Restored F4F Wildcat

MIflyer · Nov 3, 2021

Seversky actually had a seat put in the baggage compartment of the P-35 he used as a company demonstrator so his wife could go along.

And if a P-35 went over on its back, preventing escape through the canopy, the pilot could lower his seat back, slide back into the baggage compartment, and depart via the baggage door.

That roomy area behind the cockpit proved vital for accommodating the turbosupercharger and intercooler used first by the AP-7, then the P-43, and finally the P-47.

PFVA63 · Nov 3, 2021

MIflyer said:
Ever look inside the wheel wells of a Wildcat?

Yes, there were quite impressive.
Oh wait you meant the airplane and not the car

mjfur · Nov 4, 2021

All sorts of room in the back.

Warbird Registry - Grumman F4F Wildcat - A Warbirds Resource Group Site

The Grumman F4F Wildcat registry follows the history of all Wildcats that survived military service.

www.warbirdregistry.org

Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - Grumman-General Motors Eastern Aircraft Division FM-2 Wildcat, s/n 86680 USN, c/n 5734, c/r N11FE

This Aerial Visuals page provides airframe history details of a specific airframe from the airframe database.

www.aerialvisuals.ca

Wildcat · Nov 4, 2021

MIflyer said:
Seversky actually had a seat put in the baggage compartment of the P-35 he used as a company demonstrator so his wife could go along.

And if a P-35 went over on its back, preventing escape through the canopy, the pilot could lower his seat back, slide back into the baggage compartment, and depart via the baggage door.

That roomy area behind the cockpit proved vital for accommodating the turbosupercharger and intercooler used first by the AP-7, then the P-43, and finally the P-47.

P-43.

source Brit modeller username "Dora" Republic P-43A-1 Lancer in China Skies, Dora Wings, 1/48

Wurger · Nov 4, 2021

special ed · Nov 4, 2021

Buick Wildcat concept car on early Corvette chassis.

MIflyer · Nov 4, 2021

Here is a shot of an F4F recovered from Lake Michigan before they hosed it off and gave it a new paint job.

Gnomey · Nov 5, 2021

Good shots!

Wurger · Nov 6, 2021

TKB · Nov 8, 2021

SaparotRob said:
Is it an F4F or an FM-1?

The Wildcat on the cover is an F4F-3, that is part of the Rod Lewis's Air Legends collection. It's BuNo 12260 that was an F4F-3 that was built during Grumman F4F-4 production. How this came about was a contract for 100 F4F-7 (long range recon), that was changed to F4F-3S (floatplane). When the F4F-3S program was canceled, the Navy changed the contract to F4F-3s to be used for training only. Hence the large gap in F4F-3 production Bureau Numbers,, with F4F-4s in between. I'd assume this was done so the "rigid" wings were put to use.

nuuumannn · Nov 8, 2021

mjfur said:
All sorts of room in the back.

And then there's the story of the dying days of the Third Reich when Hanna Reitsch and Ritter von Greim, after departing the Tiergarten in Berlin where they had landed in a Fieseler Storch in a vain attempt to drag the Fuhrer away from the bunker, they flew to Gatow and picked up a waiting Fw 190, which Greim flew and Reitsch, being a slip of a thing crawled into the space aft of the pilot's seat in the fuselage...

MIflyer · Nov 9, 2021

One of the SBD survivors of the Battle of Midway was used a trainer on Lake Michigan, ditched and was recovered. Is it not glorious that we can do that?
Although we look at it now and think, "Good Lord Man! That was one of the airplanes that broke the back of the IJN! And y'all used it as a trainer! What were you thinking?"

Wurger · Nov 9, 2021

cvairwerks · Nov 9, 2021

MIflyer said:
One of the SBD survivors of the Battle of Midway was used a trainer on Lake Michigan, ditched and was recovered. Is it not glorious that we can do that?
Although we look at it now and think, "Good Lord Man! That was one of the airplanes that broke the back of the IJN! And y'all used it as a trainer! What were you thinking?"

Got to remember, that at that time it was just a piece of wore out equipment that had just enough life left in it that training could get some use from it. Better training wreck a worn out bird than a new one that was needed at the front lines.

Greg Boeser · Nov 9, 2021

That's where "Memphis Belle" and many others ended up. Flown back to the States for a war bond tour, then assigned to a training unit.

cvairwerks · Nov 10, 2021

Greg Boeser said:
That's where "Memphis Belle" and many others ended up. Flown back to the States for a war bond tour, then assigned to a training unit.

That's a large part of the reason my AT-21 ended up as a base hack at Ellington for most of it's service life. There were enough war weary a/c being sent back stateside for upgrades and training use, that there wasn't a real need for a multiengine crew and gun trainer any more.

MIflyer · Nov 10, 2021

cvairwerks said:
That's a large part of the reason my AT-21 ended up as a base hack at Ellington for most of it's service life.

During the latter half of the war AT-21's and the rest of the multi engined trainers were phased out and replaced by B-25's which were used as trainers until the late 50's, with a few even hanging around as hacks into the mid-60's. The B-25 was safer to fly and was actually good for something else other than training.

Mal H · Nov 17, 2021

mjfur said:
All sorts of room in the back.

Warbird Registry - Grumman F4F Wildcat - A Warbirds Resource Group Site

The Grumman F4F Wildcat registry follows the history of all Wildcats that survived military service.

www.warbirdregistry.org

Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - Grumman-General Motors Eastern Aircraft Division FM-2 Wildcat, s/n 86680 USN, c/n 5734, c/r N11FE

This Aerial Visuals page provides airframe history details of a specific airframe from the airframe database.

www.aerialvisuals.ca

View attachment 646962

This was Al Whiteside's FM-2. He operated Flamingo Aviation in Jacksonville, Florida in the 1950-60s and rebuilt warbirds. Had a P-63, B-25, and several others. In the late 1950s when I was 14 Al gave me the job of sweeping his hanger floor on Saturday mornings. Later I graduated to degreasing parts. I learned a lot of practical knowledge from Al Whiteside which I used in my later engineering career.

Restored F4F Wildcat

1st Lieutenant

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Globetrotting Surgeon General

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