USN F4F & F6F Navy Fighters DVD
This DVD is a collection of seven films on the USN F4F & F6F WWII navy fighters that show lots of carrier action, flight training and period newsreels. The F4F was a short stubby Navy fighter that barely saved the day at the beginning of the war with Japan. The Japanese Zero could fly circles around the American planes at the time, so the Americans had to figure out good tactics to beat the Japanese. One of those tactics was the Thatch Weave, where two F4F's would crisscross each other. If a Japanese plane tried to shoot one F4F down, it would come under the other F4F in the Weave. Worked very well and surprised the Japanese. The other tactic was to never get into a dogfight with a Zero. The Americans found a A6M Zero intact in the Aleutians in 1942 and built the famous F6F to counter what they found out about the Zero. In the end, the F6F shot down over 5100 Japanese planes with a loss on only 270. That is an amazing kill ratio.
Film #1 - F6F Pilot Instructions - This is a great film by the USN on how to fly the Grumman F6F Hellcat. Start-ups, taxing, takeoff, stalls, aerobatics, to landing again. Runtime is about 20 minutes.
Film #2 - The Fleet that Came to Stay - This is a film by the USN about the war in the Pacific. Lots of ship action but most importantly is the carrier action. F4F, F6F, TBFs takeoff, fight and land. Plus there are some accidents on the ship - very dangerous work. Also, some massive kamikaze attacks shown in this film. The planes earn their pay in this film. Runtime is about 20 minutes.
Film #3 - Don't Kill Your Friends - This is a film about "Ensign Delbert" in his F4F not wanting to follow instructions and causes all kinds of problems for his fellow shipmates. "Don't be a Delbert - don't be an Ensign Delbert". Great footage of the F4F Wildcat and how deadly a F4F is. Runtime is about 14 minutes.
Film #4 - F4F and F6F Newsreels - This is a collection of newsreels on the F4F Wildcat and the F6F Hellcats by Grumman. 1st: GM's 2500 Wildcat built. 2nd: F4F Pilot Checkout. 3rd: Navy Planes sweep Manila Sea. 4th: Navy Planes hit China Sea. 5th: Captured "Jack" compared with the F6F. 6th: Captured "Frank" compared with the F6F. 7th: F6F used as robot missiles. 8th: F6F remotely piloted across Atlantic. Runtime is about 20 minutes.
Film #5 - F4F and F6F Crashes - This film is a collection of F4Fs and F6Fs crash landing in the sea, on the deck of a carrier or on land. Runtime is about 7 minutes.
Film #6 - Grampaw Pettibone Training Cartoons - 1st: Flight safety landing on a carrier. 2nd: Check your fuel selection. Runtime is about 10 minutes.
Total runtime for the USN F4F & F6F Navy Fighters DVD is about 91 minutes. Format is NTSC DVD and region-free.
