Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat “White 19” Baseball T-Shirt

The older F4F Wildcat had demonstrated the need for an aircraft to exceed the abilities of the Japanese Zero, the newly designed Hellcat became the U.S. Navy carrier fighter. It had improved rate of climb, more speed, & most important, the turning circle necessary to stay with a Zero in dogfights, had greater range than the Zero & could fly 30 mph faster, all accomplished with a weight that is almost double that of the lightly built Japanese plane. After the war, Japanese pilots related their fear of the Hellcat each time they engaged it in combat. This aircraft is in the colours of Lt. Eugene Valencia, an American Ace who notched up 23 victories (3rd highest on Hellcats).