The F6F was the Ace Maker of the Pacific War
The film “Grumman at War” was produced by Grumman in 1944. The film is “narrated” by a F6F Hellcat fighter. More correctly it’s told in the first person by a F6F Hellcat fighter. Well, yes- it sounds strange but it works really well in this film. It was produced during World War II so it’s a little bit hokey and old-fashioned, but the film delves into how Grumman developed and built the F6F. When the film was released it was accompanied by a book to commemorate Grumman’s 15th anniversary. During the time the film was being made Grumman had already moved production of their F4F Wildcat fighters and TBF Avenger torpedo bombers to General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft Division so Grumman could concentrate on production of Hellcats.
More About the Film and the Hellcat
The first flight of the first production F6F-3 on October 3rd 1942 is dramatized in the film. Directed by Robert Elwyn and produced by Leroy G Philips along with Gordon Cox at the Princeton Film Center, the film stars the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the thousands of Grumman employees who designed, developed, built, and tested the fighter that won the war in the Pacific. Lots of Avgeeks might disagree about that last point, and that’s OK, but it’s difficult to argue with 5,223 Allied victories and 305 aces made in the Hellcat in only two years. Kill ratio numbers vary widely so they’re not an accurate gauge. It’s still a great film. There’s even some bonus footage of the prototype Grumman XF7F-1 Tigercat at the end of it. We’ll do a full history on the F6F some other time but for now, enjoy the film that chronicles the making of one of America’s true success stories of World War II- The Grumman F6F Hellcat.