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 re-concentrate its energies on the new, urgently-needed F6F Hellcat fighter. The GM F4F-4s, redesignated FM-1s, had only four .50 caliber machine guns, but were otherwise little changed from the original model. Well over a thousand FM-1 fighters were delivered in 1942-43, including some three hundred for the Royal Navy, in whose service they were initially called Martlet, a name that was later dropped in favour of the original Wildcat . Meanwhile, Grumman had prototyped a new Wildcat under the designation XF4F-8, which was to be produced by Eastern Aircraft as the FM-2. 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. All-in-all, it was a great improvement, and more than four thousand FM-2s were built in 1943-45.
This Grumman FM-2 Wildcat, UK registered G-RUMW, is owned and operated by The Fighter Collection at IWM Duxford. It wears the colour scheme of Wildcat JV579 which operated with 846 Naval Air Squadron aboard HMS Tracker during 1944, including Operation Overlord D-Day 6th June 1944.
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