| Continued from above… a large group of fighter pilots polled by the officials of the Grumman Aircraft Company. In addition to its duty as a carrier-based fighter, the Hellcat served with the U.S. Marine Corps as a potent fighter-bomber. It was powered by a Pratt and Whitney R2800-10. double wasp, 18 cylinder dual row radial engine, producing 2000 Hp. The fighter was armed with six wing mounted Browning .50cal. machine guns. The American Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter from the same stable of the Grumman "Iron Works," shared a heritage with the earlier F4F Wildcat, but was a completely new design sharing only a family resemblance to the Wildcat. Some wags 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 5,163 aircraft in service with the US Navy and US Marine Corps, plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II. After the end of World War II, the Hellcat aircraft was rapidly phased out of frontline service, finally retiring in 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons. | 
