The Grumman F4F Wildcat was the United States’ front line naval fighter in the first years of the Pacific War. They also flew with Britain’s Fleet Air Arm. As World War 2 progressed they were used in many auxiliary roles.

The Grumman F4F was a continuation of previous Grumman fighters made for the US Navy, the first with a monoplane wing.

The original version was ordered as insurance against the Brewster F2A Buffalo and had replaced that fighter in Navy service by the end of 1941.

The F4F-4 was a new version of the F4F fitted with several improvements including six machine guns replacing the four of the earlier version.

They began entering service in 1941 and had replaced the earlier version by mid 1942.

Although inferior to Japanese fighters in most respects, they were very strong and able absorb a lot of damage.

This model represent a F4F-4 of VF-6, US Navy, flying from the USS Enterprise in 1942.

Airfix 1/72 kit completed by Leigh Edmonds in November 2016.