Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
From what I've seen in photos and profiles, all F6F-5s had the cowling of late -3's.As memo serves the F6F-3 had the engine cowling of three versions. The earliest one was "equipped" with the cooling tabs at the top and bottom of the cowling. Also there were bulges on the sides of the cowling at the height of the exhaust pipes. Then, these bottom cooling tabs were removed.That's the second version. The third type appeared with removing of these sides bulges and was used for late and very late F3s.
The first F6F-5s had the engine cowlings like the earliest F-3. But soon it was replaced with the engine cowling of the very late F3.
According to Grumman F6F Hellcat by Kagero, the first few -5s used the -3 cowling
Do you or anyone else here know of any photos or anything to prove that?According to Grumman F6F Hellcat by Kagero, the first few -5s used the -3 cowling
Do you or anyone else here know of any photos or anything to prove that?
How do they (the CAF) know the aircraft's fuselage is that of an F6F-3?Hi Guys,
Thanks for all the great info. I recently joined the crew maintaining the Hellcat (N1078Z) at CAF SoCal in Camarillo. Turns out the plane is a combination of parts with a F6F-3 fuselage and parts from the -5. Now that I read this thread I am trying to figure out what cowling we have. It looks like we have the same upper cowl flaps, the bulge on the left side for the exhaust, no bulge on the right side and no lower cowl flap(s). From DarrenW's posting, I think we have cowlings from F6F-3 from between #'s 1296th and 1500th. Does that sound right? I have attached pictures. Sorry about the poor quality; they were to document checking the brakes, changing friction plates as needed and cleaning and packing the wheel bearings. Fun stuff.View attachment 493703 View attachment 493704