Fighter Friday - F6F Hellcat

This will be a somewhat regular feature on this blog but only when I happen to think about it. 

Today's fighter is the F6F Hellcat.  The Hellcat was designed to be the successor to the Wildcat.  Work on the Wildcat's replacement started in 1938.  Originally it was designed to use the Wright R-2600 Radial Engine but based on combat experience between the Zero and the Wildcat, a more powerful engine was used instead.  The first Hellcat would fly shortly after the Battle of Midway and it started to enter the fleet in 1943.  It was a very successful design and would last until 1960 when the last unit was retired by the Uruguayan Navy.