- Yes
- No
Hello! and welcome to the first in my series of suggestions for the Grumman Martlet (also known as the F4F Wildcat) in Royal Navy service, I feel this could come as a low tier naval fighter to fill some gaps in the Naval line of the British Tech tree, of which the lower ranks currently lack a massive amount of aircraft.
History
Spoiler
The Grumman F4F Wildcat is one of the most Iconic aircraft of WW2, being the mainstay of the American Carrier force in the Early stages of the Pacific war, however it also played a key role in many other air forces and navies even before American involvement in the war, and to truly understand how Britain gained its Martlets, we have to start with France.
Shortly before the war broke out, the French had been looking to develop their carrier capability, at the time only having the outdated and obsolete aircraft carrier Béarn, this lead to the beginning of construction of a new class of 2 purpose built carriers, dubbed the Joffre-class, began construction in late 1938, the only issue then was that at the time, the best naval aircraft the French had was the Dewoitine D.373, an outdated design from early 1930s, and while newer naval aircraft were in development, in late 1939 the French decided to purchase 81 units of Grummans G-36 Aircraft (the company designation for the F4F, which at the time had not been ordered by the Americans), These variants differed from the standard design as they were to incorporate Wright R-1820-G205A radial engine instead of the export restrictions on the slightly better Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76 engine.
These aircraft were to initially be fitted with 6 x 7.5mm Darne Machine guns, a similar armament to many other french aircraft at the time, However before any of these aircraft could be delivered, the French capitulated in mid 1940 and like many other French orders, the British took over the deliveries of the G-36As for themselves. However there were some issues that had to be resolved, firstly the Armament was unsuitable for British use, as it used Weapons and Ammo of which production no lay in German hands, so the armament was quickly reverted to the original 4 x 12.7mm Machine guns, another issue was the fact the aircraft had been built with French Avionics and design principles (such as the inverted throttle movement). This meant that the cockpits had to be redesigned, which was allocated to be carried out by Blackburn in the UK, rather than in the US which allowed for easier integration of British Radio, Catapult and gunsights.
Despite the initial issues however, the Martlets were delivered to the UK on time with 71 units being delivered, plus another 10 units diverted from a Belgian order, in the end and being dubbed the Martlet Mk.I. The First aircraft was delivered in July 27 1940, a full month before the Americans received their first F4F-3s. Something to note is that very few Martlet Mk.Is featured Folding wings, a key part of naval aircraft, which constrained a lot of aircraft to land based squadrons, however there was an exception, 882 NAS aboard HMS Illustrious used 6 Martlet Mk.Is specially modified with Folding wings for easier storage in the carriers hangers.
Due to the Mk.Is rather rushed conversion, they encountered many issues, the Guns proved troublesome due to the wings having been made for the smaller 7.5mm guns, and the engine was found to overheat and sometimes cut quite commonly, and furthermore as stated above, many lacked folding wings which made carrier operations much more complicated. These problems lead most Martlets to be limited to Coastal defense squadrons, and as more capable units became available, they were reassigned to Training and familiarisation aircraft.
Images
Spoiler
A Martlet Mk.I during evaluations at Boscombe down
A preserved Martlet Mk.I being maintained at the FAA museum Yeovilton
Sub/Lt Eric “Winkle” Brown next to his Martlet Mk.I, He would go on to be the first person to land a Tricycle undercarriage aircraft on an aircraft carrier
This Martlet Mk.I, delivered in September 1940, was given to 759 Squadron, the Fleet Fighter School at Yeovilton.
Several Martlet Mk.Is of 804 NAS in flight
one of very few Photos of the G-36As in french markings, at this point no armament had been fitted
Specs/Armament
Spoiler
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 28 ft 9 in (8.76 m)
- Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
- Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
- Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m2)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 23015; tip: NACA 23009
- Empty weight: 4,907 lb (2,226 kg)
- Gross weight: 7,423 lb (3,367 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-1820-G205A radial engine, 1,200 hp (890 kW)
- Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 331 mph (533 km/h, 288 kn)
- Range: 845 mi (1,360 km, 734 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,303 ft/min (11.70 m/s)
- Wing loading: 28.5 lb/sq ft (139 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.282 kW/kg (0.172 hp/lb)
Armament
Guns
- 4 x 12.7mm Machine guns (300 Rounds per gun)
Place in game
Spoiler
I feel this would fit well around Rank 1 or 2 of the British tree, to help fill out the currently rather lackluster lineup of British naval aircraft around that BR, Personally I would place it between the Sea Hurricane Mk.IB and IC, to begin to bridge the gap between 2.0 and 3.0 in that line.
This variant, whilst very similar to the F4F-3 in the American Tree may have to be at a slightly lower BR, due to its worse engine overheating more and therefore outputting less power than its American counterparts, potentially dropping its BR to 2.0, where it would provide an alternative to the Sea Hurricane at that BR.
Sources
