My dad flew this plane out of Henderson field when the Marines first landed at Guadalcanal and scored a Betty and Zero on his first combat tour there. Then he transitioned to the F4U for two more tours on the island. He survived the war and made the Marine Corps a career and retired a full Colonel and CO of the 3rd Marine Air Wing.

The Wildcat was the most underrated early fighter of the Pacific!

Love the under-appreciated Grumman F4F Wildcat! 👍

Always loved the Wildcat, and can still remember the rumble of that big old Pratt & Whitney first time I saw one flying at an airshow. Loved the video!!!

Man, She's a beauty! Thanks!

Love the FM2 in your museum!

dude lots of people know the history of the wildcat\martlet-including australians-we know it served on escort carriers in the Royal Navy because the flight decks were wood and too short in length-therefore the hellcat and the corsair were too heavy for the escort carrier decks.It was a great little fighter and a survivor in a dogfight if flown correctly.The RN had a lot of respect for the martlet and it did sterling work during operation pedestal

Great seeing Matt doing another episode

The Thatch weave was actually developed by James "Jimmy" Thatch, not John Thatch. My grandfather flew with him and helped him perfect the maneuver. My grandfather later transitioned to the F6F-6 night fighter for the remainder of the war.

Its truly amazing how aircraft evolved during just a few years. In 1938 we had biplanes by 1945 we had jet aircraft. Crazy!

I LOVE how you do these vids! Keep up the awesome work.

The first British F4F's were actually ordered for France, but were not delivered before the fall of France, so they went to the British.

God, I love the tubby and rugged design of the Wildcat. Such a unlikely endearing shape!

When I was a young fella about 1977 took a road trip to Washington at SeaTac there was Wildcat behind a fence, I climbed the fence and sat in the cockpit for a couple minutes no one saw me.

I have an F3-F in my model aircraft kit “stash” and many more from the early days of powered flight and up to the present, I watch your videos for two reasons, 1) they are interesting and informative with a bit of humour thrown in, and 2) being a little bit housebound the excellent visuals of the static aircraft are a great source for the authentic finish of my model making (if I get around to completing them). I get your point that having a bi-plane as your frontline carrier based fighter in the mid to late thirties would definitely not be a good idea if, as it did, you were going to war with a nation with far superior aircraft, especially fighters, but bi-plane use was not always a bad thing, the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm used the bi-plane to great effect in attacking the Italian fleet at anchor in Taranto Harbour (Fairy Swordfish ditto the Bismarck)(despite anti-torpedo nets and shallow draft), the crippling damage imposed upon the Nazi battleship Bismarck and in the defence of Malta (Gloucester Gladiators)in the early to mid years of WWII, and were nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity. Just because a design of an aircraft is obsolete it does not mean they are without any usefulness. Once again I learnt something today, I didn’t know that General Motors built a derivative of the Wildcat. Very interesting, informative and entertaining episode, thank you. 😀👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇸🇺🇦 P.S, Subscribed (thought I already had), lol 😂.

The original (on paper and I believe mock-up and wind tunnel stage) (X)F4F was a biplane. It says a lot for Roy Grumman and his team that they could change it over to a monoplane so quickly! (For those who're keeping track the Biplane was the F4F1, the first Monoplane (single wing plane) was the F4f2 which lost to the Brewster Buffalo. The F4F3 was the reworked version and also was the first plane with the famous Grumman Folding Wings! Start of the "Grumman Iron Works" lineage!!

Excellent presentation! Awesome hair, too!

I was just at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola this morning. It really is a great museum!

How cool is that! Thanks Matt and the Museum of Flight

I would love to see a curator on the loose episode on both the Model 80 trimotor and another on the 247. Those are rare and lovely planes.

1 Folding wings. They added weight on an F4, but let three F4Fs be stored where two zeros would fit 2. If you removed the folding wings, armor, self sealing tanks from an f4 you would essentially have a zero.

Great Info! Thank you

Love your videos Matt

Just finished my 1/48 scale wildcat.along with extra pilots and carrier personnel and tractor for moving aircraft....great kits.....thanks Tamiya....conitchiwa.....

Actually, at 2:21, he meant F4F-3, the Four gun, non-folding wing, no self sealing fuel tanks, no armor protection, first version of the Wildcat. which was replaced with the F4F-4 that solved all of those problems. The Wildcat was outclassed by the A6M Zero, IF you tried to dogfight it. Modern tactics had to be invented.

Matt, every country was still using biplane fighters until 1935, no surprise there. The Brewster was considered a good aircraft originally until combat armor,etc. was added, proving to weigh down its performance & agility. Beautiful example you have. The men who flew Wildcats, particularly in the early naval battles & from Cactus Field on Guadalcanal were brave, tough pilots who learned by trials of fire.

The Wildcat’s guns quickly were armed with incendiary ammo. A big plus for the Wildcat

the early Wildcats didn't have the extra armor or the self sealing fuel tanks. and many of the wildcats pilots disliked the wildcats that had those features added because it affected the speed and altitude of the plane even though it protected them better.

Excellent Content.

Great vid!

During the Torch Landings in North Africa we had a carrier present. These Wildcats had a yellow ring painted around the national insignia (star).

After being replaced by the Hellcat and the Corsair on fleet carriers Wildcats were sent to fly off of CVE’s until the end of the war.

I read somewhere that the Wildcats were still put to use to the end of the war because the Hellcats weren't suitable to operate from the little escort carriers.

More FM-2's were built than any other variant, as a result, most preserved Wildcats are the FM-2 variant. The main difference, and the reason for the taller vertical stabilizer, is a more powerful engine. The taller vertical stabilizer counteracted the increased torque. Another identifying trait is the location of the exhausts, the FM-2 has the exhausts above the wing, while the earlier models have the exhausts down low, below the wing level. Most were used aboard escort carriers. In the Atlantic, as part of a hunter killer team for Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW), the Wildcats provided suppressing fire against U-Boat antiaircraft fire so that the TBF/TBM Avengers could mount their attacks against the U-Boats.

TBH, the Wildcat was all the Royal Navy needed. The Royal Navy had Corsairs later, but that was almost too much plane for what they were up against. The Royal Navy had a lot of rubbish fighters. There was the Blackburn Skua, which was as aerodynamic as a caravan. There was the Fairey Fulmer, an overlarge, single-engined, two man reconnaissance/fighter incapable of 300 mph. There were Sea Hurricanes and Seafires, which were fighters designed to take off and land on airfields. They were not too bad, but they had long engines which made seeing the deck difficult, and the Seafire had narrow, weak landing gear. The Wildcat/Martlet was the best of what was available in the early years of the war, which was when it mattered most to the United Kingdom.

A cousin of mine, Donald Runyon, was the top scoring USN Wildcat ace of WWII.

Another great video. Love them! By the way - whats that cool soundtrack?

ha you got me with the FM 2.

Interesting, thanks. If one visits the Kalamazoo Air Zoo there's a Hellcat and a Wildcat next to each other.

USS Ranger and USS Wasp, operation torch, 1942, North Africa...

The Wildcat was a lot smaller than the Hellcat, which is why it was used on escort carriers during the war, they simply didn't have the room. The F8F Bearcat was also smaller than the Hellcat, and would have replaced the Wildcat. The Brewster Buffalo also had overheating issues with the engine in warmer climbs like the South Pacific. Both the Buffalo and Wildcat were outclassed by contemporary designs, like the Spitfire and ME 109, both of which saw service before the F4F. But you used what you had,

France ordered the Wildcat in 1939, the aircraft were "transferred" to Britain after France fell in June 1940. The Marine Corps was still using the Brewster Buffalo as late as the Battle of Midway, June 1942.

"The Stubby little fighter that could."

I love your content. Do you have this ones big brother, the F6 Hellcat?

I like the f4f-fm, it's like the marine bulldog.

Big bold brute of an aircraft. Looks mean just sitting there. I'm so glad America had this fighter plane during the dark days of WW2. 4 and later 6 50 caliber machine guns and armor with self sealing fuel tanks definitely gave our soldiers the edge in combat.

I worked with a relation of John L. Smith of Cactus Air Force fame. He didn’t know of his history and I found information for him. He was a taciturn Marine officer and didn’t fare well on bond tours after the Guadalcanal campaign. His executive officer Marion Carl was more personable and advanced further. My coworker was much like his relative.

Do a video on p51 mustang and hellcat

Home of the Blue Angels, my town. I would really like an opportunity to see your museum. I hope everyone that can gets to Pensacola and see the Naval Aviation Museum. Advertise your channel.

Geemany was still using biplane in 35 and fought in the Spanish civil war

How is armor and self sealing fuel tanks any different?

Looks like one Japanese Zero pilot disliked the video.....

I have heard on another video that the F4F continued in service after the arrival of the F6F because the escort carriers were too small to handle the F6F so the F4F continued to be used on the escort carriers.

This is why I was hoping the USMC was going to name the F35B after the F4F Wildcat...but they didn't.

Make an episode on the bearcat if you got one

The Brits kept their biplane torpedo bomber throughout WW2, the Fairey Swordfish turns out it sank more shipping than any other aircraft and was the main reason the RN was able to sink the Bismark

What is the name of your theme song, and who plays it? BTW, the main reason that Brewster's Buffalo fighter was not the best, was mostly, because it was the first. The Navy kept adding requirements, (read weight), and the airplane just didn't have any growth built into its design. As the engine started to get overloaded due to weight additions, like radio upgrades, better weapons, armor for the pilot, etc., you know, little things in and of themselves, but a lot when added together, it, naturally, affected performance. The aircraft manufacturers following, saw this and left room in their designs to account for any additions. A good look at this is the differences between the Buffalos used by the Navy and Marines at the Battle of Midway, (possibly the last time they were used due to their poor performance), and the Buffalos used by the Finnish Air Force against the Russians. Their Buffaloes were almost a ton lighter, because they were stripped down before sending them to Finland. The Fins didn't mind. A lighter plane is a faster plane, engines being the same. Add locally sourced machine guns, (lighter than American guns), and they were off to the races. Under Finnish piloting, the Buffaloes were able to shoot down Russian bombers and fighters. They stayed in front-line service for the rest of the war.

The F4F design was originally a biplane.

I love vintage aircraft , but a curator that sounds like a used car salesman takes all the interest out of it.

The Japanese philosophy was survival through not being hit. The American philosophy was tank the hits. There's something to be said of both philosophies but in this modern age we're seeing a return to simply avoiding hits as a hit from a missile is game over.

'Sunny Seattle'?....

A Zero following a Wildcat couldnt turn any tighter than a Wildcat.

Gret youtube video but that is not an F4F. It is a FM-2.

FM2 was a little faster

Altitude and range ..not much of an issue....Kates and Bettys will be coming in at 75 feet for torpedo strikes, Vals and bettys at 12,000 ft for bomb runs on fleet units. 33 k celing is OVER the ammount needed for fleet defense. Go for the bombers.

dude, Where's my F4F?

I watch a lot of Warbird content. I can't say this is my favorite. It's almost like you're trying to hard to be hip and energetic. Also, the historical elements of the plane type are better covered elsewhere particularly the "Zero" comparison which was really dumbed down. Focusing more on the history of specific exhibits might be where your niche resides.

i love the wildcat but i think the hellcat is better in my opinion

1.7MPG lol. although, compared to today's fighters that average, 0.4--0.8MPG. but, today's fighters have much much more power lol. 1.7MPG comes with a low powered engine....like super low powered. That little power should have more than, 1.7MPG LOL 😆

Tell the Finnish that the Brewster was not such a good aircraft. They had one of the highest kill ratios with this type of all World War Two! 🙄 Even when the Russians had better aircraft and well trained pilots later in the war, that kill ratio stayed high...

Great little plane, until it met up with the Zero and their experienced pilots.

The great advantage of a biplane combat aircraft is that if one wing is shot off, you still have a spare the keep you aloft!

Get a hair cut !