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73394 C-27J S.A. 1/72 Italeri
99023 Railings 45´ 3 bars short 1/700
99024 Railings 45´ 3 bars short 1/350
99031 WWII IJN watertight doors 1/700
ZOOMS
33079 F/A-18E interior S.A. 1/32 1/32 Trumpeter
FE525 Bf 109E-4 interior S.A. 1/48 Airx
FE562 Lavochkin La-5 S.A. 1/48 Zvezda
FE567 Ta 152 interior S.A. 1/48 Hobby Boss
FE572 MiG-21MFN interior S.A. 1/48 Eduard
SS387 Mi-4 interior S.A. 1/72 Hobby Boss
SS392 Bf 110E interior S.A. 1/72 Airx
SS394 C-27J S.A. 1/72 Italeri
MASKS
CX292 F9F-2 1/72 1/72 Hobby Boss
EX336 UC-43/C-17 1/48 1/48 Roden
JX127 He 111P 1/32 1/32 Revell
JX129 Spitre Mk.XVIe 1/32 1/32 Tamiya
JX130 Harrier Gr.Mk.7 1/32 1/32 Trumpeter
JX131 Il-2M two seater 1/32 1/32 Trumpeter
BIG-ED
BIG3303 Bf 109F-4 1/32 1/32 Hasegawa
BIG4952 EF-2000 TYPHOON Single Seater 1/48 Revell
BIG4953 TORNADO IDS 1/48 Hobby Boss
BIG4954 F-111C 1/48 Hobby Boss
HISTORY
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Info Eduard - August 2011
With 12,275 example built, the Grumman
Hellcat was not most the most numerous air-
craft of WWII, nor the fastest, best armed or
most maneuverable machine, but it did boast
the best kill to lost ratio at all WWII ghters;
and it is credited with 55 % of all aerial kills
by the US Navy and Marine Corps with 5,156
victories (4,947 by carrier-based units and
209 by land- based units) for the loss of just
270 Hellcats. The Hellcat’s design offered
an ideal compromise of power, durability and
performance.
Development of the Hellcat started as De-
signs 33 and 33A, which were developments
of the Wildcat ghter adapted to install
the more powerful Wright R-2600 radial.
In March 1938, work on an all-new naval -
ghter with the R-2600 was initiated as Design
35. After some basic evaluation it was deci-
ded to proceed with work on the brand new
design. In most aspects the design followed
the basic principles of the Wildcat but many
improvements were made, including wider
landing gear, lower wings and much impro-
ved visibility. Reports from the war in Europe
made it clear that the new ghter must have
better performance than the Wildcat. The US
Navy ordered two XF6F-1 prototypes (BuNos
2981/02982) on 30 June, 1941. It is interes-
ting that the Vought Corsair was also ordered
on the same day. The rst order production
order of 1080 samples was placed in 1942.
After several variants were developed and
tested, the rst operational version, the F6F-
3, was rst own on 3 October, 1942. From
August 1943, all Hellcats were tted to carry
a 1504- US gal (568-liter) drop tank beneath
the fuselage. Beginning in January 1944, 60
per cent of the F6F-3s were delivered with
the R-2800- 10W engines in place of the
R-2800-10s, which lacked water injection.
A total of 4,402 F6F-3s and last F6F-3 was
Photo up: This F6F represents a later build -5 model
without the windows aft of the canopy.
Srecko Bradic
Mark Nankivil
Mark Nankivil
An F6F-3 in ight during 1942. Early Hellcats had Non-Specular Blue Grey camouage on the upper surfaces with
simple stars (no bars). Note that the paint is heavily faded.