Owners: Fagen Fighters WWII Museum
Speakers: Ensign Donald McPherson and Evan Fagen with Steve Hinton Jr.
Grumman’s F6F Hellcat was “just right” for young American naval aviators battling Zeros in the Pacific. Rarely has there been a combat aircraft so perfect for its time and place as the Hellcat. The F6F Hellcat would account for 4,497 of the 6,477 shoot-downs achieved by American carrier pilots during World War II. The F6F made its combat debut in September 1943, and was best known for its role as a rugged, well-designed carrier fighter, which was able to outperform the A6M Zero and help secure air superiority over the Pacific theater. A total of 12,275 were built in just over two years.
We are honored to have Ensign Donald Melvin McPherson, United States Navy, as our special guest. Don was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving as a Fighter Pilot in Fighting Squadron Eighty-Three (VF-83), in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Pacific Ocean Area during World War II. Ens. Don McPherson 5 victory Ace with VF-83 in the F6F Hellcat.