Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat (Replica) (Los Angeles, California)

 replica, aircraft on display

Tail Number: 71812 / 12

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a fighter aircraft descended from the earlier F4F Wildcat, but was a completely new design sharing only a familial resemblance to the Wildcat. Some tagged it as "Wildcat's big brother". The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary United States Navy carrier fighters in the second half of World War II.

The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,171 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France), plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II. Postwar, the Hellcat aircraft was relatively rapid phased out of front line service, but finally retired as late as 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons.

The Proud Bird