A sampling of FM-2 pictures available on airliners.net.
Note that in the lower right picture, the pilot is bent over cranking up his
landing gear by hand - one of the "features" of the Wildcat.The General Motors FM-2 Wildcat was a lightweight
and more powerful version of the Grumman F4F
Wildcat.
The F4F Wildcat was originally designed in the 1930s as
an all-metal biplane with retractable landing gear. Although it was a
nimble fighter, it was not quite able to keep up with the Zero. It was
heavier and did not climb as fast (although it was faster in a dive).
By mid-war, the F4F was phased out in favor of more powerful aircraft such
as the F6F Hellcat and the F4U Corsair. However, when Naval planners
needed a lightweight fighter to operate from the decks of Escort Carriers,
they decided to upgrade the F4F.
The FM-2 differed from the F4F in a number of ways. The FM-2
had a lighter, yet more powerful Wright R-1820 radial engine. The plane
carried four rather than six .50 caliber machine guns and was often fitted
with HVARs (High-Velocity Aircraft Rockets) for use against ground targets,
ships or surfaced submarines. The FM-2 also had a larger tail than the
standard F4F to counter the increased torque produced by the Wright engine.
The VC-27 FM-2 flown by Lt Ralph Elliott showing his 9
kills.
These changes increased the climb rate and made the FM-2
capable of dog-fighting with all Japanese aircraft. It was quite
similar in size and performance to Zero fighter. The FM-2 weighed
more, partly because the Zero did not have self-sealing tanks or significant
armor plating, making the Zero very vulnerable to machine gun fire.
Engine
Wikipedia, USAF Museum, Dayton, OH. |
The FM-2 Wildcat was powered by the Wright R-1820-56W
"Cyclone 9" which was a 1350hp single-row 9-cylnder radial engine.
In contrast, the F4F Wildcat was powered by the heavier and less
powerful Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86 "Twin Wasp", which was a 1200hp dual
row 14-cylinder radial engine. The Cyclone 9 was also used in the B-17 bomber and
the Sherman tank.
The engine was started with a shotgun shell (minus
the shot, of course).
The higher torque and power gave the plane a
pronounced tendency to veer off to the left during takeoff. To
avoid heading off into the weeds (or, on a carrier, the ocean), the
pilot had to remember to set the trim tab two marks to the right and had
to press hard on the right rudder during takeoff.
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Markings
This picture depicts an FM-2 Wildcat in VC-27 markings.
Navy aircraft used several different paint-schemes - including 3 tone, 2
tone and 1 tone. Each squadron also had different markings. The
above picture appears to show the correct markings for VC-27. However,
veterans of VC-27 advise that the squadron used a 2 tone paint scheme, with
light gray on the bottom.
The Cockpit
The FM-2 instrument panel showing typical WWII instruments
and typical arrangement.
Gunsight
.jpg)
Source:
Budd Davisson,
all rights reserved.
Like most Navy planes, the FM-2 used a Mark 8 reflector gunsight. The
pilot looked through a circular pane of glass. When turned on, a lamp
projected a gunsight image on the glass. One advantage was that the
image was focused "at infinity" so that the gunsight image remained sharp
when the pilot focused on the target. A version of this gunsight was
also used on the F4U Corsair and the P-47 Thunderbolt.
Landing Gear
An illustration of the landing gear retraction/extension
sequence. The struts were connected to an "I-beam" in the center of
the plane. The upper and lower struts had to be positioned so that the
tires would be vertical on landing, but would be angled in at the fuselage
when flying. To add to the challenge, the gear was angled back 8.5%.
Although this does not show it, the upper part of the vertical strut
included a shock absorber, so that, when the gear were "down and locked",
the wheels could travel vertically. This was necessary for carrier
landings - which have been described as a "controlled crash".
The landing gear on the Wildcat was an odd mechanism. Unlike most
aircraft, which had a single strut, the gear on the Wildcat was a "Rube
Goldberg" contraption that drew the wheels into the fuselage.
Furthermore, the gear was not motorized. The pilot had to crank the
gear up and down by hand using a crank on his right side. This meant
that the pilot had to take his left hand off the throttle (hoping that he
had secured the friction lock), so that he could fly the plane with his left
hand and crank with his right hand - 31 times. This led to pilot-induced wobbling
immediately after takeoff and before landing.
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Excerpt from "Memories of My Visit to
Ponam Island" - Recollections of Bill Peden:
"From time to time it was interesting
for the torpedo pilots to listen to a group of fighter pilots discuss
ways and means to look HOT when flying those FM2's. Looking HOT
from a fighter pilots perspective was to perform a feat that would
distinguish that pilot from all others. So here is the result of
one of those fighter pilots confabs.
"On take off (from a runway, not a
carrier) raise the tail wheel so that the fuselage is parallel to the
runway. When one reaches flying speed, flip the wheel lock and
raise the landing gear. This was not manually in the FM2 with a
hand crank in the cockpit. While cranking the gear hold the plane
so that it does not gain or lose altitude and there you have one HOT
looking takeoff. OK, so the first pilot to try this comes roaring
down the runway, raises the tail in the prescribed manner, flips the
wheel lock and starts cranking the landing gear. With each turn of
the handle the plane goes lower and the propeller grinds into the runway
and you can imagine the rest. In a shower of coral and sparks our
HOT pilot has all but demolished on FM2. As it comes to rest, he
jumps out of the cockpit and runs away to avoid a possible fire.
Again, we won't elucidate on the aftermath." |
The landing gear also had a narrow wheelbase (the
distance between the front wheels), which led to an increased
tendency to "ground loop" on landing.
Note: Tail-draggers are prone to ground
looping because the center of gravity is behind the main wheels. As
the plane slows down, the back end wants to keep going. Once the
tail starts breaking around, the plane is likely to pirouette several
times around the main gear until the plane comes to an embarrassing stop.
The pilots could help avoid this by locking the tail wheel in the forward
(rather than fully-swiveling) position. However, they sometimes
forgot.
Of course, ground-looping would not be a problem on a carrier landing -
as long as the hook caught the wire - since the wire would be holding the tail back.
Performance - FM-2 vs. Zeke 52 (Zero)
Although the F4F Wildcat and the FM-2 looked alike, the FM-2 was able to
hold it's own in a turning fight with a Japanese Zero (Zeke). Many
Japanese pilots learned this the hard way.
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Excerpt from "Combat Evaluation of Zeke 52 with F4U-1D, F6F-5, and FM-2", TAIC Report No. 17 dated Nov 1944:
CLIMB
The best climb of the Zeke 52 was about 400 ft/min less than that of the FM-2 at sea-level,
became equal at about 4,000 feet, was 500 ft/min better at 8,000 feet, became
equal again at
13,000 feet, and was only slightly inferior about 13,000 feet.
The best climbing speeds of the FM-2 and Zeke 52 were found to be 120 and 105 knots indicate-
ed, respectively.
SPEEDS
The Zeke 52 was progressively faster than the FM-2 above 5,000 feet.
At sea-level the FM-2 was 6 mph faster than the Zeke 52.
At 5,000 feet the FM-2 was 4 mph slower than the Zeke 52.
At 10,000 feet the FM-2 was 12 mph slower than the Zeke 52.
At 15,000 feet the FM-2 was 8 mph slower than the Zeke 52.
At 20,000 feet the FM-2 was 19 mph slower than the Zeke 52.
At 25,000 feet the FM-2 was 22 mph slower than the Zeke 52.
At 30,000 feet the FM-2 was 26 mph slower than the Zeke 52.
Top speeds attained were 321 mph at 13,000 feet for the FM-2, and 335 mph at 18,000 feet for
the Zeke 52.
ROLLS
Rolls of the Zeke 52 were equal to those of the FM-2 at speeds under 160 knots and inferior
above that speed, due to the high control forces.
TURNS
Turns of the FM-2 and Zeke 52 were very similar, with a slight advantage in favor of the Zeke
52. The Zeke 52 could gain one turn in eight at 10,000 feet.
DIVES
The Zeke 52 was slightly superior to the FM-2 in initial dive acceleration, after which the
dives were about the same.
Zooms after dives were about equal for the Zeke 52 and FM-2.
VISION
The Zeke 52 was considered to permit better vision in all respects, the rear vision being
good due to the use of a bubble canopy and the complete absence of armor behind the pilot's head.
There was no rear vision mirror installed in the Zeke 52 tests. The small gun sight did not
interfere with forward vision.
MANEUVERABILITY
The maneuverability of the Zeke 52 is remarkable at speeds below about 175 knots, being
slightly superior to the FM-2. It slight superiority, however, diminishes with increased speed,
due to its high control forces, and the FM-2 has the advantage at speeds about 200 knots.
SUGGESTED TACTICS
The following tactics are suggested for use against the Zeke 52 by the FM-2:
DO NOT DOG-FIGHT WITH THE ZEKE 52.
Maintain any altitude advantage you have.
To evade a Zeke 52 on your tail, roll and dive away into a high speed turn.
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Oddly, after conceding that the "remarkable"
maneuverability of the Zeke was only slightly better than the FM-2, the
report suggests that the FM-2 not dogfight with the Zeke. This
recommendation was probably ignored by the men of VC-27.
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