F4F-3 and F4F-3A Wildcat

In November of 1940 the seventh serial model (index XF4F-6), powered by a simplified Pratt-Whitney R-1830-90 engine with a one-stage supercharger, became the prototype for a small batch of F4F-3A aircrafts completed in the spring of 1941. In January 1941 the carriers Wasp and Ranger, both operating in the Atlantic, received 11 of F4F-3s apiece, and by next summer the F4F-3 was being outfitted with the reworked high altitude Pratt-Whitney R-1830-86 engine, which delivered the same 1200 hp at take-off. By December of 1941 the US Navy had procured 187 F4F-3s and 58 F4F-3As under the new official name "Wildcats." The F4F-3A ultimately proved to be a failure – poor altitude capacity unfavorably affected its speed and other flight characteristics so that by the end of 1942 the aircraft was taken out of service.

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