Post by Jamie McTrusty / Redsky

Jamie McTrusty • Feed

Wildcats first flew in combat against the Japanese during the attempt to take Wake Island in early December 1941. Four Marine F4Fs mounted a heroic defence, breaking up several air attacks as well as sinking a destroyer and submarine with 100lb bombs before the island finally fell on 23rd Dec. 🧵5/9

Wrecked Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters of Marine Fighting Squadron 211 (VMF-211), photographed by by the Wake airstrip sometime after the Japanese captured the island on 23rd December 1941. The plane in the foreground, 211-F-11, was flown by Captain Henry T. Elrod during the 11th December attacks that sank the Japanese destroyer Kisaragi. Damaged beyond repair at that time, 211-F-11 was subsequently used as a source of parts to keep other planes operational. Elrod received a posthumous Medal of Honor after leading a beach defence unit during the final Japanese assault. 📷 NHHC 80-G-179006 (Multiple battered Wildcats in various states of disrepair stored in a sandy area)

sep 2, 2025, 5:02 pm • 17 1

Replies

Wildcats served in all the key early engagements of the Pacific war, including Coral Sea, Midway and the defence of Guadalcanal. Wildcats quickly established a reputation for toughness, able to absorb far more punishment than their Japanese opponents, and had an impressive kill/loss ratio. 🧵6/9

F4F Wildcat fighters fly in tactical formation of four-plane divisions, comprised of two-plane sections, circa mid-1943. The planes are wearing the red-outlined national insignia briefly employed at that time. 📷 NHHC NH 97484 (Echelon left formation of Wildcat fighters at medium altitude, with four more joining behind)

sep 2, 2025, 5:02 pm • 16 0 • view

Wildcats were credited with destroying over 1,000 Japanese aircraft for 178 aerial losses, 24 to anti-aircraft fire, and 49 to operational causes. One Navy and seven Marine Corps pilots would earn the Medal of Honor in Wildcats. Carrier landings could still be tricky, however… 🧵7/9

On the escort carrier USS Coral Sea, a FM-1 Wildcat noses over after a barrier crash, 3 November 1943. 📷 NHHC NH 96544 (A Wildcat perches precariously on its propeller, exposing its underside. A group of figures look on from the side of the flight deck and island, seemingly unconcerned)

sep 2, 2025, 5:02 pm • 19 0 • view

In early 1943, Wildcat production was taken over by General Motors under the designation FM-1 and later the improved FM-2. Though replaced by the more powerful Hellcat on American fleet carriers during that year, the Wildcat’s small size and light weight made it ideal for use on escort carriers 🧵8/9

FM-2 Wildcat over the escort carrier USS Santee during the Leyte landings on 20th October. Santee would survive a kamikaze attack and a torpedo hit from a Japanese submarine 5 days later. 📷 NHHC 80-G-287594 (Dark blue camouflaged Wildcat at medium altitude over an aircraft carrier)

sep 2, 2025, 5:02 pm • 17 0 • view

As in Royal Naval service, U.S. Wildcats remained in use until the end of the war. For example, during the battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, Wildcats mounted strafing runs against Japanese warships, helping to buy time for their parent escort carriers to escape. 🧵9/9

FM-2 Wildcat fighter gets a wave-off from the Landing Signal Officer, while attempting to land on USS Makin Island (CVE-93), circa 1944-45. 📷 NHHC NH 94875

sep 2, 2025, 5:02 pm • 20 0 • view

Great thread - thanks for writing/sharing, and bumping to the feed 😊 #NavalHistory

sep 2, 2025, 11:12 pm • 3 0 • view

Thanks Dave, forgot the hashtag again! 🤪

sep 3, 2025, 4:26 am • 1 0 • view

Any landing you can walk away from.........

sep 2, 2025, 11:24 pm • 1 0 • view