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FM-2
No.277 FM-2
| |
Refittable Class | |
Coastal Defense Ship | Destroyer |
Light Cruiser | Torpedo Cruiser |
Heavy Cruiser | Training Cruiser |
Aviation Cruiser | Fast Battleship |
Battleship | Aviation Battleship |
Light Carrier | Standard Aircraft Carrier |
Armored Carrier | Seaplane Tender |
Submarine | Aircraft Carrying Submarine |
Submarine Tender | Fleet Oiler |
Repair Ship | Amphibious Assault Ship |
Introduction
大戦初期の太平洋上で零戦としのぎを削った艦上戦闘機、ワイルドキャット「F4F」シリーズ。本機「FM-2」は、F4Fの改良後期量産型で、その高空性能を削り低空での運動性と取り回しやすさを向上させた傑作汎用支援艦戦です。週間単位で量産された護衛空母などで運用されました。今回は、対艦・対地の汎用支援戦闘機として登場です。
The carrier-based fighter who fought hard against the Zeroes during the beginning of the great war, the "F4F" Wildcat series. This "FM-2" is the improved later production model of the F4F, with high-altitude performance sacrificed in order to provide better maneuverability at lower altitudes, it served as a fine piece of multirole support fighter. It was operated by escort carriers built in a weekly basis, as well as being used in other operations. This time, it is introduced as a multirole support fighter for air-to-ship and air-to-ground purposes.
Notes
Unbuildable
- December 2017 Ranking Reward for all ranks.
Trivia
A variant of the F4F-4 Wildcat, the FM-2 came to be when Grumman discontinued their F4F series to focus production on the new F6F-3 Hellcat, handing over production to General Motors. An improvement over the previous Wildcat models, the FM-2 was optimized for small carriers like CVEs (number of guns were reduced to 4 and the supercharger was downgraded), a natural fit because the Wildcat had a low landing speed and these ships could not operate the newer US fighters due to their much larger size and landing speed. Introduced in mid-1943, it was very rarely used on US fleet or light carriers as the squadrons based on them were in the process of switching over to the more advanced F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair fighters and the larger bombers were better, so their purpose was relegated to ground support, submarine hunting, and shore attacks. Improvements done by GM made its climbing speed better than the much worse F4F-4 while also shaving off weight, a newer engine increasing horsepower and adding racks under the wings. It became the last and most numerous Wildcat variant of the war.
- 370 planes were delivered to the Royal Navy, known as Wildcat VI. The last air raid in Europe involved the FM-2 and also claims the last kill from the FAA by shooting down a Bf 109.
- Much like the Type 0 Fighter Model 62 (Fighter-bomber), it is a fighter-bomber in the game but it could also be used as a fighter in real life as it was essentially still a Wildcat.
- Tail markings are from VC-10 operating from USS Gambier Bay.
See also
- General Motors FM-2 Wildcat - Wikipedia
- FM-2 (航空機) - Wikipedia (Japanese link)
- FM-2 pilot's instruction manual