Hellcat, F4U, P-47, P-61 and many other aircraft used that R2800 Double Wasp radial engine. Need a video on that alone.

@robertsansone1680

11 ай бұрын

Amen

@briancooper2112

11 ай бұрын

That would be awesome.

@LeslieShaff-ud1ty

11 ай бұрын

See Wings/Airport old set of excellent aircraft/powerplant articles in old tech magazines. E.g. covers why the F4U is 20/30ph faster with same R2800.

@LuvBorderCollies

10 ай бұрын

I'd love to see the entire casting and machining of that engine in detail. I know it'd blow minds to see how much work went into each powerplant. 👍

@jacktattis

8 ай бұрын

Why ???? the better fighters anywhere were the liquid cooled engines Hurricane Spitfire Typhoon Tempest P40 P51 P38.All fought the stronger Luftwaffe

You left out a few points about the battle 1) The Japanese never really counted on army planes. That was the plan on paper but especially at that point in the war, the Japanese Navy and Army hated each other almost as much as the Americans and the IJN officers knew they couldn’t count on Army planes, which turned out to be true 2) A key part of the Japanese plan was to lure Halsey’s huge fleet away with a Notprthern force that had carriers but essentially no usable pilots or planes, they knew Halsey wanted to sink the carriers and they thought Halsey would be more reckless than Spruance who was in command of the fleet at the Marianas turkey shoot 3) the Japanese were right Halsey took his whole fleet and sailed North putting the transport ships in grave danger from the bulk of the Japanese fleet including the super Battleships Yamato and Musashi 4) the only ships that stood between the transports and the Japanese was a trivial fleet of “Jeep” escort carriers, a few destroyers and destroyer escorts called Taffy 3. These men showed some of the most amazing bravery in USN history. The destroyers and destroyer escorts headed right for the Japanese fleet. As an example of what a mis-match it was, the entire tonnage of Taffy 3 was about the same as the Yamato alone and there were many more battleships, cruisers, and destroyers in the Japanese fleet. In the Japanese logs, they thought they were facing cruisers when they were really facing destroyers and even smaller destroyer escorts. The brave men of Taffy 3 fought with such ferocity that the Japanese turned tail and ran. They sank one Jeep carrier and a few destroyers and destroyer escorts but they prevented a massacre

@zzy09azy

11 ай бұрын

One correction: The Musashi had been sunk by carrier planes before the Battle Off Samar.

@331SVTCobra

10 ай бұрын

My favorite factoid about the Battle Off Samar: when the IJN turned to go home, legend has it that a US sailor shouted "Christ, they're gettin' away!!"

@michaeldebellis4202

10 ай бұрын

@@331SVTCobra I think that's true. At least in one of the books I read it's presented as a documented fact but it could be apocryphal but either way it's awesome! It's such a great American story. One reason I like it is it shows that free people fighting to stay alive can beat fanatics who care more about an honorable death. Also, that the captains and crew of those ships mostly weren't professional sailors but lawyers, teachers, and others who went to war to defend democracy. We've fallen so far since then.

@charlesgray226

10 ай бұрын

Earnest Evans, Captain of the USS Johnston, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle off Samar.

@jacktattis

8 ай бұрын

@@charlesgray226 aND WELL HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN

Great video! Nice to see the F6F Hellcat finally getting the love it deserves!

There is a story of a Japanese Ace who would lure Wildcat pilots to vertically chase him. they would stall, and he would shot them on the way down.and then one day he got a Hellcat to chase him vertically. I guess he didn't know it was a new aircraft.

@LuvBorderCollies

10 ай бұрын

I came across that story in the pre-internet days like 1970s. Gives you a leg up when you know exactly how your target is going to react.

@gregmead2967

9 ай бұрын

This is covered in detail in one of the Dogfights videos from the History channel.

Tbh the F6F was one of the best fighters in that era in my opinion it looks sick

@thesmirkingwolf

11 ай бұрын

Honestly, it wasn't a favorite of mine when I was younger, but as I got to learn more about them/ fly them and games and find the aircraft that best fit my combat styles, the Hellcat and Thunderbolt became my true loves.

@bacongargoyle3576

11 ай бұрын

@@thesmirkingwolf It was my favorite before I knew what it looked like because of a chose-your-own adventure book.

@XCimenaticGaming

11 ай бұрын

@@thesmirkingwolf I mean that's a valid reason, it wasn't a favorite to me at first considering I was the type that liked the dual engine version fighters such as the Hornet which was my all time favorite but I grew to like the F6F because I knew someone that flew it before.

@gregorysaugustine5236

11 ай бұрын

P-47 looks sicker imo. Don't know why but when I see it, it gives the impression of being bigger than other average fighter aircraft.

@rick-hm3ji

11 ай бұрын

@@gregorysaugustine5236 Because the P-47 IS much bigger than other fighters. 8 guns vs. 6, heavily armored, built like the proverbial shit house. Negatively affected climb rate, but superior in a dive. It's main limitation was range, due to its weight and high drag old style non laminer flow wing (a la P-51). This limitation was somewhat ameliorated with the use of drop tanks, but the P-47 was still unable to escort the bombers all the way to Berlin. Cue the P-51. With the latter's arrival on the scene, some P-47s were allocated to tactical ground attack, where their durability allowed them to excel.

The Japanese kept their pilots on active duty until they were eventually shot down, whilst the Americans rotated their pilots between the war zone and the U.S., where they would be assigned the duty of training new pilots, sharing their hard-won combat knowledge.

@deguello66

11 ай бұрын

It wasn't just the pilots that were rotated back. Entire squadrons, including the ground crews, were rotated back to train the upcoming squadrons. The ground crew experience was just as important as flying experience. The better trained the ground crews the more, and better, maintained planes could be counted on when needed most!! When Jspan lost the 4 carriers at Midway, the deck crews that were killed aboard them were just as bad a loss as the pilots and ships themselves!

@thomasb1889

11 ай бұрын

The British did the same once they survived the Battle of Britain while the Germans while they could not do that rotated pilots out for extended leave which while not as good as what the Allies did was a lot better than what the Japanese did.

@umad42

11 ай бұрын

It's kind of weird in retrospect that they never did that math for themselves. You can have one pilot stay at the front who might kill 12 planes before he gets shot down. Or you can have him go back home and train 24 pilots until they are each capable of shooting down at least 2 planes each and take far more enemy aircraft out of play with far less risk to your most talented "assets", and maybe some of those will be ace material as well, and contribute back into the training program again.

@brianwrynn3109

11 ай бұрын

@@deguello66 Good point!

@Snakebloke

11 ай бұрын

That rotating of the pilots is such a fantastic plan.

Former Grumman Plane Captain here (A6 / EA6B Prowler)...proud of my Grumman heritage!

My dad used to fix Hellcats when he was in the Navy.

And later it was found that the four Japanese Aircraft carriers had very few planes. They had been used to sucker the US Navy fleet to leave the Leyte gulf area. And it almost worked.

Thank you for covering this remarkable aircraft.

I’m an old and retired Army Infantryman. I’m no here, not a super Soldier, just a well trained man who can kill when needed. What most non Combat Arms people never understand is what it’s like to prepare your soul for death, to get ready to meet Christ, it calms you enough to allow for a very direct focus, you look at getting as many as possible and you know if you allow fear to reign, your body will “betray” your ability to focus. I’m having a hard time to best describe how we deal with our looming death, it may sound a bit too Hollywood like but it’s the best I can do. I went to Sniper school (yes, I graduated) and calming the body in all aspects is a learned ability so for me, I apply the lessons I learned there but other men will use other ways to get to the state they need to be. I had an Irish heritage Soldier (Justin Quigley) and he was an Infantryman and for 15 months he was assigned as the security detail for our Bn CSM (2-6 INF, 1st AD) and Quigley was the M-240 gunner. He was in quite a few ambushes and firefights, he was known for laughing as he cut bad guys in half with his 240 and everyone wanted him for convoy security but I wanted him to take a break but he preferred doing this. When you say your prayers and accept the fate, the human mind is capable of things you won’t believe and more than not, we’d come through just fine. I’m so thankful I survived two wars as an Infantryman as some of us, the best among us, didn’t make it. I’m navel lint compared to my Vietnam era counterparts.

@brownsnakeded

11 ай бұрын

I must agree with you brother Very well put. u must read a book Called Armor by John Steakley. the protagonist in it describes going into the Zone As the "Engine". I read the book after my first Tour in Iraq and it resonated with me. 11B3P all day every day

@jacktattis

8 ай бұрын

Really we are talking about WW2 Naval Planes here.

I have enjoyed immensely your short, concise, informative and highly entertaining combat history documentaries, combined with your crisp, terse and exceptionally well-researched narration style and tone. Very well-done, sir. As a U S Navy veteran of the Vietnam Era, and the son of an intrepid Naval Aviator, I am impressed by your grasp of the details and facts and combat lore. Excellent work, for which you should be commended.

@chucks6879

11 ай бұрын

I knew the Capt in his last days he was in the VA hospital in Riviera Beach FL. Years later a Squadron was formed by the Association of Naval Aviation called McCampbles Aces of which I am the CO. C Stark

Thank you for this. Dave McCampbell (Jr), the son of the legend you talk about here, is a good friend of ours. He also served in the Navy, but as a diver. One thing you didn't really address in this is WHY Dave (Mac) & his wingman ended up alone up there against all those Japanese planes. It's an interesting story, which I'd have thought your viewers would have liked. Also, you show a picture of Captain McCampbell, showing many Japanese flags on his fuselage, indicating the Japanese planes he shot down. In fact, he's STILL TODAY, the leading fighter pilot of the US Navy, with more enemy planes shot down in a single 7-month tour of carrier duty than any other Navy pilot, ever.

@MichaelKingsfordGray

11 ай бұрын

You hide behind a fake name. How can I know that you are not just fabricating stories?

@stevewhite3424

11 ай бұрын

​@@MichaelKingsfordGrayAnd your screen name could easily be just as fake.

@MichaelKingsfordGray

11 ай бұрын

@@stevewhite3424 I am willing to wager AU$1,000 that it is real. Now do you want to bet?

Several references to McCampbell as "captain." According to U.S. Navy historians, McCampbell became a captain (the Navy equivalent of full colonel in the Army) in July 1952, FWIW.

@edwardloomis887

11 ай бұрын

@chipcook1911 Funny things happen in war (i.e., 36-year-old James Gavin as a two-star), but I had the same reaction exactly based on the video's timeline of McCampbell's service.

i met alex vraciu WWII ace, he was in this battle as well, shooting down 6 zeros.

I don't know why but the F6F is one of my favorite planes of the war. I even love the aesthetics.

@Nitramrec

11 ай бұрын

Aesthetics? Of a bumblebee?

Any cinematic footage of my President is always appreciated.

🏆🎖️🇺🇲🤗🙏 Thank you for sharing

The thumbnail pic for this video shows the earlier Wildcat. But is obviously about Hellcats.

Awesome video thank you

The F6F hellcat is a beautiful plane, I had books about them since I was 8 years old. My favorite ww2 plane.

I was born in Ohio & mom Kentucky. They have a saying down here in this state. ITS NOT THE SIZE OF THE DOG IN THE FIGHT BUT THE SIZE OF THE FIGHT IN THE DOG!

Years ago i had a customer in my Barbershop, I cut his hair for many years. His name was James Olsen, and he flew fighters off carriers in the south Pacific in WW II. He used to say his name was easy to remember because it was "Supermans Friend." (Jimmy Olsen) he flew wildcats, Hellcats, and finally Corsairs, which he loved. Jimmy was at the Coral Sea fight, and late in the day he returned from a patrol, only to find his carrier on fire, listing. (Intrepid? Lexington? Sorry guys its been years and I cant recall.) Anyway, procedure for this was to keep radio silence, run some fuel out and ditch the aircraft in the sea. This he did, and afterwards they sent a launch out to get him. After that, they transferred him to the Yorktown and the SAME THING happened at Midway! Olsen survived the war, but he used to say he was "the worst pilot the navy ever put in the air." (He was very funny) when I asked him why, he said "cause every time i got back to the ship, my plane was on fire, full of holes, etc!" He told me that he "cracked up" 11 (eleven!) Planes taking off, or landing under fire, or in damaged planes... I asked "Jeez Jimmy, dont you get in trouble for that?" He said "Hell yes! They give you another plane and send you BACK UP!" I gave James Olsen his last haircut in 1997 or so, R.I.P. Jim. Oh: one more thing. Jimmy told me that early on, when they wefe flying Wildcats, that theyd be on patrol, watching for Japanese planes. When they spotted some, theyd start climbing and head towards them. He said sometimes, when the Japanese fighters saw them coming and had time, theyd spread out their Zeroes and start doing tricks, rolls, hammerheads, etc, just to taunt the American Flyers.

Abbot and Costello's little known routine: "Did you shoot down an enemy aircraft?" "I sure did." "What did you hit?" "Zero." "So you didn't hit anything?" "I did." "What?" "Zero." "Did you shoot down anything or not?!" ...

Age. my father, USMC, telling me of this, and seeing many ww2 and korea craft over san diego. humankind will never cease to wage war.

Grumman wanted to keep the pilots alive. Like the p-47. Great channel!!

Great channel, thank you to everyone for all the homework done for us.

Good video!

You make learning history fun and enjoyable thank you period

Really love that you slipped in footage in the beginning with President Ronald Reagan. Nice touch.

@robertdragoff6909

11 ай бұрын

I thought it was Reagan, but wasn’t sure. Thanks for confirming it.

Excellent stuff bro

The F6F; the right USN fighter at just the right time. It was PERFECT for carrier based op's; superior in speed / rate of climb to the Zero, its slow stall speed and great visibility made it way easier to fly and land than the F4U which was faster and had a better rate of climb. But the F4U would later prove better than the F6F at extending the fleet shield to deal w the kamakaze threat.

@LuvBorderCollies

10 ай бұрын

The USN flyers had some control difficulty when carrier landing. That's why the Corsair wasn't more prominent on US carriers. The Brits figured out how to land the Corsair on a carrier very well. The USMC flew more Corsairs especially later in the war. Joe Foss USMC (Medal of Honor) flew the Wildcat off Guadalcanal under the most awful conditions including severe illness. He got rotated back to the States for medical treatment and returning to the Pacific flying ground missions in the Corsair.

Very well done! I love these videos.

Great video on "the Ace-Maker." If one looks at the flier in much of the video, it's from a WW2 Army "fund-raiser" film & the pilot is none other than one of our greatest presidents ever: Ronald Reagan.

@jgdooley2003

8 ай бұрын

George Bush Sr was a Navy pilot during WW2.

Thank you well done gentleman.

Love these videos, ten and a half minutes of the same photos and video clips that have little or no relationship to what is being discussed.

The Hellcat was designed to defeat the Zero.

@jerry5876

11 ай бұрын

Not really, it was already in design process before encountering zero

Good one. Thanks!

Thank you for the footage of the great Ronald Reagan in Hellcats of The Navy!

@Nitramrec

11 ай бұрын

You mean the actor?

Not even a Hell cat on the thumbnail 😅, oh dark skies, you’ve done it again.

awesome

Like Vietnam pilots. F4 Phantom? Was like flying a bus. But? A REALLY FAST BUS.❤🙏👍🦅

I'm more interested in infantry, but I'll be darned if anyone doesn't like a good aerial combat video sometimes.

You failed to put into your story the most important part!! When Japan initiated the Midway operation, they launched a diversionary attack on the Aleutian islands. During an air assault on Adak a Zero fighter could not make it back to the carrier and attempted an emergency landing on an uninhabited island. Instead of solid ground, he landed in a bog that caused the plane to flip over, killing the pilot. A Navy patrol aircraft spotted the wreck and the Navy salvaged the plane, sending it to North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego. There engineers and mechanics examined the plane, put it back together and got it operational. Test pilots flew the plane from dawn to dusk, wringing it out and finding it's strengths and weaknesses. All that information was widely distributed, and helped both the Army and Navy pilots develop tactics that helped them survive, even with less than superior aircraft. The data was used by the builders of the Corsair and Hellcat, who used the information to make their planes the most efficient Zero killers in the air.

Really helped that they were in overwhelming numbers, against dated planes, and were facing the C-Team (after the meat grinder of the Solomon campaign) when they were finally out in force.

The F4F and F6F were entirely different aircraft-

@lancerevell5979

11 ай бұрын

Narrator was exactly correct, same way the Convair F-106 was initially an "improved F-102", but as developed was a different model entirely. Not an uncommon practice in the aviation industry.

@kdrapertrucker

11 ай бұрын

Structurally completely different. Grumman did improve the wildcat, but didn't have the capability to produce it, so it was given to GM for production as the FM wildcat and was based on escort carriers. The wildcat wasn't replaced till the last days of the war when the F8F Bearcat entered service. The wildcat had the highest kill to loss ratio of any fighter of WWII.

@jockellis

11 ай бұрын

What was the ratio?

@tfs203

11 ай бұрын

​@@jockellis(19:1) fighting far inferior pilots compared to earlier in the war using the Wildcat.(6:1)

@jockellis

11 ай бұрын

@@tfs203 Thanks. My father was duty officer for the F6F flying VF-81 on the Wasp on its 1944-45 cruise so I’ve studied the Hellcat a bit and know that behind the pilot was enough armor plate to stop the 7 mm rounds Zeroes were firing at them from behind. Do you know anything about the armor of the wildcat?

It's that time again.

The R2800 had 2200hp only with Anti Detonant Injection ( a mix of water, metanol and tetraethanol lead ) which was used only on take off and emergency. The normal power was 2000hp up to 20 000 ft.

Big Bubba from Alabama was a huge part of development. He said "makur biggar slap mor steel on er right der putta bigga motor on er and ya gotta winnar yeeeeeeaaaaaaap."

Try showing video of the actual type of plane being discussed. Just a thought.

Ronny Reagan to the rescue. That was some great vintage stock footage

I had NO idea that tubby, ungainly looking, Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man of an aircraft was so effective, powerful and agile. I stand corrected. Great vid.

I enjoy this channel! Your facts are well researched. If I have one request, it would be that you find footage that reflects the subject of your videos more accurately. I grew up on documentaries that would discuss one battle or plane and end up showing you whatever stock footage that they could put together that, in the producers' minds, represented the subject. To aficionados, that doesn't fly. In defense, this particular video is not an example, but many of the Dark videos contain stock footage of battles and equipment that do not represent the subjec of the video very well.

@desertdenizen6428

11 ай бұрын

Are you saying Ronald Reagan didn't do it all himself?

@HubertofLiege

11 ай бұрын

If you read the description of the channel they explain why they do that.

The Japanese ace Kaneyoshi Muto in a Shinden attacked 12 Hellcats, shot down 4 and chased the rest away

@Auggies1956

11 ай бұрын

Depends on the pilot's skill, doesn't it? A Wildcat, wholly outclassed distinguished itself against the Japanese, all because of its pilot.

@lancerevell5979

11 ай бұрын

The Shiden actually. Shinden was the pusher-ptop with canards, never saw combat.

@MrShoki44

11 ай бұрын

@@lancerevell5979 Sorry, youre correct

@williamallencrowder361

11 ай бұрын

@@MrShoki44Provide proof please

@tomhenry897

11 ай бұрын

There was a jap ace that did this He recognized that all the pilots were using basic flying skills so were green pilots and use that against them

A Great WW2 book is McCampbell"s Heroes by Edwin P Hoyt, a great read on this subject. Another great from Dark Skies!!

Get im, Ronnie!

Amazing. High speed diving, slashing attacks would be near impossible for a slower plane to counter.

@jgdooley2003

8 ай бұрын

This practice has shades of the AVG's tactic of "shoot and scoot" and not to dogfight Japanese fighters in the Chinese theater of operations. The P40's they used had superior dive performance than the opposing Japanese fighters, Oscars.

@protonneutron9046

8 ай бұрын

US planes in the PTO were always told to not try and dogfight with the Jap fighters. That was SOP. Look at how Bong racked up his score using the P-38. @@jgdooley2003

No other fighter had a larger impact on the war than the Hellcat.

@tomhenry897

11 ай бұрын

The P51 in Europe

@sandemike

11 ай бұрын

Spitfire from 1939 to 1945.

@arthurfoyt6727

11 ай бұрын

P-47's destroying more ground targets than B-17's.

@xandyxcondax

11 ай бұрын

@@arthurfoyt6727also all the work the P-47 did before the P-51 got to Europe. The escorted bombers under a different doctrine, they were forced to always stay with the bombers, and could not chase German fighters. That changed after the P-51 arrived, an like you said the P-47s of the 9th Air Force rained hell on the Germans.

@richardmontana5864

10 ай бұрын

I disagree. I think the P-47 was the fighter that won the war in the European Theater and if the Pacific Theater war against Japan continued on you would have seen the P-47N Thunderbolt become the mainstay fighter for the USAAF in the Pacific.

Bit unfair to say the Japanese were unable to replace the Zero which itself had undergone some improvements. There were the Franks and Oscars but not enough of them or enough pilots or enough decent fuel.

@scottbrower9052

11 ай бұрын

Who cares. The right side won.

@rogerkay8603

11 ай бұрын

Really feel for the poor bayonet/sword wielding maniacs..........who'd ever want to be captured by these fellas

@csjrogerson2377

11 ай бұрын

@@scottbrower9052 That depends on which side you're on!

Don't you mean Boom & Zoom attacks

The Japanese did have several fighters better than the Zero by wars end. However, due to supply shortages, most were not built in significant enough numbers to overcome the what the Allies were able to throw into the fight.

@scottbrower9052

11 ай бұрын

So sorry you lost.

The Japanese feared both the F6F hellcat and the F4U Corsair Both were great navel aircraft during WW2 The Japanese unleashed the industrial giant when they attacked Pearl Harbor The marines loved the F4U Corsair The navy loved the F6F hellcat The 2 famous war birds of all time during the pacific campaign A lot of WW2 aces from bloody Santa Cruz to lyte gulf From battle 360 & dog fights on the history channel The original USS enterprise CV-6 aka the grey ghost put fear into the Japanese navy Gotta make a uncensored video of the USS enterprise CV-6 from Pearl Harbor to her early retirement after WW2 Shalom dove 🕊️ of peace ☮️

@SoloRenegade

11 ай бұрын

the top Japanese aces also respected the F4F in a fight

@ramosel

11 ай бұрын

@@SoloRenegade And the P-38 of Dick Bong.

@konstruct11

11 ай бұрын

The Japanese didn’t protect their pilots And they didn’t get new pilots they didn’t have either of the people or the training facilities so when there ace Pilots got killed there was no replacements that had the skills of the aces also they didn’t upgrade to zero and the F-6 F hellcat was a huge upgrade over the wildcat as well as the Corsair

@hellskitchen10036

11 ай бұрын

When in NYC visit the USS enterprise , it's worth the trip!

@SoloRenegade

11 ай бұрын

@@konstruct11 the F4F was also upgraded throughout the war as well, and saw plenty of action right up to the end. But even without upgrades, and facing the best and most experienced Japanese pilots, the US pilots flying F4F scored more kills than they lost. In the most favorable conditions of WW2, the F4F still scored better than the Zero.

My father was involved from the Essex, thanks

Some mention should be made, regarding the recovered Zero flown by Tadayoshi Koga, that crash-landed on Akutan Island, Alaska Territory, during World War II. It was found intact by the Americans in July 1942. The F4F was redesigned into the F6F based on the Zero test flights.

@richpontone1

11 ай бұрын

The funny thing was that the Aleutian Invasion was a trick by Yamamoto to divide the smaller US Aircraft Carrier force to respond to it and the Midway attack. The U.S. did not bite. The U.S. then took it and put in Armor, Self sealing gas tanks, more guns and a stronger engine. Of course, the Midway defeat took out a great part of its experienced pilots which they could not replace. A two to three second burst of US machine guns on its plane could turn the Zero into an exploding Roman Candle.

@richpontone1

11 ай бұрын

In those films, is that Ronald Reagan in the cockpit?

@richardmontana5864

10 ай бұрын

That is incorrect.When we found and recovered the Zero which crash landed on Akutan Island the F6F was "already designed" but had not gone into production yet. The result of the extensive tests on the Zero resulted in deciding to put the Pratt&Whitney R-2800 in the Hellcat instead of the R-2600 that they were considering.

Can we get an episode for the Ju-87 Stuka?

I remember a WWII pilot saying that compared to the Wildcat, the Hellcat was like flying a truck. He said something about the graceful handling of the Wildcat and being more nimble, if I recollect.

“Brutally efficient”. Two words that don’t seem to adhere to one another.

The F6F Hellcat was NOTHING like the F4F Wildcat. They looked similar, but they really weren't similar at all. It was faster, dived quicker, had more guns, turned quicker, climbed quicker, had a longer range, higher ceiling & carried more weaponry. The Zero was hugely outclassed, only the Corsair was equal to the Hellcat.

Lots of comments here so not certain about mine. My info on the F6F is the R-2800 was rated at 1800hp.

We take for granted all the good equipment we developed in WW2. Figuring, however that we entered the war in December of 41 we fought 2 years until the new aircraft came online. We managed with what we had I don't dare think what would happen currently if another world war broke out. I don't believe we would be victorious for many reasons.

Not to undercut their amazing accomplishments, but 60 versus 2 means the 2 have a target rich environment and can shoot at pretty much anything - while the 60 have to worry about hitting one of their own.

Can you do a story on Greg Boyington? Vmf214

Ever heard of the story of Bad Angel? The US plane that downed a friendly aircraft. I will leave it there so anyone can find other nuggets of history in the story.

My favorite part was when the two most formidable navies in the Pacific theater clashed in an epic battle in October of 1944, led by none other than Ronald Reagan.

oh look…ronny RAYGUN playing at war. much like his excursion into Grenada.

The American aircraft also had sealable fuel tanks, while the Zeros' tanks would explode with one or two hits.

Who writes this stuff? Details matter...

BUT THE PLANE IN THE THUMBNAIL IS AN F4F WILDCAT NOT AN F6F HELLCAT

Note that the depictions of the pilots in this vid were not of McCampbell and Rushing, but of Ronald Reagan in "Hellcats of the Navy" (1957).

Why would you show a picture of a Wildcat as the photo bait instead of the Hellcat?

@michaeldavid6284

11 ай бұрын

Lazy ineptitude.

Who does the narration in these dark skies series ??

Hellcat was not especially manoeuvrable but it could dive and climb very effectively. The Japanese were never given a change to set up turning fights.

I would submit the O5 Birddog would be a contender...

Seasoned aviators? Like goose with salt and pepper?

Effective while INefficient: heavy, slow, and often landing with bullet-holes in it.

Not that I can fly but of all the old aircraft it would have to be the SPITFIRE 🇬🇧🇬🇧a thing of beauty 😎

@jgdooley2003

8 ай бұрын

Naval aircraft had to be bulkier and more rugged than land based aircraft so the comparison is not fair. Attempts to use the Spitfire were not a great success due to its short range and narrow track landing gear making carrier ops difficult.

Do not dogfight. Zoom and Boom. Attack from above at high speed. Then fly away.

They almost made it to the landing forces too, but they ran into a quagmire of Taffy......

Of all the wars on film why is WW2 seemingly the most popular of all for content?

Once and for all: What was the movie used for all the in cockpit face shots ?

@tommacegan19

11 ай бұрын

Well that was definitely Ronald Reagan so I'm guessing: "International Squadron (aka Flight Patrol) is a 1941 American war film directed by Lewis Seiler and Lothar Mendes that starred Ronald Reagan, Olympe Bradna and in his final film, James Stephenson?" That being said, he made quite a few WWII movies.

@vanpenguin22

11 ай бұрын

@@tommacegan19 Thank you!

@vanpenguin22

11 ай бұрын

@@tommacegan19 thanks

The plane on the initial image should be an F6F, not an F4F...

The narrator has a flare for the dramatic. Two pilots shooting down a total of 15 aircraft in one mission was not "an unparalleled feat in aviation history" as stated @7:30. Numerous pilots on the Eastern Front have done that and more.

@jgdooley2003

8 ай бұрын

Erich Hartmann for one.

You should talk about the star of Africa

I like the f4u more

What about the barcat. Story?

To shootfirst2097; the Hellcat was like flying a truck, eh? Is that why it could outclimb, out speed & out turn the Zero? NONE of which the Wildcat could do. The name "Ace Maker" was earned by the F6-F because 305 pilots made Ace status flying this bird. Pay attention, brother. Ya need to swap planes.

I really enjoy the f6f in war thunder

A good aircraft. but the most successful and brutal aircraft of WW2 was the Bf109. One hundred and five (possibly 109) Bf 109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen of these men scored more than 200 kills, while two scored more than 300. The top Bf109 ace scored 352 kills. Altogether this group were credited with nearly 15,000 kills between them. with the total kills by this aircraft being at least 20,000 and possibly 30,000. Not a single allied pilot even come close to this outstanding record, with their best scoring 64 kills (Russian) 50 kills (British) 40 kills (American)

I remember when a buddy of mine smashed 15 0s in a day. Poor dude. He never did have the confidence to talk to the hot ones.

There was nothing wrong with the Wildcat. The problem was that the tactics were wrong and inexperienced American pilots tried to dogfight the fast and nimble Zero in a slower and less nimble plane. In effect, they put themselves at a disadvantage by taking on the Zero at its own game.