Favorite US Naval (carrier) bird

Which of the following did you like

  • Total voters
    134

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for true imho the F4F-3 was not common after the first year of war.
for the poll creator why we can choice from F4F-3 and F4F-4, but only a variant of helcatt, and a generic for corsair?
and only one for torpedo and dive bomber?


p.s. obv. dautless was dauntless
 
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US Navy combat carrier plane
Dauntless (Scout Bomber officially)
Helldiver (Scout Bomber officially)
Devastator (Torpedo Bomber officially)
Avenger(Torpedo Bomber officially)
Wildcat (Fighter)
Corsair (Fighter)
Hellcat (Fighter)


p.s. all this have some variants
 
I chose the F4F-4, for a couple of reasons:

1. I've always liked the Wildcat, I think it looks better than the Hellcat and the Corsair.

2. The F4F-4 was one of the planes my Great Uncle flew as a Marine during WWII (of course, he also flew the Hellcat and the Corsair, not the mention several more planes after WWII, the Wildcat is just my favorite.
 
F4F4.I like the underdog. At a time when the Japanese swept the allies from the sky's the definitive Wildcat was the little engine that could... sort of. Plus 2 extra .50cal's, what not to like about that?
 
dennis420b said:
F4F4.I like the underdog. At a time when the Japanese swept the allies from the sky's the definitive Wildcat was the little engine that could... sort of. Plus 2 extra .50cal's, what not to like about that?
Click to expand...

Less total ammo capacity than the 4 gun F4F-3 and lower speed, etc. due to the added weight of the folding wings, extra guns, etc. Anyway, the F6F 19-1 kill ratio compared to the F4U 11-1 kill ratio makes it pretty obvious which was the most successful USN fighter. Certainly the F4U could fly higher faster, but the pilots generally considered the F6F a joy to fly.
 
Actually, the two extra guns in the F4F4 with less ammo per gun was not universally liked by USN pilots. It was a result of the British determination to have six guns and a few late model F4F4s reverted to the four guns as well as the FMs.
 
I think it the F-4u because I grew up near the Alameda Naval Air Station in California. One of my classmates dad was a Corsair pilot stationed there. On occasion we would go to the base swimming pool and I remember watching them land. These big smoke belching beautiful blue birds. Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!
 
From R Lennard....... "F4U or FG, or even F3A, but not F-4U"

Could have been my fat fingers. or maybe just a brain fart. Mate!
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You touch that switch and you brain will blow up
 
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F4U - liked it from an early age. It just has that "look" of a great fighter. Took a while to get it on the carriers, but can't deny what it could do in the air.
 
the corsair had it in spades speed. fire power. agility. strength. and some of the greatest pilots ever but the hellcat has to be considered hand in hand with the the bent wing bird. how do you argue the fact that the f6f created more aces than any other fighter in the us each plane had its reasons for being on this list and all served our country well guess iam late to the party but just found this forum
 
The F4F-3 because it was the model of the Wildcat that had the best climb rate until the advent of the FM-2. If the USN had kept the -3, or better, kept a mix of folding wing and non-folding wing F4Fs using the former for Escort and the latter for CAP, I believe Hornet would have survived WWII or at least the Santa Cruz battle. The FM-1 appearing in September 1942 should have been a better plane than the F4F-4 if it used a reduced ammo load, and would have therefore possessed a better climb-rate. The USN CV's needed a decent climbing fighter as an interceptor and the F4F-4 was a step backward. By the time the FM-1 came into being, the F6F filled the bill nicely. All F4Fs were adaquate fighters (each version having some disdavantage) but, in general, terrible interceptors. This was less true of the -3 than the others until the FM-2.
 
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