F6F-5 Hellcat Die Cast Model VF-27, USS Princeton (CVL-23), October 1944 (1:32)

Hobbymaster 1/32nd scale HA0308 Grumman F6F-5 "Minis II" Commander Air Group 15, USS Essex (CV-9), 1944. In 1942-43 the F4U program was bogged down with delays and the USN needed a top notched carrier-based fighter. The Grumman F6F-5 was exactly what they were looking for with the first production model flying in October 1942 and 12,274 Hellcats built by the end of the war. In terms of size, the Hellcat was the second largest single engine fighter of the war, being just slightly smaller than the Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt".