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Much of the FM-2’s enhanced performance came courtesy of a 1,350-horsepower Wright R-1820-56 engine, versus the F4F-4’s 1,200-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-1830-86. Throughout the war, FM-2s were the standard CVE fighter. In all, Eastern delivered more than 5,000 Wildcats.
While being produced by General Motors, the F4F Wildcat was given anew name and anew set of claws: the FM-2 Wilder Wildcat” carried alarger engine and less gross weight, so the stubby cat became a real tiger. And during the battle of Leyte Gulf, in the hands of one particular pilot, it tore into Japanese forces with a vengeance! Joe McGraw ...
Boasting a more powerful Wright R-1820-56 Cyclone engine and a taller tail, the General Motors built Wildcats carried the designation FM-1/2 and operated primarily from escort carriers.
28 lis 2021 · In 1942, automobile manufacturer General Motors converted several of its east coast factories to aircraft production under the name Eastern Aircraft Division. Eastern received contracts to build F4F-4 Wildcat fighters and TBF-1 'Avenger' torpedo planes, allowing Grumman to gradually reconcentrate its energies on the new, urgently-needed F6F ...
General Motors/Eastern Aircraft produced 5,280 FM variants of the Wildcat during WWII. The FM-2 Wildcat was adequate for small escort carriers against submarine and shore threats in the second world war.
Derived from the Grumman-built F4F-4, our FM-2 Wildcat variant was manufactured by General Motors and featured several design improvements, including a modified tail, more powerful engine (Wright Cyclone R-1820-56) and a reduced number of wing-mounted machine guns to provide greater room for ammunition.
With lightened structure and a more powerful Wright R-1820 radial engine, the FM-2 was notably quicker, faster climbing, longer ranged and more maneuverable than its predecessor. To help control the increased power, the new plane had a distinctive, taller vertical tail.
