That should be "probably was". I came up with the figure based off of the cost of non engine GFE (mostly from Vee's for Victory) and the unit price of the R-2800 from the USAAF Statistical Digest 1946 ed. (See Here) Double checking the cost was more likely $65k to $70k.
Thanks! I was hoping for another source, but I have seen the F6F cost put at anywhere from $50,000 to $70,000 in various places, and that's probably a good bracket for cost over the war period, but I don't include it due to no source for it. It is my guesstimate, too, though.
I know for a fact that the often reported $35k figure is for the airframe sans GFE. For the most part the largest variables in GFE cost for fighters were engine, propeller, turbos, and radar. Pretty much everything else was the same. It's a very good educated guess.
I have researched this subject for a few years now. I have found a lot of data on the USAAF, including the costs of aircraft by year for just about everything. For the US Navy nearly nothing. I have the cost of engines by manufacturer, by year and the numbers they produced and in most cases the manhours required.
Even after World War 2 the information for the US Navy is very hard to come by. I do not know why and have attempted to get information on the contracts themselves. Again the USAAF not a real problem, the US Navy not a chance.
The War Production Board limited corporate profits to 10%, I believe, for most or all of the war. So it was up to manufacturers of Stuff to produce equipment efficiently and still make some money. The senate's Truman Committee investigated such things mid-war and found um irregularities. Don't recall specifics as to what was done, but presumably some changes were made. When researching the F6F book (looong ago) I found a commendation to Grumman for producing more pounds of airplanes at a better cost than the rest of the industry. In fact, industry sent reps to Bethpage to see how Grumman did it. Favorite story: one visitor asked how the company maintain an uninterrupted supply of hose clamps on the line. The Grummanite went to a 55-gal barrel full of clamps, dug down a ways, and showed a painted red line with the notation: "See Joe."