Original subtitles

(airplane engines rumbling)

Narrator: It's the aircraft that swept the south pacific

In world war ii.

Woman: The hellcat may have been the navy's

Single biggest contribution to victory in the pacific.

Narrator: It renewed hope in america's navy.

Man: The hellcat is arguably one of the most successful

Fighters america ever built.

Narrator: And made hundreds of pilots fighting aces.

Man: It was unbelievable what you could do in the airplane.

Narrator: This is the inside story of how power

And innovation changed the future of naval aviation.

Man: The navy recognizes that they will need

A much better plane.

Narrator: And created a legendary aircraft.

Man: Even today, the hellcat still is

A superlative fighter airplane.

Narrator: Meet the navy's fiercest feline in the skies.

Man: The hellcat is a beast.

Narrator: It showed the world what victory looks like

And it didn't need nine lives to do it.

♪

(bombs exploding)

October 1944, the south pacific.

(soldiers shouting) (guns firing)

World war ii rages on.

♪

The united states attacks the philippine island of leyte,

Cutting off japanese access to vital oil supplies.

In retaliation, japanese leaders hatch a desperate plan,

Air strikes against u.S. Forces.

They set their sights on the u.S.S. Essex,

One of the navy's lead aircraft carriers.

But the carrier is home to one of the most powerful fighters

In the pacific,

The hellcat.

(airplane engine rumbling)

Agile, unshakable, and always ready for action,

The grumman f6f hellcat is the u.S. Navy's

Go-to fighter plane during the second half of world war ii.

Man: The hellcat was the perfect airplane for the time.

Narrator: Joseph scheil restores and flies

Classic world war ii aircraft.

Man: The hellcat is a superlative fighter,

Very well-built,

Extremely powerful and highly maneuverable.

Narrator: The hellcat always comes dressed for battle.

Its cockpit is clad in 212 pounds of solid steel.

♪

Man: It gives a lot of protection

Because of this huge piece

Of armor plate behind the pilot.

And so any attack from within around 20 degrees or behind,

This beautiful piece of steel

Will prevent the pilot, hopefully, from getting hit.

Narrator: The hellcat also has the largest wing area

Of any world war ii single engine fighter.

Man: This makes the airplane a lot more stable.

Pilots that talk about flying the hellcat in comparison

With other airplanes say the way that the airplane

Rolls and turns is on par with the best of the best.

Narrator: The hellcat isn't just made to fight,

It's made to win.

In the south pacific, world war ii pilots

Are counting on it.

♪

October 24th, 1944, the philippines.

Captain david mccampbell and his navy squadron

Have just completed a successful air strike

On a japanese fleet.

Man: My grandfather was the commander of air group 15

Which was all the planes on the u.S.S. Essex,

Combination of bombers and fighters.

Narrator: Christopher mccampbell is the grandson

Of the late captain david mccampbell.

Man: There was a large american task force

Just off the north of samar in the philippines.

That morning, at dawn, they had led a major strike

Against the japanese fleet.

They were now preparing for a second strike on the ships.

Man: Bearing 273.

Narrator: A cry comes over the radio

In the essex's main control room.

Man: Coming on target, sir.

Narrator: Three groups of japanese planes

Have been detected on radar.

(airplane engine rumbling)

Woman: When the call comes in, the air wing

Of the essex is not prepared.

Narrator: Dr. Rebecca grant is one of the foremost

Civilian experts on air force history and aircraft.

(alarm ringing)

Woman: They've just recovered the morning sorties.

The deck is covered with half-armed,

Half-fueled aircraft.

Narrator: None of the planes are ready for battle,

But mccampbell and his wingman

Aren't going to let that stop them

From getting into the fight.

Man: His plane was not fully fueled but was pushed out

Onto the runway anyway ready to go.

So, he and his wingman jumped into their planes

And started the engines and took off.

(airplane engine rumbling) ♪

Narrator: 22 miles away, a group of japanese warplanes

Races towards the carrier.

Mccampbell and his wingman

Head straight for them, severely outnumbered.

Woman: Mccampbell knows he faces big odds.

He already knows his main chance

Against this huge inbound formation is to get above them.

Narrator: Mccampbell and his hellcat fly

With lethal force,

Six .50 caliber machine guns.

Man: The browning m2 machine gun

Is the standard armament for any u.S. Fighter up until 1945.

Six of them puts the airplane up around 2500 rounds or so,

Giving that six to eight seconds of fire.

Narrator: The guns are set on an angle along the wing.

When fired, the bullets converge at a single target point

Almost three football fields away.

Man: As I'm looking through the gunsight, I can now see

That I'm able to nail the guy.

My six .50-caliber machine guns are still gonna converge

And make that a very bad place to be for an enemy airplane.

(engine whining)

Narrator: High above the philippine sea,

Captain david mccampbell needs all the firepower

He can get.

His hellcat races towards

60 unwavering japanese warplanes.

Chief among them, the much-feared mitsubishi a6m zero.

This long-range fighter plane can reach a top speed

Of over 300 miles per hour.

♪

The zero is one of the imperial japanese navy's

Favorite weapons during world war ii,

(guns firing)

Responsible for 83% of american aircraft casualties

In the first three months of battle in the pacific.

Japanese warplanes travel

In formations of three, called shotais.

This tactic triples their firepower.

(airplane engine rumbling)

Mccampbell must find a way to break them up

And bring them down.

Man: My grandfather and his wingman

Came up with this tactic and that was to climb

As high as they could and then drop down

And fire and pull back up.

That was typical for this type of strike.

Woman: High altitude is a huge advantage.

It gives him a view over the japanese formation,

It guarantees he'll get the first shot, and it allows him

To follow that formation if they break up

And try to attack the carrier.

Narrator: Mccampbell sets his sights on his first target,

A zero on the outer edge of the formation.

Man: He and his wingman took the first strike

Diving in towards the back of the formation.

Grandfather took out one of the planes and his wingman

Took out another and then they climbed back up again

To do a second run.

Narrator: Mccampbell eyes his next target and hits it

On the first try.

(guns firing)

He and his wingman coordinate attack after attack,

Breaking up the enemy formations.

Man: So, at this point I think my grandfather

Was pretty confident and knew he could take his time.

So, he turned off the oxygen in his cockpit,

Lit up a cigarette,

Studied the formations, studied the planes,

Was able to coordinate with his wingman

Which they were gonna go after.

Woman: Mccampbell is a force to be reckoned with.

He's mastered the gunnery tactics, the slash and dive

That allows him to rack up multiple kills

Against japanese aircraft on one mission.

(engine whining)

Narrator: With each pass another zero falls

To mccampbell's gunfire.

(guns firing)

Man: When his wingman radioed down to say

That he was out of ammo, and asked whether or not

They were gonna stick around,

Granddad radioed back and said,

"well you wanna follow me down

"or do you wanna stay up here and watch the show?"

I think he was pretty confident

That he was gonna do some damage.

(guns firing)

Narrator: In less than an hour, mccampbell destroys

Nine enemy planes, a single day

American combat record that has never been matched.

His wingman scores six.

Man: By the end of the mission they had chased

The enemy force about 100 miles away from the task force.

♪

Narrator: David mccampbell and his nerves of steel

Have successfully thwarted a surprise japanese airstrike

Of almost 60 warplanes.

But his persistence has pushed his hellcat

To the breaking point.

(airplane engine rumbling)

High above leyte gulf,

Mccampbell makes a harsh discovery

He's 100 miles away from the safety of the carrier's deck

And flying on fumes.

Woman: Mccampbell looks at his fuel gauge.

It's nearly zero.

He and his wingman now face another emergency.

If they don't make it back to the essex,

They'll ditch in the sea.

They might survive the impact.

An american destroyer or submarine might pick them up.

But it's highly risky.

Mccampbell is flying back

Towards the last known position of the u.S.S. Essex.

And as he gets close, he sees the most terrible sight.

Narrator: Planes line every inch of the carrier's deck.

There is nowhere for mccampbell's hellcat to land.

Man: He realized that it would probably take

About another 20 minutes for the deck to be emptied

And he just didn't have that much time.

Narrator: The crew directs mccampbell to land

On another carrier nearby, the u.S.S. Langley.

Woman: He spots the u.S.S. Langley

And begins to line up on final.

And then he sees it.

The langley's deck is not ready to receive aircraft.

Narrator: Mccampbell continues to circle.

Each minute that passes poses even more danger.

Time and fuel are quickly running out.

October 1944, the south pacific.

Navy captain david mccampbell and his f6f hellcat

Fly on fumes with nowhere to land.

♪

At the last possible minute, mccampbell gets

The all-clear from the u.S.S. Langley.

(airplane engine rumbling)

His hellcat sputters onto the carrier deck and just in time.

Man: As soon as my grandfather pushed the throttle up,

The engine died and that's when he ran out of gas.

Narrator: Mechanics examine mccampbell's hellcat

And deliver some bone-chilling news.

Man: When he talked to the mechanic that reammunitioned

The guns the mechanic told him

That he had only about six rounds left

And all of them were jammed.

And so my grandfather said, "but it worked out okay."

I think that really shows how cool he was and how confident

He was in his plane to be able to make it back.

♪

Narrator: Mccampbell's bold moves and unwavering courage

During the battle of leyte gulf earn him the medal of honor,

The nation's highest award for bravery.

Man: By the end of the war he had 34 victories

Which was most of any other naval pilot

Making him the ace of aces.

(airplane engines rumbling)

Narrator: Two days after mccampbell's heroic actions,

Allied forces clinch a victory at leyte gulf.

It's a key win in the battle for the pacific.

Woman: The war will go on nearly another year,

But at this point japan's imperial navy's striking power

Is completely obliterated.

(airplane engines rumbling)

Narrator: The hellcat's success is no accident.

It's the result of a brilliant collaboration

Between engineers and the u.S. Navy

That started three years earlier.

December 7th, 1941.

♪

The imperial japanese navy launches

A surprise military attack on pearl harbor.

President roosevelt: The attack yesterday

On the hawaiian islands has caused severe damage

To american naval and military forces.

(ships exploding)

Narrator: All eight battleships in the pacific fleet

Are destroyed or damaged.

Until now, they've been the navy's backbone.

There's just one class of ship that didn't take a hit.

Man: By quirk of fate, the three u.S. Carriers

In the pacific fleet are not there.

Narrator: Dr. Laurence burke is curator

Of u.S. Naval aviation

At the national air and space museum.

Man: The navy is basically forced into a hard choice.

The navy can either use these carriers

Or they can sit back and wait six to eight months

Until the battleship fleet is raised and repaired.

The navy decides, no, we have to do something

And sends the carriers out by themselves.

♪

Narrator: It's a risky move for the navy.

This new approach is untested in battle.

Woman: The navy never thought of its carriers

As front line, offensive weapons.

They had relied on the battleships,

Because they had much bigger guns.

(guns firing)

Narrator: Carriers have been in service

For less than 20 years.

The primary purpose of their aircraft has been

To protect battleships from bombers.

Woman: The question for the navy was whether

Its newfangled carriers

Could bring enough striking power

From the aircraft on their decks to destroy enemy ships.

♪

Narrator: Now, the navy must rely on the muscle

Of these unproven fighter planes.

Chief among them, the grumman f4f wildcat.

(airplane engine rumbling)

Tough, resilient, and innovative.

The wildcat ushers in a new era of capability

For american carrier-based fighter planes.

Its engineer, a former navy pilot named leroy grumman.

The concept for the wildcat begins in 1935,

When the u.S. Navy begins development

Of a monoplane aircraft.

Until now, the navy's fighters have been biplanes

With one wing stacked on top of another.

A monoplane will be a radical change.

Woman: The navy knows it needs the monoplane fighter designs.

They have better speed, better dive,

They're better tactically,

And they can carry heavier armaments.

Narrator: Two companies, grumman

And the brewster corporation, agree to design prototypes.

In 1939, grumman's f4f2 and the brewster's f2a buffalo

Square off to see who will be

The navy's first monoplane aircraft.

♪

Grumman's plane is faster.

The buffalo, more maneuverable.

The navy declares the buffalo the right one for the job.

(airplane engines rumbling)

Man: At the same time, the navy is reluctant

To have only one fighter source,

So they ask grumman

To continue improving the f4f2.

Woman: Grumman continues work and makes

A lot of improvements in his fighter.

A new engine, more wing area, better guns.

And the navy likes what they see.

Narrator: Navy tests confirm it.

Grumman's new f4f3 is superior to the brewster buffalo.

Woman: They decide to buy some of grumman's new fighter,

And ultimately christen it the wildcat.

Narrator: Grumman knows that space

On the flight deck is tight.

His patented folding sto-wing design

Allows the navy to double the amount of wildcats

It can fit on each carrier.

Man: Leroy grumman had figured it out

Just by playing with a simple piece of eraser.

He figured that out by cutting it at a 45-degree angle

At the front one way and a 45-degree angle

At the back a different way and just hinging it

With this diagonal pin.

Very simple, elegant design.

Narrator: In August 1940, the british become

The first to test the wildcat in combat.

They've been at war with germany for almost a year,

Flying the plane under a very different name.

Man: The british royal navy calls them the martlet.

The royal navy is using their f4f martlets

Up in the north sea.

They are using them to protect

The convoys to russia.

They're defending the convoys

Against bomber aircraft and,

In particular, against the big

Reconnaissance aircraft that are spotting

For the german u-boats,

Which are the real danger up there.

Narrator: After pearl harbor, as the united states

Enters world war ii, the navy is far from ready.

It must put its faith in its carriers

And their untested aircraft.

The entire pacific theater is at stake.

Man: The wildcat gets its baptism of fire

The day after pearl harbor.

Narrator: December 8th, 1941, wake island,

Almost 2500 miles west of hawaii.

U.S. Soldiers keep watch over an airstrip

Made for american bombers.

Woman: The wake island bomber strip is a huge threat to japan.

B-17 bombers can patrol out over the pacific,

Watching the movements of the fleet

And attacking japanese ships.

The japanese have to take it.

(airplane engines rumbling)

Narrator: Just hours after the attack on pearl harbor,

36 japanese bombers approach wake island.

They destroy 12 u.S. Planes on the ground

But don't realize that there are four wildcats

Still at large.

Man: The marine fighter squadron on wake

Doesn't have a lot of early warning of incoming raids,

So the squadron commander is keeping four of the 16 planes

Airborne on combat air patrol at any given time.

♪

Narrator: The four wildcats return

To a severely damaged american outpost.

They are the only aircraft to survive the attack.

Three days later, the japanese come back to finish the job.

Man: On December 11th, the japanese show up

With an invasion force.

They think the invasion will be easy.

Narrator: The four remaining wildcats launch

A stiff defense taking out two japanese cruisers

And a destroyer.

(guns firing)

Woman: The marines use their four operational wildcats

To hold off the initial invasion force.

They make it so tricky for japan that japan has to retreat

From wake island.

Narrator: The united states breathes a sigh of relief.

But two weeks later, the wildcat meets its match.

Man: The japanese come back with a full-on invasion,

Including their carriers.

This is the first time the wildcat

Encounters the zero in combat.

Narrator: Quick, merciless, deadly.

The mitsubishi a6m zero

Is japan's premiere dogfighting plane.

Man: The zero is a much faster plane.

It's small and light and quite literally can fly circles

Around the wildcats.

Narrator: A fully loaded zero weighs

Almost 2,000 pounds less than a wildcat

Making it an agile, maneuverable dogfighter.

Now, it attacks the wildcats mercilessly

And takes out the last four planes in the squadron.

By mid-afternoon, u.S. Forces

Surrender wake island to japan.

It's a bitter defeat for the u.S. Navy.

Woman: It's clear the wildcat is outclassed

In almost every category.

Man: And the navy comes back and asks grumman

To basically build a better wildcat.

♪

Narrator: Grumman's first move, meet with the pilots

Who have fought the zero in battle.

Woman: Grumman's engineers worked directly with navy pilots

To get the latest intelligence on japanese capabilities

And roll all that back into the design.

Narrator: Their advice, mount the cockpit

Higher in the fuselage giving pilots better visibility

Over the aircraft's wings.

Another must, a more powerful engine.

To accommodate it, grumman must redesign

And strengthen the new plane's frame.

In america, grumman races to build this new fighter.

Across the pacific, the zero helps the japanese

Gain more ground.

The navy is desperate for a way

To counter the japanese fighter.

They soon capture something to help them,

A crash-landed enemy plane.

♪

July 1942, akutan island, alaska territory.

The americans make an incredible discovery,

A fully intact a6m zero,

Crash-landed and abandoned by the japanese.

It's just what the navy needs.

Man: The military is finally able to get a good, close look

At the airplane.

Narrator: They put their best minds on the job analyzing

Every single inch of the elusive enemy plane.

Man: Through rebuilding it and test flying it, they find

Sort of all the weaknesses of the aircraft.

Woman: It was a goldmine for navy tactics.

By flying it, they showed

That the engine could cut out

In a dive, and that the zero was

Very sluggish when the pilot tried to roll to the right.

It allowed navy fliers to develop

Some super defensive tactics against the zero.

(airplane engine rumbling)

Narrator: The akutan zero spills its secrets easily.

But even before it was discovered,

Fighter pilots were testing new tactics to win in battle.

One of the best known is the thach weave,

Developed by lieutenant commander jimmy thach.

Woman: He developed the thach weave

Sitting at his kitchen table and using matchsticks.

The thach weave relied on a teamwork concept

To develop a tactic that could beat the zero in a dogfight.

Narrator: Wildcats work in pairs,

Weaving their flight paths around an enemy plane.

The zero is forced to focus on one wildcat,

Leaving it open to attack from the second.

The technique gets its first trial in June 1942,

When the united states delivers a surprise blow

To the japanese navy at the battle of midway.

♪ (men shouting)

It's a victory for the wildcat but a small leap forward

In the bigger pacific war.

Woman: Even though the u.S. Was victorious at midway

And held back the japanese advance,

There was a long way to go.

Japan was still in control of the pacific.

Japan still had an immense imperial navy.

♪

Narrator: As world war ii rages on, the clock is ticking

For grumman to develop a better fighter.

Halfway around the globe, wildcat pilots

Must hold their own against another enemy,

The germans.

(radio announcer)

October 4th, 1943, orkney islands, scotland.

A squadron of navy wildcats works alongside british forces

Aboard the u.S.S. Ranger, a carrier assigned to protect

The north sea.

Man: We'd patrol up and down the coast

Looking for german shipping.

Narrator: Commander dean diz laird

Was a wildcat pilot with the vf-4 squadron

On the u.S.S. Ranger.

(airplane engines rumbling)

Man: We did most of our operations

Along the norwegian coast and up inside the arctic circle.

Narrator: Germany occupies norway, capitalizing

On its rich supply of iron.

Allied forces want to cut off german shipping routes,

Depriving the nazis of much-needed war supplies.

Man: This one day in October we were flying

A combat air patrol.

Our radar people on the ship picked up a target.

Man: Vector 045.

Man: Oko, out.

Narrator: Laird and three other wildcat pilots

Race into action anxious to see if they're under threat

From a german plane.

Man: We got out there and we looked and looked and looked.

There were so many clouds.

We just never could find this target.

Narrator: The ship orders the wildcats

Back to the carrier but laird has a suspicion.

A cloudy sky is the perfect place for an enemy to hide.

Man: I knew that radar controller was good,

And if he said there was a target out there, there was one.

(airplane engine rumbling)

I decided I was gonna keep a lookout back there.

Sure enough, out from behind a huge cloud,

Here came this strange airplane.

Narrator: Laird finds himself facing

A junkers ju-88 fighter bomber.

Equipped with twin machine guns

And a three-ton bomb load, it's one of the luftwaffe's

Most destructive forces.

Laird quickly radios his wingman a warning.

Man: Tally ho.

Man: And, I called tally ho, bogie 6:00.

Narrator: The junkers spies the wildcats

And speeds off in the other direction.

Laird guns his wildcat forward in pursuit.

The hunt is on.

♪

The german bomber is quick.

Laird must think fast to outsmart the enemy plane.

Man: In combat, you've got two things

That can be at your advantage: Speed and altitude.

Never give up one without gaining some on the other.

Narrator: Laird climbs his plane higher into the air,

Setting his sights on the most vulnerable part

Of his enemy's body.

Man: I usually look at the airplane and then try to decide

Where the fuel tanks might be located.

That's the part I usually aim for.

Narrator: As laird drops down to make a run,

He's met with oncoming fire.

Bullets beat close to the wildcat's own fuel tank.

But laird pays no mind.

The wildcat can take a direct hit.

The reason, a self-sealing fuel tank.

It's one of the fighter plane's best defenses.

If the tank is pierced by gunfire, a layer

Of untreated natural rubber swells up,

Closing off the hole around the bullet.

Woman: A self-sealing fuel tank is a lifesaver for the pilot.

The plane can take a little battle damage

Without bursting into flame.

Narrator: High above the waters of the north sea,

Commander diz laird prepares to make a second run

On an enemy plane.

He dives his wildcat down upon the bomber

And unloads a shower of bullets.

(guns firing)

Man: I couldn't tell whether I was hitting him or not.

I kept shooting.

(guns firing)

And this airplane exploded in a big ball of fire.

Narrator: But there is no time for celebration.

A call comes over the radio.

Another target has been spotted on radar.

Laird pushes his wildcat onward

Straight into a curtain of thick clouds.

Man: I dropped down to just a few feet off the water

So that I could maintain some visual reference.

And visibility was extremely low.

Suddenly I see this airplane.

He was coming right at me.

Narrator: Laird gets his first real look

At this new enemy as it rushes towards him head-on.

What he sees will stick with him forever.

October 4th, 1943, ornkey islands, scotland.

Commander dean diz laird flies his wildcat

Through the clouds when he encounters an enemy plane,

A heinkel he-115.

This german floatplane delivers destruction

By both land and sea.

Two large stabilizing floats allow it to land on water.

It carriers out surprise torpedo bombings for the luftwaffe.

Man: My reaction time was instinctive.

I pulled up and pulled the trigger

Hoping to hit his port engine.

Saw my bullets hit his float there.

(airplane engine rumbling)

Well, that float almost completely disintegrated.

There were pieces of it flying all over.

Narrator: The wounded heinkel attempts to make

A sea landing on its floats.

Man: He dropped down to the water tried to land

And that port float that I had blasted

In the first run just collapsed.

The left wing dropped, hit the water, and he cartwheeled.

(engine whining)

♪

Narrator: First the junkers and now the heinkel.

That's two luftwaffe planes destroyed in one day.

♪

Commander laird goes on to become

The only navy fighter ace to score victories

In both the european and pacific theaters.

Man: I know I felt very comfortable in the wildcat.

Just a very rugged piece of material

That was almost indestructible.

Narrator: While the wildcats try to hold their own

In the war, the race is on for a powerful new fighter plane.

Throughout early 1942, leroy grumman works closely

With the navy's bureau of aeronautics

To develop a new aircraft.

Woman: Grumman steps up modifications on his new fighter

To make it superior and able to take on the zero.

Narrator: The first prototype flies on June 26th, 1942.

But it doesn't get its name until almost 13 months later.

Woman: Grumman wanted to name his new fighter the tomcat,

But it was a little too risque for the 1940s.

So he said, "take out the sexy, put in the profanity,

"and we'll call it the hellcat."

♪

Narrator: At its heart, a powerful engine,

The pratt and whitney r-2800 double wasp.

Its twin row, 18-cylinder design produces 2000 horsepower.

Man: The r-2800 engine allowed the united states

To build an airplane that was like no other.

This engine had the highest horsepower per weight

Of any engine of the time.

♪

Narrator: Introduced in 1939, the r-2800

Is already proving its capabilities in

Other u.S. Aircraft,

Including the p-47 thunderbolt and the b-26 marauder.

(bombs whistling)

Woman: The pratt and whitney double wasp

Was a superior fighter engine, far in advance

Of anything previously seen.

Narrator: Its secret weapon, a supercharger.

It's an air compressor that helps the engine burn more fuel,

Dramatically increasing speed and power.

Woman: It's gonna give grumman's new fighter

25% better power and performance.

(airplane engine rumbling)

That's going to allow the hellcat to get more speed

Over the zero, and also to be faster in a dive.

(engine whining)

Man: Fighter design, especially when we get to engines,

Becomes almost a difference of very slight percentages.

The r-2800 engine was about

Three or 400 horsepower more powerful.

That small difference meant that this hellcat would exceed

Zero performance by just a few percent.

But in fighting airplanes, one versus another,

It doesn't matter if you have two a-players in the game.

The survivor is the one that gets 97

Versus the loser getting 95% of the horsepower.

♪

Narrator: The hellcat isn't the only aircraft

Designed around the r-2800 engine.

There's another powerful aircraft vying

For the navy's attention, the vought f4u corsair.

It has one major advantage over the hellcat, speed.

Pushed to its limit, the f4u corsair can fly

Over 400 miles per hour.

But the plane has a complicated design and carrier landings

Prove to be dangerous.

Woman: Corsair was a fast, beautiful fighter,

But it had so many accidents when it began carrier trials

That the navy made a decision.

Man: The navy gives the corsair to land-based

Marine squadrons and the hellcat develops

As the main carrier-based fighter for the war.

♪

Narrator: By March 1943, the first wave of hellcats

Is on its way to the south pacific.

Woman: The hellcat was designed to be easy to fly

And easy to build.

Grumman ramped up production quickly,

And was soon churning out thousands of hellcats per month.

Man: The navy recognized that, yes, this was going to be

A great plane.

It's recognized, basically,

From this first experimental flight

That we immediately need to start building

Lots and lots of these.

Narrator: By December 1943, over 2,500 hellcats

Are in navy hands.

(airplane engines rumbling)

Woman: The navy's need was great.

Grumman had to produce the hellcat fast

In order to make sure we didn't lose the war in the pacific.

Narrator: The plane soon gets a nickname,

The goldilocks fighter.

Its easy operation makes it just right

For young navy pilots.

Man: It's an easy transition for a wildcat pilot to come

Directly into this airplane and fly it well.

Man: This one multi-ace, he loved that hellcat enough

That he once made the statement that,

"if that hellcat could cook, I'd marry it!"

♪

Narrator: With their new plane, navy pilots

Are determined to strengthen their muscle in the pacific.

June 19th, 1944, guam.

A hellcat squadron launches a surprise attack

On a japanese air base.

(guns firing)

Man: As I recall, it was quite a busy day.

Narrator: Lieutenant commander fred "buck" dungan

Was a hellcat fighter ace in the south pacific.

Man: Well, we were escorting bombers over

Over the airfield in guam.

Narrator: Dungan's strike is successful, knocking out

A portion of the enemy's vital supplies and aircraft.

(airplane engines rumbling)

Most of the squadron heads back to their carrier.

Dungan and his wingman linger behind.

Man: I had seen some airplanes parked under the palm trees,

And I wanted to take a picture so our battleships

Could come in and destroy these airplanes.

Narrator: Dungan dives in, snapping away from the safety

Of his cockpit.

♪

Suddenly, he spies something unusual.

Man: I saw these airplanes coming in,

Breaking up into a landing pattern,

And I thought it was our group looking over their damage

They had just done.

But it wasn't.

Narrator: Straight ahead, a fresh squadron

Of enemy planes hell bent on revenge.

Among them, the hellcat's chief pacific rival,

The japanese mitsubishi a6m zero.

Man: I screamed into my microphone, pilots come back.

My wingman and I have an air group surrounded.

We need help.

Narrator: Dungan and his wingman are alone staring down

A wall of 40 japanese aircraft.

Man: I knew my buddies were just seconds in back of me.

So, I dove down into that air group.

Narrator: He plunges his hellcat into the formation

Of enemy planes.

Man: You don't think of your own safety.

All you do is think of opportunities,

Opportunities to shoot.

Narrator: Dungan's quick nosedive

Catches the enemy off guard.

He singles out one zero.

Man: I made a pass at him and blew him up.

(guns firing)

I shot him down, and I think I destroyed

The one in back of him also.

Narrator: Two down, more than three dozen to go.

Dungan evades enemy fire,

Diving below the zero formation once more.

It's a risky move.

Man: There's not much maneuverability underneath.

There's not much space.

You can get trapped.

But one airplane down there, one,

Can do all kinds of different things.

Narrator: As dungan prepares

For his next pass, backup arrives.

A squadron of hellcats has answered his battle cry.

They barrel down on the enemy planes.

Man: Then the formation landing broke up

And went all different directions.

Got back in one fella, had him all lined up

In my sights, and pulled the trigger,

(guns firing)

And he moved like this.

(engine whining)

He knew, then I knew, that he had experience.

He's dictating the conditions of this dogfight.

I've gotta change this.

Narrator: This is the moment the hellcat

Has been built for, a chance to prove itself

In a head-to-head battle with the zero.

♪

June 19th, 1944.

High over guam, commander fred "buck" dungan

And his f6f hellcat battle a japanese zero.

Man: When you're paired off in a dogfight,

It's a lot like boxing in a ring.

You're anticipating where the enemy is going to end up.

(engine whining) (guns firing)

Man: You know your airplane, and you know the limitations.

You know how far you can push that plane

Before it stops flying.

And you get to that spot very often.

Narrator: Dungan could outrun his enemy.

But he decides to take a different approach,

Slowing his hellcat down as he makes his next pass.

Man: The slowness seemed to confuse the enemy very much.

You feel like a sitting duck

When you pull your throttle back in a dogfight.

But you're not, because you're getting your airplane speed

Down to maneuverability where you could spin it on a dime.

Narrator: Losing speed is a risky tactic.

Dungan hopes it will throw his enemy off guard.

Man: A lot of strategy in dogfighting.

A lot of faking, bluffing.

Then you finally get the guy in your sights,

And you got him.

Narrator: Dungan has only a split second to fire.

He makes it count, hitting the zero

And its pilot full on.

Man: His plane stopped flying and maneuvering

And headed for the water, and I went right beside him.

I chopped my throttling alongside him.

And he turned and looked at me.

We'd been at each other for a while.

We recognized each other.

And, he saluted me and went in the water.

♪ (engine whining)

Narrator: That day lieutenant commander dungan's

Hellcat squadron destroys all 40 japanese aircraft.

For his bravery, he is awarded

The distinguished flying cross.

Man: It was unbelievable what you could do in the airplane.

We decimated the enemy air force.

♪ (guns firing)

Narrator: Dungan's dogfight marks day one of the battle

Of the philippine sea, the last major

Carrier-to-carrier duel of world war ii.

The next 48 hours see hellcats engaged

In relentless aerial combat.

Woman: At the battle of the philippine sea,

The hellcat proved that it was the master of the skies.

Japan lost over 300 aircraft, and with that loss

Ended the ability of japan's carriers to become

An effective offensive striking force.

Man: The u.S. Just shoots down japanese planes

With incredible ease.

One of the pilots, after a day's worth of combat,

Makes the comment that,

"oh it's just like an old time turkey shoot,"

And that becomes the nickname.

It becomes known as the great marianas turkey shoot.

Narrator: The hellcat continues to fight

Until the final days of the war.

Man: One of the interesting things about the hellcat,

It may have actually dropped the last bombs of the war.

There's a fighter bomber squadron that was over japan.

The leader had just dropped his bombs in a dive

And was pulling out when they heard the radio call

To cease all attacks, that the japanese had surrendered.

(airplane engines rumbling)

(crowd cheering)

Narrator: On August 15th, 1945,

One week after the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki,

The japanese surrender.

♪

At the end of the war, grumman is still producing hellcats,

But there is no longer any need.

The last batch rolls out in November 1945.

Woman: The hellcat was was phased out of front-line duties

Very shortly after world war ii ended.

This was really a warbird suited to take on

The striking air arm of japan's imperial navy.

Once japan's imperial navy was defeated,

The hellcat's job was done.

Narrator: The navy turns its attention

Towards a new technology, the jet engine.

The hellcat is given another assignment,

Headlining a newly formed flight demonstration team.

♪

June 15th, 1946, jacksonville, florida.

Three hellcats perform a 15-minute aerial acrobatic show

For the public.

It's the very first performance of the team

Known as the blue angels, a tradition that continues

With different aircraft to this day.

Woman: The blue angels naturally picked the top fighter

Of the war, the hellcat.

It was the hellcat that reminded everyone

What the navy carriers had done in winning world war ii.

(airplane engine rumbling)

Narrator: The grumman corporation continues

To manufacture a line of cat aircraft up until 1991.

The bearcat, panther, tiger,

And tomcat are built in the grumman tradition

Of reliability and ruggedness.

Man: I think grumman design philosophy lives on.

The grumman aircraft had a reputation for being able

To take a lot of damage and still make it back.

Man: It made you feel like they were doing everything

They could to bring you back so you could fly again,

And it made you feel good.

Narrator: In just over two years, grumman produced

More than 12,000 hellcats.

Only 270 were lost in combat.

Today, less than two dozen remain.

Flying hellcats are the rarest birds of all.

Woman: The hellcat was scrapped so quickly after world war ii

That hellcats today are very rare.

If you've got a hellcat and you can restore it

To flying status, that's an incredibly special contribution

To aviation history.

(airplane engine rumbling)

♪

Narrator: 2017, chino, california.

The yanks air museum works to restore

A noted f6f hellcat

To its 1943 airworthy condition.

Man: The restoration has been ongoing

For approximately seven to eight years.

Narrator: A special bureau number insides the cockpit

Tells a colorful backstory.

This hellcat belonged to commander alex vraciu,

A fighter ace with 19 air victories.

Seven of those happened in this plane.

Man: It is very unique to not only have a combat aircraft

That served in the war, but one flown by a very notable,

Very famous and successful american ace.

Narrator: Mechanics rely on a series

Of original 1943 blueprints to help them assemble the plane.

Man: We do have the original blueprints on microfilm

For probably, maybe about 70 to 80% of the aircraft.

Narrator: When parts are missing, it becomes

A historical scavenger hunt.

Man: We have gone as far as the south pacific occasionally

To find certain rare parts for some of our restorations.

It's really quite amazing what you'll find.

Narrator: Yanks air museum wants

The restored hellcat fighter to inspire a new generation

Of aircraft enthusiasts.

Man: It's really that dedication to trying to keep

This history alive and preserve it

That keeps our team going.

Ultimately it really is more of a labor of love

Than anything else.

♪

Narrator: The hard-won battles of the pacific theater

Are long over, but the hellcat's ruggedness, dexterity,

And sheer firepower still shines on.

Woman: The hellcat's air-to-air kill ratio

Was one of the highest

Of world war ii, 19 to one.

Man: It was a purpose-built aircraft to do one thing,

And it did that thing very, very well.

Narrator: It gave the enemy hell,

The fighter pilots hope, and the united states

The victory it badly needed.

Man: If we hadn't had the hellcat, the war might have had

A different outcome.

Narrator: In just over two years, the hellcat proved

That u.S. Naval aviation was a force to be reckoned with

And left its name etched in the history books

As one of world war ii's most legendary fighters.