Favorite US Naval (carrier) bird

[Marcel]

Voted the Wildcat. I saw this plane in a museum in Palm Springs. Small stubby fighter. When I saw the bicycle chain for moving the gear I was sold Simple and effective! Must have been hard for the pilots though, taking off from a deck, cranking up the gear while still flying low and slow. Something to admire.
The pland stood it's ground against the Zero, quite an accomplishment.

 

[Matt308]

Think that was a pain? What about the Wildcat's 90 gallon external tank that had to be hand pumped until dry. Now that would be a pain in the @ss.

 

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

I Ike the chubby Hellcat, but the Corsair had the power.

 

[Marcel]

Think that was a pain? What about the Wildcat's 90 gallon external tank that had to be hand pumped until dry. Now that would be a pain in the @ss.

Anyway, to it's pilots!

 

[ToughOmbre]

Slow But Deadly

Helldiver was designed to replace it; never could. Probably not the favorite of the crewmen on Kaga, Akagi, Hiryu and Soryu.

 

[ummonk]

Voted for the Corsair cause it is the collest looking xD.

 

[drgondog]

Corsair all the way.... The Hellcat is a close second....

Corsair for me.. F6F very important but not close to my 'favorite' naval bird. IMO it (F$U) would have been distinctly superior in the ETO to any other naval fighter in any multi role environment.

 

[Messy1]

I like both the Hellcat and Corsair, But since I'm partial to anything from Grumman, I picked the Hellcat. One tough, mean plane that took it to the enemy.

 

[Catch22]

EASILY the F4U. Love that bird, and drgondog nailed it on the head.

 

[Burmese Bandit]

F4U of course...and I see most of the Forum agrees. Tremendous performer, multirole, and it also brought you back home!

 

[noelchan127]

I like the Wildcat for its chubby and rugged look, and the Hellcat for the kill/death ratio. Anyway i did not vote for the corsair cause its more expensive to produce.8)

 

[tomo pauk]

Avenger is my choice.

 

[fly boy]

SBD

 

[dragonandhistail]

The Hellcat's score in the Pacific speaks for itself. Nothing else came close for ruggedness, ease of operation, and excellence in all categories. Just ask the Japanese at the bottom of the ocean who shot them down?

 

[Valo300]

I voted Hellcat. Definitely my fave WWII USN carrier plane.

 

[Man O War]

FM2-Yeah, it was only a Wildcat upgrade, but it was a damned good one. If it had been brought into the war 6 months earlier, there would have been a much larger number of aces made.

The more powerful engine and lighter weight created a much better fighter that caught more than a few enemy pilots by surprise. Turn, climb and speed performance were improved quite a bit.

The F4F/FM series produced 25 Navy and 34 Marine aces, several of whom who were awarded the Medal of Honor (eight). Navy pilot Butch O'Hare was the only Navy Wildcat pilot to be so decorated. The medal of Honor was presented to more Wildcat pilots than any other single-engine aircraft flown by the US armed forces in WWII.

Not too shabby!

 

[leegn]

Now that is a lot of brass air fittings that I like to shove in my butt!

 

[Messy1]

If morons are going to get on here and post utterly and random things, could they at least make some type of sense please?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

If morons are going to get on here and post utterly and random things, could they at least make some type of sense please?

They are more than likely bots.

 

[Messy1]

A bot is a program that posts automatically I am guessing? I have heard a little about them.