US Navy WW2 Fighters

Brewster F2A "Buffalo"

The Brewster F2A, the U.S. Navy's first monoplane shipboard fighter, saw brief combat service during the first half-year of the Pacific War. Built in 1936–38, Brewster's XF2A-1 prototype bested the Grumman XF4F-2 in a competition to replace the Grumman F3F biplane fighter. A production contract for F2A-1 production aircraft followed in June 1938. Production difficulties, a continuing problem throughout the life of the Brewster company, delayed service introduction until late 1939, when F2A-1s began to join USS Saratoga's Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3). Only eleven of the fifty-four F2A-1s entered Navy service. The rest were modified and sold to Finland, where they served with considerable success against Soviet aircraft during 1941–44 and against the Germans in 1944–45. Other versions of the F2A were subsequently employed against the Japanese by the British Royal Air Force and the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Corps.

In 1940, deliveries began of 43 F2A-2 fighters, which had the 1200 horsepower Wright "Cyclone" engine in place of the F2A-1's 950 horsepower version, plus numerous other improvements. Eight F2A-1s were also rebuilt to F2A-2 standards. Initially serving with VF-3 and USS Lexington's VF-2, this model was a fast, nimble and well-armed fighting plane, though plagued (as were subsequent F2As) with an overly-delicate retractable landing gear and a maintenance-hungry powerplant.

The Navy ordered a final 108 Brewster fighters in January 1941. These F2A-3s featured a longer fuselage, increased fuel and ammunition capacity, additional armor and considerably greater weight. Range was better, but speed, maneuverability, climb rate and service ceiling were substantially degraded. By the beginning of the Pacific War, the F2A, by then also known by the popular name "Buffalo", was passing out of carrier squadron service in favor of the F4F-3. The "Buffalos" were transferred to the Marines, who assigned them to units defending Pacific island bases.

The Brewster fighter's only U.S. combat use, on 4 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, dramatically showed the inferiority of the F2A-3 when confronted by the Japanese Navy's "Zero" carrier fighters and well-trained aviators. In a brief battle against greatly superior numbers, Midway Island's Marine Fighting Squadron 221 (VMF-221) lost thirteen of twenty F2A-3s. Soon after, the "Buffalo" was removed from combat units and assigned to advanced training duty.

Curtiss F9C "Sparrowhawk"

As a result of their dramatic operations with the Navy's short-lived airships Akron (ZRS-4) and Macon (ZRS-5), the Curtiss F9C biplane fighters gained fame all out of proportion to their small number. The type originated with a May 1930 specification for a small aircraft carrier-based fighter. The resulting XF9C-1 was built under a June 1930 contract and delivered in March 1931. Tested over the next several months, it showed good performance but was not particularly suitable for carrier use. However, the plane did have one significant feature: it was the only available combat airplane small enough to fit through the hangar door of the dirigible Akron, which was then nearing completion.

The XF9C-1's successful role resulted in the construction of seven modified versions. The production F9C-2s were the only "Sparrowhawks" suitable for operational use. These planes worked with Akron until her loss on 4 April 1933. They were then transferred to Macon. From late 1933 until early 1935 they were vigorously employed in efforts to demonstrate the dirigible's value as a unit of the United States Fleet. This aspect of Naval aviation history abruptly ended when Macon crashed at sea on 12 February 1935.

Grumman F3F

The Grumman F3F was a development of the F2F-1, featuring a longer fuselage and greater wingspan. The prototype XF3F-1 first flew in early 1935. Fifty-four production F3F-1 fighters were delivered to the Navy in 1936, initially serving with USS Saratoga and USS Ranger fighting squadrons.

Eighty-one F3F-2 models were ordered featuring a more powerful engine. These initially equipped two Marine Corps fighting squadrons and that of USS Enterprise during 1938. Twenty-seven F3F-3 fighters were delivered in 1938–39, serving with Fighting Squadron Five in USS Yorktown. The Grumman F3F served with front-line squadrons until 1940–41. During the first part of World War II, the surviving planes were used for advanced training and in utility roles.

Grumman F4F "Wildcat"

The Grumman F4F was the primary Navy and Marine Corps fighter during the first year and a half of World War II. A developed form, the General Motors FM-2, remained in active combat through the end of the Pacific War. Though the stubby little F4F could not equal the speed and maneuverability of its Japanese counterpart, the "Zero", its rugged construction and superior armament, coupled with well-trained pilots and good tactics, ensured that it generally gave at least "as good as it got" during the crisis months of 1942.

By the end of 1941 the Grumman F4F-3 (and similar F4F-3A) fighters, which had received the popular name "Wildcat" a few months earlier, had replaced the F2A in most U.S. Navy and Marine Corps fighting squadrons. A folding-wing version flew in April 1941 and entered service in early 1942 as the F4F-4. The heavier F4F-4 was not as nimble nor as fast as the F4F-3, but its folding wings made it possible to cram more valuable fighters into each aircraft carrier. By the Battle of Midway in June 1942, all the Pacific Fleet's carriers had the F4F-4.

General Motors FM-2 "Wildcat"

In 1942, automobile manufacturer General Motors converted several of its east coast factories to aircraft production under the name Eastern Aircraft Division. Eastern received contracts to build F4F-4 "Wildcat" fighters and TBF-1 "Avenger" torpedo planes, allowing Grumman to reconcentrate its energies on the new F6F "Hellcat" fighter.

Grumman had prototyped a new "Wildcat" under the designation XF4F-8, which was produced by Eastern Aircraft as the FM-2. With lightened structure and a more powerful Wright R-1820 radial engine, the FM-2 was notably quicker, faster climbing, longer ranged and more maneuverable than its predecessor. More than four thousand FM-2s were built in 1943–45.

The U.S. Navy FM-2s operated exclusively from escort carriers (CVEs). In the Pacific, CVEs employed their "Avengers" and "Wildcats" to provide air cover for invasion forces and close air support for ground troops. The GM "Wildcat" played an important role in the 25 October 1944 Battle off Samar, in which a force of the slow CVEs and their escorts out-fought a vastly superior Japanese surface fleet.

Credits: US Navy History Center