined up,much to my regret during Vietnam. I finally started an armor company and armored vehicles in the Middle East. Now I am an industrial chemist,never becoming anywhere near the man that my father was. God bless him and all those who served in our nation`s darkest hours.

[@halojump123]

We are all called to our own destiny , yours was saving lives in the armored car field. Had U goin to Vietnam maybe, u would have stayed there, you are where U are supposed to be. When U ( we ) force and out come, it rarely fulfills its full potential and often ends in regret. Look around at the people that U work with or encounter, your influence may inspire future leaders. Most of us would love to live up to our fathers hero status but, heros come in different forms. Have a good day, sir.

[@michaelcoker3197]

Superlative documentary! Fascinating and thrilling.

[@SunnyIlha]

Ridiculously strong structure. Solid. BUILT! Maneuverable. Heavy .50s. Slabs of armor. Sealing tanks. Durable, robust. Uncomplicated. 400-mile radius. Can be flown at it's terminal velocity under complete control.

[@stevenboykin116]

29:40 It's just f*cking stupid to have a war hero like that be killed at 82 by some 19 y/o kid. It makes me sick.

[@oldcremona]

I love the tubby little F4F. Always the underdog but hits back hard.

[@robertconti4937]

And then came the Bearcat F48. And then the Corsair F4 U?

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

@@robertconti4937 the gestation of Naval Fighters during World War II was the F4U, the F6F, and to late for combat, the F8F,in that order. The F4U was not accepted for carrier operations due to poor forward visibility when landing on a carrier. That is why the F6F preceded it in carrier operations. The Fleet Air Arm operating from RN carriers developed a modified landing pattern as a work around, but the F4U was still dangerous, more than normal, landing on deck.

[@SeanP7195]

In the dozens of times I’ve flown out of O’hare I never knew it was named after Butch O’Hare. Interesting

[@mikespillman3075]

True....prior to that it was referred to as ''Orchard Field'', thus the ORD designation...….

[@cavecookie1]

I learned that little bit of trivia many years ago from Paul Harvey...Good Day!

[@nealkirkland6825]

Flown out of Chicago many times... seen the Wildcat display. Makes ya think. Bit of more trivia for you. The other Chicago airport (Midway) is named after the famous WWII battle vs the Japanese. Always though it was kind of neat that Chicagoans appreciated the heroes of WWII so much !

[@JackGordone]

Here is another piece of trivia info: Butch O'Hare's father was..... a noted Chicago gangster lawyer popularly known as "Easy Eddie"! He changed sides and helped the feds bag Al Capone for income tax fraud, and for his troubles, he was murdered in early November 1939, shot to death while at the wheel of his car.

[@clevlandblock]

There's Foss field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota also.

[@d.howerton9273]

At 39:57 the narrator says the GM FM-2 was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1820-56 radial engine. The R-1820 series was produced by the Wright Company. P&W made the R-1830 series engines which had 14 cylinders in double rows of seven. The FM-2 was called the Wilder Wildcat because the R-1820-56 engine produced 1350 hp with water injection instead of 1200 hp.

[@Andrew-13579]

Yup, he oops'd it!

[@tyrelljohnson2872]

The wildcat was the only naval aircraft that could challenge the zero in the early war and held the line i respect this plane and the pilots that have flew into battle in the wildcat

[@bluemountaindrivepae]

The biplanes in use were no match for the zeroes.

[@davidrodgersNJ]

My grandmom (Billie Rodgers) helped make these planes as a "Rosie the riveter" in WW2 in Linden, NJ.

[@vivians9392]

They were some strong, dedicated young ladies! In England, they started riveting as young as 16!

[@jaminova_1969]

I am a welder and shipbuilder in the 21st Century. The men and women of WW2 truly are Our Greatest Generation!

[@Ocrilat]

British pilot John Herbert, flying off the carrier Victorious: 'Concerning the Wildcat I echo the line of our best test pilots - it was probably the finest deck-landing aircraft ever built. I once landed a Wildcat with a hole in one wing big enough to put my desk through. I've landed with most of my tail shot away and with holes all over it, and bits dripping out of the engine, and the bloody thing still flew. It was incredibly good.'

[@EnterpriseXI]

Salute and R.I.P to the F4F Wildcat and her pilots that held the line

[@tsmgguy]

The Japanese bomb hit on the Enterprise's flight deck shown at 25:25 killed the photographer who shot the film. This documentary is so important because the images used depict the actual events being described. They are not the typical representative films from throughout the war.

[@vivians9392]

Sad, but very brave!

[@nickhaynie5980]

It's true. Documentaries with great footage are hard to find.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

One of the best ever...Thanks very much...!

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

I think this is the only video let alone book that I've read or watched, that has described the Brewster Buffalo as nimble. The damn thing couldn't even do a full loop

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

@Derek Stairs flying against I-15 biplanes and I-16, primarily. Kicking a puppy. The Russian military had been decapitated at that point by Stalin. Into the leadership void steps chaos.

[@rickbowser3308]

@Derek Stairs - The U.S Navy and Marine combat trim for the Buffalo, included additional armor plating, ( which the export models probably did not have ) which added weight and hampered the Planes' performance.

[@cttc4132]

What a great video! Thanks for publishing it.

[@SSgtBaloo]

Thanks for posting this. I'm an aviation buff and I need an occasional refresher. ;)

[@andrewtaylor940]

One of the best compliments for the Wildcat I ever saw came from Saburo Sakai, one of the top Japanese Aces (and one of the only ones to survive the war). After racking up kills in the early war against P39’s and 40’s over China he got sent into the Guadalcanal fight. His first encounter with the “Grumman’s”. In a rather legendary duel he describes his astonishment at pouring 600-700 rounds of ammunition into a Wildcat, to watch it keep flying. No fire. And it’s pilot unharmed. While the Zero could outperform the Wildcats, the F4F’s ability to absorb damage and protect its pilot and still keep fighting, while the Japanese planes tended to explode after a few rounds, was a really scary thing for the Japanese Pilots. It took pretty much all of their ammo to down or damage one Wildcat. The Zero could perform better with a skilled pilot. But that pilot had to be flying with his peak skills every second in the air if the Grumman’s were around. The Well armored Wildcats gave their pilots a margin of error that the Japanese Pilots just did not have. The plane would protect you, and would forgive mistakes. There was no forgiveness for the Zero pilots. Then the Hellcats came along having all the protectiveness of the Wildcats, plus the Zeros performance, and a seemingly unlimited ammunition supply. Those experienced Japanese Pilots that weren’t dead became very disgruntled at that point.

[@Ha1fBakt]

Done PROUD!! Always a Wildcat fan!!

[@Idahoguy10157]

Had a college professor who was an enlisted Marine on the USS Wasp. Served aboard till it was sunk

[@collinriley4976]

Excellent report!

[@sfsfinancing3299]

That the F4F had a slightly better kill ratio to the ZERO is amazing, considering that at the start of the war, ZERO pilots were veterans with years of experience. The Navy pilots had no war experience at all, and most had only recently joined up, I believe. Navy training must have been excellent to produce pilots that coud hold their own against a veteran foe flying an equal or superior plane. Comparison to the F6F in performance is difficult, because by the time the F6F arrived, many of the Japanese veterans had been killed.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

@Marrowbones the Thatch Weave was strictly a defensive maneuver. In attack it was altitude translated into dive speed slashing attacks followed by Zoom climb and turn back into the enemy

[@chandlerwhite8302]

The American doctrine was to rotate high performing pilots back to the States as training instructors. Thus, every 4-6 week’s you had 24 new pilots who knew everything the ace knew. The Japanese and Germans kept their best pilots permanently on the front line, and inevitably lost them to attrition. Combine that with the losses at Coral Sea and especially Midway, and their pilot Corp was decimated by late 1943.

[@parapsychologist5402]

Man, the days of flying a fighter/bomber with the cockpit window open are long gone.

[@lydiadeolloz1991]

came here looking for f4f asmr audios but this works too

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Looking at some of the comments regarding the Grumman Wildcat compared to the Hellcat and the Corsair oh, I think I need to point something out. The Wildcat and its Pilots were fighting against the best Japanese Pilots that they had at the beginning of the war. The Hellcat in the Corsair came after those experienced Pilots had been thinned out by combat attrition, in particular the battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway. The Hellcat and the Corsair were Superior aircraft yeah, but they were flying against an enemy that had inferior Pilots. Regardless of whatever airplane the Japanese Pilots were in yeah, they weren't well trained anymore. I think the Marianas turkey shoot clearly demonstrates the lack of training the average Japanese Naval aviator had at that stage of the war. After Midway the Japanese were chasing their tails trying to find enough fuel to train enough Pilots with enough hours to be competitive. The submarine campaign against their tankers in particular crippled their pilot training program. In the end they were like the Germans oh, they had willing students oh, they had aircraft but they had no fuel. So what pilots say had that could get off the ground were used as kamikazes. The more experienced Pilots would try to escort the kamikazes to the Target area. So in short wild Wildcat was not the best carrier fighter at that time yeah, but it was good enough to break the back of Japanese Naval Aviation. The groomin Wildcat and subsequent Naval Fighters benefited from the system of training that the American Military had the luxury of implementing. We rotated Pilots that had experienced home to share that experience with new pilots. The Japanese were able to do that. After Midway they were scrambling just to have enough Pilots to man their carriers. America did not suffer a fuel shortage that crippled their training programs, the Japanese did. the biggest qualitative difference that the Americans had until the appearance of Hellcat and the Corsair was a qualitative difference. The Wildcat will not the best performing fighter was the most durable fighter flying off Carrier decks. the men flying those aircraft were among the best in the world and they hone their skills in the most darwinian of combat arenas, air-to-air combat.

[@donf3877]

Hell yes. The F4F, and with it the P-39 and the P-40 as well, were good aircraft. The problem wasn't the aircraft... but rather the tactics the brass forced on the pilots. Chennault proved the P-40 was quite capable of fighting the Japanese aircraft using his tactics. You did not attempt to dogfight. You made a high speed pass. If you didn't shoot it down, you peeled out, gained altitude, and made another high speed pass. The flying Tigers also flew is a lead and wingman formation. It is still used today. The mighty F4F, along with the P-39 and P-40, took most of the highly experienced Japanese pilots out. Yes, the F6F and F4U and P-38 were better aircraft. However, they never faced the best of the Japanese pilots. They were already gone. After the AAF brass FINALLY implemented Chennault's tactics, the F4F, and the P-39 and P-40, were used all the way to the end of the war. And at that time, the F4F usually flew off the jeep carriers, since the newer aircraft weren't capable of utilizing them.

[@Andrew-13579]

@@donf3877 I think the FM-1 & -2 flew from jeep carriers because they were smaller and you could fit more of them on a small jeep carrier along with 9 big TBMs. At Korea, F4U-4 Corsairs flew off the jeep carriers, too...the Commencement Bay class, CVE's. Also, the jeep carriers were slow (22kts vs 32kts for the full-size Essex class) and performed more secondary duties. They were not "fleet" carriers. And so, the Wildcats were in a sort of reserve role, leaving all the Hellcats, and later Corsairs, to the fast, attack carriers. The jeep carriers were a way to provide air cover, ASW and close air support to convoys and amphibious forces, and build them fast. Kaiser Shipbuilding built 50 Casablanca class CVE's in about a year, I think!

[@45CaliberCure]

@Marrowbones I know I'm special, because my mother told me so, but I understood what he meant, despite a few errors in syntax and spelling. It's gonna be a rough ride on KZbin, if you can't go with the flow, brother.

[@rickbowser3308]

@Marrowbones - The Zero's lightweight construction contributed to the attrition rate of it's pilots, as Japan was only able to graduate 100 combat pilots a year, from it's flight schools. they didn't have a policy of rotating their pilots back to Japan to be used as experienced combat flight instructors, as did the U.S. The best of their combat pllots ( and maintenance crews ) were eliminated in the battle of the Coral Sea to the Guadalcanal campaign, and they weren't able to recover from those losses.

[@rickbowser3308]

@Marrowbones - I was just stating facts Sir, I wasn't being an apologist for the Japanese or presuming to "teach" you anything.... "Professor."

[@dog-so1vj]

Great video. Thanks for posting.

[@jtoddjb]

wonderful. Great stuff

[@dmr122003]

the bravest generation that will ever be, thank everyone for my freedom

[@CZ350tuner]

The first Wildcat confirmed kill was a lone raider Ju-88 A1 over Gosport by a pair of Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm FM-2 fighters in August 1940. Details including both the pilot's names (a shared kill) are in the Patrick Bishop book "The Battle of Britain". The Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm also took part in the Battle of Britain flying mainly from Ford naval air station to protect Royal Navy bases and installations such as Portsmouth from bomber attacks when RAF fighters couldn't be scrambled. So yes, the Wildcat did play a very minor roll during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The Wildcat FM-2 (Known as the "Martlet" to the Royal Navy until 1943) was rapidly introduced in 1940 to replace the Blackburn Roc (a turreted fighter) and the Gloster Sea Gladiator.

[@disillusionedone9282]

A generation of hero’s no matter what side they fought for

[@edsmartlang6307]

Greatly admire these plane info being shared, more power😇😇😇😎😎😎😎

[@alanmacification]

The first German aircraft shot down over England in WW2, was shot down by a Martlet ( The British name for the F4F )

[@1bobhodgson]

Not quite - a Martlet did shoot down a JU88 over Scotland on Christmas Day 1940, 15 months after Britain had been at war. I think the first Luftwaffe aircraft shot down was a Dornier flying boat over the North Sea, shot down by a Blackburn Skua on 26th Sept 1939. The first over land was a Heinkel 111 near Edinburgh shot down by Spitfires on 28th Oct 1939.

[@saltytoeman9823]

I’ve literally watched this Five times... So interesting.

[@MrSGL21]

the hellcat and the helldiver got all the credit, but the war was won in 42. 43-45 was mopping up the japanese. 42 is where we gutted their carrier force and decimated their naval aviation corp. and it was pilots with balls of steel flying wildcats and dauntlesses that did it.

[@MrSGL21]

@Marrowbones no doubt. The Japanese didn't know when to quit. They had lost it 42 as predicted by Yamamoto, and by mid 43 we had the mop up force we needed

[@chandlerwhite8302]

The Dauntless was a better airplane than the Helldiver, which was a terrible handling plane that most pilots hated. The original block of Helldivers performed so badly that they were withdrawn for a period of time to be redesigned, and the Dauntless was sent back to the fleet.

[@crosstimbers2]

I would still assess the Wildcat as the outstanding naval fighter of the early years of World War II ... I can vouch as a matter of personal experience, this Grumman fighter was one of the finest shipboard aeroplanes ever created. -Eric M. "Winkle" Brown, British test pilot jajajajajaja

[@vraimentPD]

but still not as good as a zero

[@crosstimbers2]

Actually way better than a Zero once the right tactics were used.

[@vraimentPD]

Do you have an example and some studying or is it just pure american patriotism? Since it has the same speed, a worse turn time, worse acceleration and climbing capability; but still is better armoured

[@petesampson4273]

Better armor, better armament, better tactics, better training (After the first generation of Japanese pilots were lost at the Coral Sea and Midway.) better diving ability, excellent rate of roll at high speeds where the Zero's ailerons stiffened up, and a two stage supercharger that narrowed the performance gap if the Wildcat could get high enough. One thing that is seldom mentioned about the Cactus Air Force is that they tried to use Wildcats as top cover with P-40s and even P-39s flying at their best, lower, altitudes. Most of Japan's best pilots were dead by the time the P-38 and Corsair started to trickle in. Speaking of rate of roll vs. "maneuverability"; you should try to find Bob Johnson's book "Thunderbolt" where he describes using the P-47s rate of roll and zoom climb to defeat a Spitfire in mock combat. The Wildcat was a lot slower but could use the same tricks in the hands of a good pilot.

[@peterehresman8463]

The F4F Wildcat out-classed by the “superior” A6M Zero-Sen; unfortunately, a common misconception among many. Edmund Blackadder, during May through November of 1942, the A6M Zero-Sen fighter suffered roughly 129 air combat loses to the F4F Wildcat, in return, F4F loses to the Zero-Sen were estimated at 111. Considering the Japanese had their best fighter pilots during this phase of WW2, I would say that’s a remarkable accomplishment for the Wildcat and its pilots. Here is an excerpt (point #5) taken from Lt Cdr James Flatley's eight points he termed "Hints to Navy VF Pilots" flying the F4F Wildcat: "You have the better airplane if you handle it properly. In spite of their advantage in maneuverability, you can and should shoot them down with few loses to yourselves. The reason for this is your greater firepower and more skillful gunnery." Source: F4F Wildcat Vs A6M Zero-Sen: Pacific Theater 1942, by Edward M. Young Several Japanese pilots also had much respect for the rugged Grumman fighter. Japanese Ace Saburo Sakai was impressed with the Wildcat’s ruggedness and believed that the Wildcat was only slightly inferior to the Zero in performance. Japanese Ace Kaname Harada on the Wildcat: “The only American fighter that I fought against was the Grumman F4F Wildcat, and the performance was probably the same as the Zero fighter. Nevertheless, I was impressed with the American pilots' attacking spirit and skills.” In conclusion, what usually determined the victor in a fight between these two very different and excellent aircraft? The pilot.

[@revolrz22]

Because the F4F Wildcat isn't as famous as the aircraft that came later, even though it was more important to the war effort.

[@joewilson3575]

soaringtractor You seem pretty proud of that eh? You've​ responded to multiple comments over a year old with three!!! after every sentence.

[@fidziek]

@soaringtractor pls stop drinking spirits in the morning on empty stomach...

[@chandlerwhite8302]

soaringtractor The Wildcat has more claims o fame than that. Sinking multiple destroyers at Wake Island and winning the air battle of Guadalcanal would be at the top of my list.

[@duncani3095]

Does anybody know if aircraft films released their documentary about the first us navy's carriers? I purchased this documentary on dvd and that particular documentary is mentioned on a insert in the case. Sadly, aircraft films went bust and i suspect they did not get to release it before it happend. It was supposed to be named "first ladies".

[@tomdraper7698]

Great film. The only mistake I could find was the misidentification of a Boeing FB-5 for a Curtiss F7C early in the picture.

[@86davy]

+Tom Draper Ya. It's hard to tell the difference though.

[@luuko656]

Guys, im trying to decide which scale model to build next... which one do you like the most: P36 Hawk or F4F Wildcat?? regarding looks and history..

[@KiwiKaosAgent]

Everyone does the American aircraft, I prefer the Japanese examples, Nakajimas, Aichi, Mitsubishi, Kawanishi etc.

[@riceburnerbiker1483]

Landing gear was hand cranked up and down.

[@TheDustysix]

The trick was to pull up slightly then dip the nose and crank madly.

[@hertzair1186]

@@TheDustysix ....yes, using negative G’s to lighten the gear crank effort.

[@TD402dd]

The F-4 was not the answer, but it was all the Navy had. When the F-6 Hellcats came along the Zero's dominance ended. It was smaller, faster, and could out climb the Zero.

[@82ghall]

very good video

[@andypanda4927]

I heard somewhere that Royal Navy wildcats gave bf109s a nasty surprise -N.Atlantic or N.sea, istr.

[@hasanfurkancengiz]

12:15 nice flyby :)

[@deandrebattugs5591]

yah true the f4f saved our ass in 1942

[@Spacklatard]

29:54 Odd? Not really. Notice the panel riveting, 15 is the max that would fit in 1 panel given the size of the rising sun patch.

[@daveponder2754]

The Buffalo had the highest kill to loss ratio of any American fighter..........in the Russo-Finnish war!!! This was due to the even worse aircraft flown by the Russians, and the very well trained Finnish pilots compared to the Russians pilots. The "wilder" Wildcat (FM-2)used water methanol in the 9 cylinder 1820-56 Pratt and Whitney engine which under some circumstances could produce up to 1400 h.p. although this was under ideal conditions. The nine cylinder with water/methanol usually gave about an extra 150 h.p. but the main performance increase came from the >500 lb. weight saving over the P&W 1830 fourteen cylinder engines. Climb rate improved by ~ 1000 ft/min.

[@hyghostgamer9495]

i love the video!

[@GregoryDeese]

Cat Mascot on the Atlantic based F4F at 44:11 is flipping double birds. Hilarious.

[@coreyandnathanielchartier3749]

I've heard the Buffalo called a lot of things, but "nimble" was never one of them.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Same here. It was a dog. The only success for the Buffalo came in the winter war between Russia and Finland.

[@gpomeroy]

i will be playing this for rear admiral whitey feightner uss enterprise ace of vf-8 & vf-10 he is 99yrs old

[@hasanalkays6939]

F4F WILDCAT-TRAWA ATTOL F4U CORSAIR-RETURN TO COREGIDOR TBF AVENGER-MIDWAY P-51 MUSTANG-TOKYO SBD DAUNTLES-GUADALCANAL 6AM ZERO-CORAL SEA

[@identitydixie1061]

May I ask why? and what this is?

[@marcosberenstein4558]

Excellent documentary,very informative.

[@charlesmascari8197]

WWII ace, flew in Korea, test pilot, fought in Vietnam and shot in his own home by some thug.

[@darrellborland119]

As a WW2 history enthusiast, I 'thank God" that the F6F came out by 1943! ...due to the threat of the Zero. i sub'd thanks.

[@Otokichi786]

Take close look at this 4 part examination of the A6M Zero and find out why "speed isn't everything" against an "engineered for maneuverability" fighter. Take note that the first thing every successful Allied fighter pilot learned was: "Never dogfight/get in a turning fight with a Zero." (This rule applied to F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat. Even a P-40B could take out the IJA equivalent "Army Zero," Nakajima Ki-43 doing the "boom and zoom" aerial dance.) kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2HLomhrp7eHitU

[@RUNIFLAVOR76]

Sence my Second favorite is the F4F Wildcat I’m gonna have to choose the F4U Corsair as my first Favorite.

[@TheDustysix]

The founder of Enterprise Car Rental named his business after his WW2 Ship. That company will get my business. I'll bet I get a Vet discount.

[@정재훈-q7g]

where did you get this ?

[@bigdeal7043]

Thank God we had the wildcat and not the Buffalo. Look what happened to them at Midway.

[@billrey8221]

This is a very good video about the great men of the greatest generation. I believe, that there are great young people in this country today that will step up and fill those shoes and become great individuals themselves. America is a great country and we will always be on the side of right. Please. Trump 2020

[@svgproductions72]

This is a great doc, if you are ever interested about the different variants of the plane, take a look at some of the videos on my channel!

[@stratoleft]

Grumman must have learned from their mistakes in design. You look at the strange landing gear on the F4F, and it looks like the navy is just trying to get you to make a wing strike in that thing. It's like a crow on the ground. A crow has to move his wings out sometimes just to balance himself. He's no match for the highly agile aggressive Mockingbird. Then again, NO BIRD is a match against the Mockingbird. This thing even looks clumsy on the ground. Now, look at Grumman's Bearcat, and the landing gear configuration, more like Vought's one-of-a-kind, and beautiful air frame, known as the Corsair. Better recovery if you are tilted from ailerons coming in or some extra yaw you had to put in, to get you more or less, lined up for the approach. The Bearcat is not only far better looking , but MUCH BETTER suited for aircraft carrier operations.

[@Impailer67]

28;20,,,judge Alex was also an ace pilot in ww2 , before becoming a policeman ,prosecutor and D,A !

[@MigFodder]

Why does this have not more view's!

[@sonnyburnett8725]

Mark Miller , WOW! You just answered any questions I may have had about you.

[@bluemountaindrivepae]

The Doolittle raid was nearly a suicide mission. I will research how many crew made it back and how all the aircraft were lost.

[@SeanP7195]

Blue Mountain Edward I believe just one survived. However it is stated it emotionally shook Japan who thought at the time their homeland was impossible to attack and thus forced the complexed attack on Midway plan.

[@bluemountaindrivepae]

@@SeanP7195 Most crewmembers survived. All planes lost, Russia kept one.

[@SeanP7195]

Blue Mountain Edward that’s not what I’ve read.

[@bluemountaindrivepae]

@@SeanP7195 80 crewmembers, 3 KIA, 8 POWs, 3 POWs executed, 1 died in captivity, 4 POWs repatriated after the war. Surprisingly the Raiders shot down 3 Japanese fighter planes and damaged a carrier under construction delaying it's launching.

[@AS-zk6hz]

Brewster was used successfully in Finland against the Russians. It did not have a lot of success vs Japan.

[@croatianknight1160]

+@Marrowbones Nope! After the Guadalcanal campaign Feb-43.

[@macnutz4206]

It is a tribute to the pilots, their training, and their tactics that the F4 held its own against a superior fighter. The Japanese training programs could not turn out trained pilots as quickly as required and their experienced pilots were grossly over used. The Japanese did have some great fighter pilots but the Americans, as a group, were better pilots. After the Wildcat, the Americans also had better planes.

[@owensweetland342]

Imagine the balls these guys had! If not for their altruism we'd be speaking another language.

[@BillyWunebuger]

if the Lexington was sunk, how is it a museum in my city down town?

[@5695q]

During the war the carriers that were sunk were replaced as fast as they could build it and a few were given the same names as the ones lost.

[@agwhitaker]

The American navy lost 4 fleet carriers during WWII. The Lexington, the Yorktown, the Hornet and the Wasp. Four brand new Essex class carriers were named after these lost ships.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

The Lexington that is a museum ship in your town is an Essex class. The Lexington that sunk was a Lexington class. These ships were Washington Naval treaty ships that were built on recycled battlecruiser Hulls. In this case the Lexington class battlecruiser. They had turbo electric propulsion which tended to get a little upset when it got hit by a torpedo. Thus Saratoga which seem to attract Torpedoes like honey attract bees kept ending up in the yard.

[@dalemartell8639]

The only things it did better than the zero were survive punishment and the tactics the pilots used.

[@zachboyd4749]

Go F4Fs!!!

[@tg-ql5lt]

Ah the Wildcats quite heavy and could not outrun a A6M Zero, but did outlast them and did the Job

[@fidziek]

Oh, really? So why did they introduced F6F? OK, I know and understand, but...

[@KB4QAA]

TG: The F4F could out manuever a Zero in a dive.

[@stevenscoggins170]

Midway's air defenses were far from meager. There were more than 100 aircraft on the island, including at least 2 fighter squadrons.

[@BAZZAROU812]

Sad what happened to some these heroes... Murdered, suicide... Lots of suicides...

[@vivians9392]

I think when it was over, these young men who lived with stress of battle every day and the highs, and lows of losing friends, just couldn't handle the quiet life and memories after the war. There were no more marks to be made...

[@hyghostgamer9495]

what about the P-51 Mustang

[@reid1283]

It's on the other side of the world struggling to be slightly relevant

[@SeanP7195]

No_Fun_Allowed hardly

[@SeanP7195]

No_Fun_Allowed let me guess, your British

[@sonnyburnett8725]

SeanP7195 , Who cares about the P-51? If you knew your history you’d know why the F4F was so important at the time.

[@wingmanjim6]

@@reid1283 What are you smoking ?

[@em1osmurf]

and luftwaffe pilots aced with HUNDREDS of kills each.

[@dylan7129]

Thats because the German tour was until they got killed. American pilots were varied but usually 200-300 hours or 12 months. Also a lot of kills were in the eastern front which was a turkey shoot for much of the war. Kind of like the Pacific near the end of the war.

[@bryanduncan1640]

That’s my point!

[@ahmadcve-2692]

He so wild

[@flycatchful]

The only thing the "Wildcat" could do against the "Zero" was out dive it. It lacked the vertical and turning fight against the "Zero".

[@reid1283]

flycatchful It could also go head on, do a split S to get away, and outurn the zero at high speeds

[@OfficialUSKRprogram]

'grumman would become a permanent feature on carrier decks" Not anymore.. unfortunately.

[@dukecraig2402]

For years they were, also, because of their experience at building landing gear that was tough enough to withstand carrier service is why Grumman was selected to design and build the Lunar Landing Vehicle for the Apollo program.

[@AS-zk6hz]

It was underpowered no match for zero the great pilots who flew it made up for its deficiencies The hellcat replaced it. But the wildcat was used throughout the war in secondary roles. Example with the hunter killer group that got the u505. Hunting subs not fighting fighters

[@chandlerwhite8302]

Derek Stairs That was due to superior tactics and amazing bravery by the pilots, not aircraft performance. I love the Wildcat as much as anyone, but it was behind the Zero in almost every possible category.

[@bryanduncan1640]

Just think; If the Yanks had invented the Zero and us Brits had invented the ME109E and the FW190 how things might have changed?

[@migmadmarine]

the allies would have won just the same

[@chandlerwhite8302]

The Germans and Japanese would have still run out of gas, whatever they were flying.

[@kitbi9368]

No disrespect to Lt Cdr O'Hare, but I'm pretty certain Atlantic and LA are busier than Chicago

[@13stalag13]

Not at the time this was made.

[@andrebodrico8808]

the f4f was slow and can not go up or it will stall but it is good at diving

[@JoeInCT418]

Andre Bodrico Don't be upset by someone who apparently has a pine cone up his you-know-where. You meant "climb", I understood you, and you were correct; the original F4F was under-powered in relation to its ability to maneuver, and without enough power for the pilot to increase his airspeed, a stall would quickly leave the F4F and its pilot falling out of the sky, and easy pickings for a Zero that the Wildcat pilot made the mistake of trying to climb against.. Pratt & Whitney out of Hartford, CT, made the R-1800 series of engines that were originally put in the F4F; they upgraded the engine in the version of the F4F made by General Motors, called the FM-2. The pilots who got those Wildcats called them the "Hot Wildcat", as the narrator said. One other Commenter said that his aunts worked on FM-2 assembly in New Jersey during the war. Licensing out the manufacture of the F4F Wildcat to General Motors allowed Grumman to concentrate on making only the F6F Hellcat at their home factory on Long Island. A guy I worked with said his entire family had jobs at Grumman making F6Fs. The Navy had 24 Essex class carriers under almost simultaneous construction, and needed as many F6Fs from Grumman as they could produce, as quickly as Grumman could make them, because the Navy wanted experienced pilots flying those F6Fs as soon as the big Essex carriers did their shakedown cruises and were ready to do battle in the Pacific. My co-worker said as quickly as an F6F was tested and ready to go, it had to be flown to a Navy air station so the Navy pilots could train in them. A civilian pilot would fly them, along with many others, to one Navy air base, and they would all get flown back to Grumman on a Navy transport plane, so they could do the same all over again. He said his Dad told him they had the plant going 24 hours a day.

[@dannyseo6759]

I think he might have a personnel problem with something that "can not go up!"

[@barryervin8536]

Pratt+Whitney made the R-1830 engines used in the original Wildcats. The FM-2 used the Wright R-1820 engine, which was a completely different engine. It wasn't an "upgraded" Pratt+Whitney engine.

[@vivians9392]

@AquaticBoardwalkEngineer RUDE is not called for here! I know what he meant. It was underpowered for climbing, but great at diving! And, he is right!

[@vivians9392]

@@dannyseo6759 I get your message, but that would be a "personal" problem, not a "personnel" problem!

[@mihonishizumi6560]

At 2:53 its pretty funny.

[@zazarays]

that dude f3f can turn like a mofoer. Can out turn the f4f and f6f and get on their 6. Its just too slow and the f4f and f6f can dive away out of range

[@roberthaney4106]

A target rich invirment