Following the F4F Wildcat, Grumman’s Hellcat was powerful and pugnacious, one of the few aircraft in history which was right from the start. Designed after Pearl Harbor, the Hellcat required almost no testing or development work being rushed into production in 1942. Although much larger and heavier than the lighter, more agile Japanese Zero, Hellcats chalked up a record of air combat successes that has been rarely matched.

Shown in this painting is the F6F-3 Hellcat “The Minsi” piloted by Cdr. David McCampbell, Commander Air Group 15, USS Essex, June 19, 1944. Cdr. McCampbell shot down five Japanese planes on a morning mission and another two planes that afternoon.