F6F naming

[Aliaksei K.]

Hello, community.

May I ask a little bit strange question? What is hidden behind the official naming of Grumman F6F? What is the common opinion? Does "hellcat" mean literally "Cat from hell" or it is direct translation of word "Hellcat", something like "Witch"?

BR, Alex

 

[ThomasP]

During WWII and after (at least through the early-2000s) the Grumman Aircraft Corporation named all their fighter aircraft after some form of feline (cat). F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F7F Tigercat, F9F Panther/Cougar, F11F Tiger, F-14 Tomcat. There was nothing mythological about the name - it just sounded fierce.

 

[Frog]

During WWII and after (at least through the early-2000s) the Grumman Aircraft Corporation named all their fighter aircraft after some form of feline (cat). F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F7F Tigercat, F9F Panther/Cougar, F11F Tiger, F-14 Tomcat. There was nothing mythological about the name - it just sounded fierce.

Notably if you flew with this squadron :

 

[SaparotRob]

The F6F "Mr. Mittens" wasn't popular.

 

[Dana Bell]

The 1940 movie Flight Command featured a Navy squadron called the "Fightin' Hell Cats" with an appropriate insignia on their Grumman biplanes. After the film was finished, the real Navy squadron petitioned to keep the fake marking as their own, but was turned down by BuAer. Anyhow, Grumman had experience with that particular cat name before the F6F was designed...

Cheers,


Dana

 

[SaparotRob]

The 1940 movie Flight Command featured a Navy squadron called the "Fightin' Hell Cats" with an appropriate insignia on their Grumman biplanes. After the film was finished, the real Navy squadron petitioned to keep the fake marking as their own, but was turned down by BuAer. Anyhow, Grumman had experience with that particular cat name before the F6F was designed...

Cheers,


Dana

So there was an actual history of the name rather than marketing trying to come up with something scary.

 

[ThomasP]

So if the squadron in the movie had been called the Scaredy Cats they would have named the F6F the Scaredycat?

(Sorry, I couldn't resist)

(OK, not sorry I couldn't resist)

 

[MIflyer]

Some said that the Hellcat was just sort of an over-inflated Wildcat and that its name should have been "Copycat."

But the "odd" thing about the F6F was that it was in reality much easier to fly than the Wildcat. That was intentional. Operating off an aircraft carrier is very challenging for anything except maybe an L-4 and the USN was going to need a huge expansion of pilots, FAST. Pilots who were trained on the F6F and then got to fly the F4F and FM-2 said it was like learning to drive in a family sedan and then climbing into a sports car. The narrow track of the landing gear of the F4F combined with the manual cranking required to extend and retract the gear made even just landing and taking off a challenge.

 

[Sabrejet]

The F8F is a funny one for me; 'Bearcat' sounds OK but since their namesake is more commonly-known as Binturong or Popcorn Bear, the F8F (for me at least) shall always be the Popcorn Bear.

 

[MIflyer]

The F8F is a funny one for me; 'Bearcat' sounds OK

You wonder if the Stutz company considered legal action.

 

[GrauGeist]

Grumman had a prewar light aircraft on the drawing board intended for the civilian market: the G-63/G-72, which was named "Kitten".

Their naming of their maritime aircraft after waterfowl goes back to the mid-30's, by the way.

 

[fubar57]

The F6F "Mr. Mittens" wasn't popular.

 

[Joe Broady]

Use your browser to get the definition of any word. A hellcat is a person (especially a woman) with a violent temper. The word is 400 years old in the English language.

Merriam-Webster online dictionary entry

 

[skyking1]

Some said that the Hellcat was just sort of an over-inflated Wildcat and that its name should have been "Copycat."

But the "odd" thing about the F6F was that it was in reality much easier to fly than the Wildcat. That was intentional. Operating off an aircraft carrier is very challenging for anything except maybe an L-4 and the USN was going to need a huge expansion of pilots, FAST. Pilots who were trained on the F6F and then got to fly the F4F and FM-2 said it was like learning to drive in a family sedan and then climbing into a sports car. The narrow track of the landing gear of the F4F combined with the manual cranking required to extend and retract the gear made even just landing and taking off a challenge.

Narrow gear is no joke.
My buddy flew the Yukon Delta in Saratogas, Cherokee 6's, Chieftans.
The high wing competition flew mostly Cessna 207. The 206 has a much narrower gear track when compared to all those types, and they just did not last in the Delta.
You had to slide it on because the ice covered village runways were not aligned with the strongest winds. Wide gear did OK, Narrow gear got balled up sooner or later.

 

[GrauGeist]

Use your browser to get the definition of any word. A hellcat is a person (especially a woman) with a violent temper. The word is 400 years old in the English language.

Merriam-Webster online dictionary entry

Yeah, ok...but.

The term "Helldiver" had become a term as the Pacific War was getting underway and Grumman did not live in a vacuum.

 

[Frog]

Straycat is a name that rocks.

 

[SaparotRob]

Yeah, ok...but.

The term "Helldiver" had become a term as the Pacific War was getting underway and Grumman did not live in a vacuum.

They lived in Bethpage, Long Island, New York.

 

[EwenS]

Yeah, ok...but.

The term "Helldiver" had become a term as the Pacific War was getting underway and Grumman did not live in a vacuum.

The name "Helldiver" as attached to aircraft can be traced back to the Curtiss F8C-4 of 1929, a development of their Falcon line of biplanes for the USN and used as a dive bomber. The name was attributed to Charles E Hathorn, designer of that aircraft.

Curtiss Falcon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

While used by the company for its subsequent dive bomber designs (SBC of mid-1930s & SB2C designed from 1939 that became famous or infamous in WW2), I'm not clear if it was ever formally adopted by the USN until the SB2C in WW2.

The name, as attached to the Curtiss dive bomber family, was reinforced in the minds of the public by a 1932 movie "Hell Divers" which featured the F8C biplane.

Hell Divers - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[GrauGeist]

The name "Helldiver" as attached to aircraft can be traced back to the Curtiss F8C-4 of 1929, a development of their Falcon line of biplanes for the USN and used as a dive bomber. The name was attributed to Charles E Hathorn, designer of that aircraft.

Curtiss Falcon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

While used by the company for its subsequent dive bomber designs (SBC of mid-1930s & SB2C designed from 1939 that became famous or infamous in WW2), I'm not clear if it was ever formally adopted by the USN until the SB2C in WW2.

The name, as attached to the Curtiss dive bomber family, was reinforced in the minds of the public by a 1932 movie "Hell Divers" which featured the F8C biplane.

Hell Divers - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The prefix "hell" was popular in the 1930's, perhaps popularized somewhat by the movie "Helldivers" and it was prominent in nose-art during the war: Hell Bent, Raz'n Hell, Hell's Belle, Hell's Angels, Hellion (including VMF-218 "Hellions") and so on.

So it's understandable that Grumman wanted to give the G-50 an impactful name.

 

[PlasticHero]

F-14s became Bombcat after a mission change.