got this blurb from the badcataviation email update.........
The F8F Bearcat was designed to be operated from small escort aircraft
carriers and was intended mainly as a replacement for the obsolete FM2
Wildcat. $32.99

I thought the Hellcat replaced the Wildcat and the Bearcat came in
after the war?

Craig

got this blurb from the badcataviation email update.........
The F8F Bearcat was designed to be operated from small escort aircraft
carriers and was intended mainly as a replacement for the obsolete FM2
Wildcat. $32.99

I thought the Hellcat replaced the Wildcat and the Bearcat came in
after the war?

Craig

On Sep 15, 1:06 pm, Musicman59 <cwestbro... at (no spam) gmail.com> wrote:

got this blurb from the badcataviation email update.........
The F8F Bearcat was designed to be operated from small escort aircraft
carriers and was intended mainly as a replacement for the obsolete FM2
Wildcat. $32.99

I thought the Hellcat replaced the Wildcat and the Bearcat came in
after the war?

Craig

I think they got it right. While the Hellcat was the direct follow up
to the Wildcat, they kept the GM-built FM-2s around for the smaller
escort carriers, so the Bearcat was meant to replace them in that
particular mission, as well as just being able to whup-ass in general.

"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would have
gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.

"Matt Wiser" <MattWiser... at (no spam) yahoo.com> wrote innews:LJ_rm.36899$u76.2051 at (no spam) newsfe10.iad:

Actually, VF-19, VBF-19, VF-18, and VBF-18 were all en route to the war
zone when the war ended. First combat for the Bearcat would have been in
late Aug/early Sep '45 if the war hadn't ended when it did.
"Val Kraut" <marv... at (no spam) optonline.net> wrote in message
news:4ab04b3f$0$5006$607ed4bc at (no spam) cv.net...

"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would have
gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.

VBF? I thought the whole point of the Bearcat was as a point defense
interceptor against kamikazes? Largest possible engine in the smallest
possible airframe. Seems to me that is a prescription for going really fast.
And the 4 x 20mm for wrecking kamikazes (meaning make them crash NOW!) before
they got to close.

--
"Universal" American healthcare coverage, explained:
You get the "care" they approve for you, when they get around to it, if they
think your life is worth saving. And you'll pay for everyone's care, too,
whether or not they've paid in, whether or not they deem you valuable enough
to care for, 'cause they think your money is valuable enough to steal.

Matt Wiser wrote:
Actually, VF-19, VBF-19, VF-18, and VBF-18 were all en route to the war zone
when the war ended. First combat for the Bearcat would have been in late
Aug/early Sep '45 if the war hadn't ended when it did.
"Val Kraut" <marv... at (no spam) optonline.net> wrote in message
news:4ab04b3f$0$5006$607ed4bc at (no spam) cv.net...
"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would have
gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.

And the Navy would have had a jet in the Pacific soon.  A squadron of
Ryan Fireballs was rushed through qualification.  The carrier was loaded
with the squadron's planes and just about to embark for the front when
the war ended.  The deployment was cancelled because the plane still had
some issues, but it was essentially ready.

Actually, VF-19, VBF-19, VF-18, and VBF-18 were all en route to the war zone
when the war ended. First combat for the Bearcat would have been in late
Aug/early Sep '45 if the war hadn't ended when it did.
"Val Kraut" <marvalk at (no spam) optonline.net> wrote in message
news:4ab04b3f$0$5006$607ed4bc at (no spam) cv.net...
"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would have
gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.




And the Navy would have had a jet in the Pacific soon. A squadron of

Actually, VF-19, VBF-19, VF-18, and VBF-18 were all en route to the war
zone when the war ended. First combat for the Bearcat would have been in
late Aug/early Sep '45 if the war hadn't ended when it did.
"Val Kraut" <marvalk at (no spam) optonline.net> wrote in message
news:4ab04b3f$0$5006$607ed4bc at (no spam) cv.net...

"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would have
gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.

Matt Wiser wrote:
Actually, VF-19, VBF-19, VF-18, and VBF-18 were all en route to the
war zone
when the war ended. First combat for the Bearcat would have been in late
Aug/early Sep '45 if the war hadn't ended when it did.
"Val Kraut" <marvalk at (no spam) optonline.net> wrote in message
news:4ab04b3f$0$5006$607ed4bc at (no spam) cv.net...
"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would
have
gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.




And the Navy would have had a jet in the Pacific soon. A squadron of
Ryan Fireballs was rushed through qualification. The carrier was
loaded with the squadron's planes and just about to embark for the
front when the war ended. The deployment was cancelled because the
plane still had some issues, but it was essentially ready.
I would say it was a partial jet engined aircraft. It had a radial

on 9/16/2009 9:48 AM (ET) Don Stauffer wrote the following:

Matt Wiser wrote:
Actually, VF-19, VBF-19, VF-18, and VBF-18 were all en route to the
war zone
when the war ended. First combat for the Bearcat would have been in late
Aug/early Sep '45 if the war hadn't ended when it did.
"Val Kraut" <marv... at (no spam) optonline.net> wrote in message
news:4ab04b3f$0$5006$607ed4bc at (no spam) cv.net...
"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would
have
gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.

And the Navy would have had a jet in the Pacific soon. A squadron of
Ryan Fireballs was rushed through qualification. The carrier was
loaded with the squadron's planes and just about to embark for the
front when the war ended. The deployment was cancelled because the
plane still had some issues, but it was essentially ready.

I would say it was a partial jet engined aircraft. It had a radial
engine for take off and landing (with propellers), and a jet engine for
high speeds.
The first pure jet to take off and land on a carrier was the McD.
FH-1 Phantom (1) on January 26, 1945.
Steady on, Old Chap, the FH 1 first flew on the date quoted, but

The first pure jet to see combat as a carrier based aircraft was the
Grumman F9F Panther, which flew during the Korean War.

--

Regards,
Bill

"Matt Wiser" <MattWiser_88 at (no spam) yahoo.com> wrote in
news:LJ_rm.36899$u76.2051 at (no spam) newsfe10.iad:

Actually, VF-19, VBF-19, VF-18, and VBF-18 were all en route to the
war zone when the war ended. First combat for the Bearcat would have
been in late Aug/early Sep '45 if the war hadn't ended when it did.
"Val Kraut" <marvalk at (no spam) optonline.net> wrote in message
news:4ab04b3f$0$5006$607ed4bc at (no spam) cv.net...

"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would
have gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.






VBF? I thought the whole point of the Bearcat was as a point defense
interceptor against kamikazes? Largest possible engine in the smallest
possible airframe. Seems to me that is a prescription for going
really fast. And the 4 x 20mm for wrecking kamikazes (meaning make
them crash NOW!) before they got to close.

Gray Ghost wrote:
"Matt Wiser" <MattWiser... at (no spam) yahoo.com> wrote in
news:LJ_rm.36899$u76.2051 at (no spam) newsfe10.iad:

Actually, VF-19, VBF-19, VF-18, and VBF-18 were all en route to the
war zone when the war ended. First combat for the Bearcat would have
been in late Aug/early Sep '45 if the war hadn't ended when it did.
"Val Kraut" <marv... at (no spam) optonline.net> wrote in message
news:4ab04b3f$0$5006$607ed4bc at (no spam) cv.net...

"I believe the new carriers - Midway, Roosevelt and Coral Sea would
have gotten the Bearcat for the Invasion of Japan.

VBF? I thought the whole point of the Bearcat was as a point defense
interceptor against kamikazes? Largest possible engine in the smallest
possible airframe. Seems to me that is a prescription for going
really fast. And the 4 x 20mm for wrecking kamikazes (meaning make
them crash NOW!) before they got to close.

The whole VF / VBF thing was purely administrative. Carrier fighter
squadrons had become so large (seventy or more pilots) that they were
impossible to handle from an adminsitrative point of view. They were
therefore split into two units, each with their own command and
administrative staff. Although the VBF section was nominally tasked with
ground support missions, if needed, a lot of the time the VBF section was
engaged in pure fighter ops. In a couple of cases the VBF section had more
kills than their VF twin.