Grumman F6F Hellcat Maximum Speeds

[CORSNING]

There was recently discussion about the F6F's maximum velocity abilities on the
thread 'Qualities that made for a great aircraft that don't show up in performance
stats'. I decided to pull out my F6F files and do the research. The following is what
I found.:

F6F-3 with R-2800-10 Pratt & Whitney engine.
16 January 1943 U.S. Squadron VF-9 began receiving F6F-3 aircraft aboard the
USS Essex. 28 August 1943 the F6F-3 enters first combat over Guadalcanal with
VF-33 Squadron.

The XF6F-3 No.02982 was brought up to F6F-3 production standards. Speed
graph dated 11/23/43.
377.5 mph./53.5"Hg./22,300 ft./11,364 lb.

F6F-3 No.42633 24 July 1944 in clean condition and non-spectacular paint.
378 mph./54"Hg./22,500 ft./12,416 lb.

F6F-3 No.40164 24 July 1944 in clean condition and non-spectacular paint.
379.5 mph./23,200 ft./12,243 lb.

F6F-3 No.41588 production inspection trials with references dated 8 June 1943 to
27 November 1944. The aircraft had a smooth dark blue finish.
382 mph./54"Hg./22,400 ft./12,440 lb.

British Data Card I dated 11.11.43.
380 mph./52.5"Hg./23,000 ft./10,850-11,500 lb.

Hellcat I with R-2800-10
13 March 1943 the first Hellcat Mk.I aircraft are delivered to the Fleet Air Arm.
1 July 1943 the Hellcat I enters service with 800 Squadron of the Royal Navy.

Aircraft No. FN.360 tested by the A&AEE between January-May 1944.
373 mph./52"Hg./23,600 ft./11,500 lb.
375 mph./52"Hg./23,600 ft./10,850 lb.

British Data Card 81 dated 19.4.45.
371 mph./52.5"Hg./23,500 ft./10,955-11,570 lb.

F6F-3 with R-2800-10w
January 1944 about 60% of the F6F-3 aircraft are equipped with water injection.

F6F-3 No.42633 is tested with No.25 water jets between 2 February 1944-
5 February 1945.
382.5 mph./63.8"Hg./15,080 ft./12,386 lb.
380 mph./63.7"Hg./14,750 ft./12,386 lb.

Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Dept. 1 October 1945. Clean no shackles, pylons
or racks.
384 mph./18,000 ft./12,575 lb. - about 1,970 hp./59"Hg. estimated.

Project TED No.PTR-1107 17January 1944.
Report of Comparative Combat Evaluation of Focke-Wulf 190 A/4 Airplane.
" It should be noted that the (speed) runs were for two minutes, during which time
full speed was probably not developed."
391 mph./60"Hg./25,000 ft./12,406 lbs.

F6F-3N
24 November 1943 the first F6F-3N night fighter sorties are flown R-2800-10.

Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Dept. dated 1 October 1945 using an R-2800-10w.
Combat Condition: Fuselage bomb-shackles & "T"-bracing, faired wing bomb-
racks & sway bracing, and AIA-6 radar nacelle aboard.
361 mph./60"Hg./23,400 ft./13,015 lb.

F6F-5 with R-2800-10w
3 July 1944 the F6F-5 enters combat for the first time over Iwo Jima.

F5F-5 No.58310 with polished semi-gloss sea blue finish. TED No. PTR-2125
dated 7 September 1944.
391 mph./23,100 ft./12,420 lb. 1,655 hp./military power rating.
386.5 mph./24,100 ft./12,420 lb. 1,555 hp./normal power rating.

TAIC Report No.17 November 1944.
Combat Evaluation of Zeke 52 with F4U-1D, F6F-5 and FM-2.
409 mph./21,600 ft./12,285 lb.

America's Hundred Thousand by Francis H. Dean. Page 555, Graph 71.
Manufacturer's Data for the F6F-5.
400 mph./20,250 ft./12,483 lb.
Special note: The 410 mph. I see posted from time to time from this book is
explained on page 560 by Francis:
"Jan. '44-A modified F6F-3, including some of the features to be included in
the later F6F-5 version, is flown at a speed of 410 mph at 21000 feet altitude."

Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Dept. dated 1-49
F6F-5 with 4 x 0.5in. machine guns + 2 x 20mm cannon, bomb shackles
& "T"-bracing plus faired wing bomb-racks & sway bracing in place.
(Fighter-bomber with full internal fuel in clean condition with no external fuel
tanks or bombs.)
380 mph./23,400 tt./12,740 lb.

F6F-5N with R-2800-10w
29 August 1944 the F6F-5N becomes operational aboard the USS Independence.

Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Dept. dated 1 July 1944
391 mph./18,800 ft./12,780 ft. with full radar equipment.

Hellcat II with R-2800-10w
From May 1944 to 11 May 1945, 293 Hellcat II aircraft were delivered to the
Fleet Air Arm.

Hellcat II No. JV224 tested at Boscombe Down, September-October 1944
with faired bomb rack on the starboard wing.
377 mph./60"Hg./18,600 ft./11,500 lb.

British Data Card 86 dated 19.4.45
392 mph./60"Hg./19,500 ft./11,233-11,855 lb.

, Jeff

 

[turret]

XF6F-2 APC from 1942 gives 419mph top speed at 30,000feet to

 

[CORSNING]

Turret,
The Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Dept. issued a specification sheet dated
21 December 1942 on the estimated performance of the XF6F-2 with a
Pratt and Whitney R-2800-21.

The following information is from the 'U.S. Navy Naval Aviation News September/
October 1988'. The author is listed as USN.
"A U.S. Navy Grumman XF6F-2 Hellcat fighter in 1943. The F6F-2 was a turbo-
charged version that was part of the original F6F contract. The XF6F-2 first
flew in 1943 and had a Wright R-2600-6 (-16?) engine combined with a
Birmann turbo-supercharger. As the performance was not satisfactory, the
engine was replaced by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-21. The re-engine XF6F-2
first flew on 7 January 1944, but the performance was still not much improved.
The project was abandoned and the XF6F-2 was rebuilt as a F6F-3."

The XF6F-2 never came close to reaching 419 mph. And just my opinion, I don't
think the USN was that interested what a fighter was capable of at 30,000 ft.
They were not escorting bombers over Europe.

, Jeff

 

[turret]

hello my apology's i had not read it as estimated, still i find it interesting that they estimated it that high though in actuality it could not

 

[DarrenW]

F5F-5 No.58310 with polished semi-gloss sea blue finish. TED No. PTR-2125
dated 7 September 1944.
391 mph./23,100 ft./12,420 lb. 1,655 hp./military power rating.
386.5 mph./24,100 ft./12,420 lb. 1,555 hp./normal power rating.

Excellent Stuff as usual Jeff. I just wanted to add that this particular aircraft had a faired bomb rack mounted inboard of the right wing and according to the speed graph in the report reached 395 mph at approximately 18,750 feet in WEP (60" Hg) with 1,950 hp available (you have to look closely to see this though).

 

[P-39 Expert]

Hi Darren.

 

[CORSNING]

Excellent Stuff as usual Jeff. I just wanted to add that this particular aircraft had a faired bomb rack mounted inboard of the right wing and according to the speed graph in the report reached 395 mph at approximately 18,750 feet in WEP (60" Hg) with 1,950 hp available (you have to look closely to see this though).

Thank you for the added information. I did not post the 395 mph. figure from the graph
because although a small partial combat speed performance line was shown on the
graph and labeled as 'Combat Power High Blower', it was not described anywhere in
the text. No explanation if it was achieved or calculated The text did explain in the
text why a combat speed line was not posted.

"During the early stages of the test program, it became apparent that the engine was
not developing rated power in high blower with an "auto-rich" mixture."

The testing was done at normal and military ratings only. I would quickly agree
that the 391 mph. would have been exceeded at a lower altitude than was given
in the text if combat power could have been used. I would futher say that I believe
that a well maintained F6F-5 in clean condition without pylons, shackles or exterior
bracing of any kind probably had a top speed of around 405 mph. in combat with
a polished deep sea blue finish.

 

[DarrenW]

"During the early stages of the test program, it became apparent that the engine was
not developing rated power in high blower with an "auto-rich" mixture."

I did see that but I'm under the impression that auto-rich mixture was normally only used for take-off and landing and auto-lean was used in all other operating conditions, including war emergency. At least that's according to all the F6F pilot's manuals that I have seen. So maybe it didn't effect the testing in combat power????

 

[DarrenW]

... I would futher say that I believe
that a well maintained F6F-5 in clean condition without pylons, shackles or exterior
bracing of any kind probably had a top speed of around 405 mph. in combat with
a polished deep sea blue finish.

I'm in total agreement here...

And from looking at all the test data and official documentation that I have on hand, I would expect an "average" -5 to be about 15 mph faster at maximum critical altitudes than the earlier -3, due primarily to the flusher-fitting engine cowling and polished wax finish (both having the benefit of COMBAT power).

 

[DarrenW]

Hi Darren.

Hi P-39 Expert, how are things with you?

 

[P-39 Expert]

Hi P-39 Expert, how are things with you?

Why was the R-2800's normal RPM 2550 so close to maximum RPM 2700? 150rpm seems almost negligible.

 

[johnbr]