Quoted:
F6F Hellcat.
I don't care if it wasn't the baddest of the bad on paper, it still kicked the crap out of a bunch of Japs, and looked mean as hell doing it.
I like simple things.
It WAS the baddest of the bad. Two thirds of all aircraft shot down in the Pacific were shot down by pilots driving the "Grinning Monster."
It's a little known fact that the Hellcat was EVERY BIT AS FAST AS THE CORSAIR in the main stage blower setting above 5,000 feet.
Short of it is that they utilized different airspeed indicating systems. The NAVY delivered a corsair to Grumman and told them to make up the speed difference. The speed difference was a bit of a mystery as both planes were similar in size and weight and had the SAME prop and the SAME engine.
It was discovered that when flying both the corsair and hellcat in formation at the SAME speed there was a difference in the indicated airspeed. Imagine a ford and chevy with the cruise control set at 55 in both cars, but the ford speedometer indicated 65.
Grumman copied the airspeed indicating system of the corsair and put it onto the hellcat and the speed difference was solved.
Source is an article written for flight journal magazine by Corky Meyer a Grumman test pilot. Title of the article was Corsair vs Hellcat.. Or, vice versa I forget.
Either way if you can get hold of it it's a great read...Hog