LEROY RANDALL GRUMMAN had an uncompromising design philosophy that led his company to produce generations of great carrier-based fighters and attack airplanes. His approach was the natural result of his 30-year experience as a naval pilot in WW I, a naval test pilot, a general manager and test pilot of Loening amphibians and later president and test pilot of the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. aircraft until the end of WW II.
His simple philosophy: to build only easily produced, maintained and reliable combat aircraft that can be readily mastered by 200-hour, wartime pilots who are trained to fly from a carrier, engage in successful combat, sustain combat damage, return to the carrier and land their aircraft after dark so that they can be available for combat again the next day. His philosophy provided the U.S. with 30,119 combat aircraft produced during WW II.
The Hellcat’s gestation
After hearing the glowing reports of European fighter combat performance in September 1940, the Navy realized that it needed a fighter whose performance greatly exceeded the Wildcat’s. The future availability of the 2000hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-10 that powered the Vought XF4U-1 Corsair made it clear to Grumman and the Navy that a comparable fighter with that engine should be designed. On June 19, 1941, the Navy ordered on two Hellcat prototypes.
On January 7, 1942, the initial production order was placed for 1,040 Hellcats, and deliveries started in September. Assistant chief engineer Bob Hall flew the first XF6F-3 prototype on July 30, 1942. Although typically a very critical test pilot, Hall approved it with only minor changes.
In September 1942, the Navy sent their famed test pilot Cdr. Fredrick M. Trapnell to Grumman to evaluate the Hellcat. After three flights, he officially declared it acceptable for mass production.
In early 1942, Wildcat and Avenger production was transferred to the Eastern Aircraft division of General Motors. This immediately freed up thousands of Grumman engineering, manufacturing, tooling and machining personnel. This move made the Navy-requested Hellcat production schedule feasible because no more factory facility construction was now needed.
Early Hellcat flight-test problems
“If you really wish to learn, you must mount the machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial.”—Wilbur Wright. Was he Wright! I had been at Grumman for four and a half months and had flight-tested Wildcats, Avengers, Goose and Widgeon amphibians and had a few flights in the new XF6F-3 Hellcat. In February 1943, I graduated to become Grumman’s first
