F4F-3

F4F-3

F2A-3

F4F-4

F4F-3

F2A-3

F4F-4

USA

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.7	2.3	3.0

Class:

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:9 200

Purchase:16 000

Show in game

This page is about the American naval fighter F4F-3. For other versions, see F4F (Family).

Description

The F4F-3 Wildcat is a rank II American fighter with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB), 2.3 (RB), and 3.0 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

The Wildcat is a beast when piloted well. Its strengths lie in its firepower and diving ability, but it also has the ability to outmanoeuvre most aircraft in War Thunder. This gives you numerous options when dogfighting.

The F4F-3 Wildcat is a good all-around fighter, though its top speed and rate of climb are lacking. It is good to go head-on with opponents from other nations as their aircraft won't be able to withstand the damage that the Wildcat can deal, and the good protection for your pilot added to the overall resilience of the aircraft gives it some pretty impressive defence.

General info

Flight performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 5,800 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
499	482	12000	19.9	20.7	12.7	12.7	210
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 5,800 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
540	518	12000	18.0	18.9	18	15.1	210

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		420	~13	~4

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 300	< 330	< 350	> 335

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,158 m	1,100 hp	1,210 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,444 m	1,090 hp	1,199 hp
Setting 3
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
5,608 m	1,040 hp	N/A

Survivability and armour

• 6.35 mm steel- behind pilot's body
• 8 mm steel - behind pilot's head
• 38 mm bulletproof glass - armoured windscreen

Armaments

Offensive armament

The F4F-3 is armed with:

• 4 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, wing-mounted (450 rpg = 1,800 total)

Suspended armament

The F4F-3 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs (200 lb total)

Usage in battles

The Wildcat is an easy plane to fly. It is very manoeuvrable and well-armed for its class. You can out turn pretty much all German and Russian aircraft, but beware that you don't get sucked into a turn fight with any of the Japanese planes and especially the British Spitfire.

The Wildcat will have a hard time downing planes simply because it has only 4 machine guns, you will often get matched with the Bf 109 E-3 and F-1 which have powerful cannons and a very good turn rate. The best way to use this plane is to BnZ since most of your opponents are less armoured and are slower. You can also out turn some of the Russian aircraft, but you cannot simply dive away, as you may rip the wings off.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 3 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		Mk.41
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 12 mm MGs
IV		Engine injection	Cover

• The unlock of the module Mk.41 will allow the F4F-3 to mount two 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• More than adequate turn rate
• Decent armament with loads of ammo, 4 wing-mounted .50 calibre with 450 rpg
• Almost never overheats, even when holding down WEP
• Decent roll rate
• Can carry bombs
• Can take some damage
• Good Pilot Protection
• Good dive speed and characteristic
• Can fly with a red engine (AB)

Cons:

• The F4F-3 is a rather sluggish climber, doing 15 degrees at most
• Terrible at head-ons, due to the exposed engine being a target and the guns being wing-mounted
• Most of the flammable components are stored in the front of the plane, near the pilot
• Only 4 x .50 cal, somehow inadequate compared to the P-40
• Bad cockpit rear visibility (SB)

History

During the early years WW2, the United States' main fighter in its navy was the F4F Wildcat, one of the first monoplane navy fighters of its era. It served well in many battles, like the battle for Wake Island, and most notably in the battle of Guadalcanal. It was a very reliable aircraft, however, was constantly challenged by the infamous A6M2 and A6M3 Zero. However, most of the time skilled pilots like John Smith were able to out-dogfight more manoeuvrable fighters like the Zero and Oscar in those battles.

In-game description

The first model, the XF4F-1, was a biplane, but to meet the demands of U.S. Navy's carrier-based monoplane competition, the Grumman Company changed the design, creating the XF4F-2 prototype. Due to a number of defects in the XF4F-2, a competing firm won instead with the Brewster F2A Buffalo. However, the F4F had potential and was sent back for revision. The next model was superior to the Buffalo, and the other new versions of the Buffalo did not satisfy the requirements of the fleet, so in August of 1939, Grumman received an order for the first series of F4F-3 Wildcats.

The F4F-3 was a single-engine all-metal plane with midwing construction, armed with four 12.7 mm M-2 Browning machine guns. Because of its lack of manoeuvrability, the F4F-3 lost to the Japanese fighter in close dogfights, so pilots prefer to avoid such situations by diving out of battle, taking advantage of their aircraft's higher speed.

The Wildcat had only one major drawback - the landing gear extension system. In order to release or retract the landing gear, the pilot had to crank a mechanical hoist handle 29 times, which was difficult given the need to direct the aircraft and start climbing after takeoff.

The Wildcat was exported to Greece, Britain and Canada.

All in all, 7251 F4Fs (including all variants) were constructed, including 285 F4F-3s.

Media

• 

  Updated image of the F4F-3.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.