The Wildcat was the front line fighter of the American Navy at the start of WWII against the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Zero. The Mitsubishi A6M Zero had a significant advantage in performance compare to F4F wildcat (at turning, climbing, and combat range). In a dogfight, Wildcat does not have a matched move for Zero’s. At the beginning of the war, Zero dominant the dogfight (and psychic) against Wildcat. However, when Wildcat met Zero during the Battle of Midway, the favor was on the American side. A tactic that helps Wildcat to win the dogfight thus became legendary.
To understand this, we have to go back almost exactly one year before the Battle of Midway.
In the summer of 1941, six months before the war, American’s Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3) was undergoing the conversion with the newly received aircraft, Wildcat. Later that summer, the Squadron leader Lieutenant Commander John Smith “Jimmy” Thach learned from a report published in 22 September 1941 of the extraordinary maneuverability and climb rate of Zero. To prepare his fellow pilots for the war and have a chance facing Zero, Thach studied and tested dogfight tactics. He has looked at every tactic during the night and tested them in their flight training the next day. For many nights and days, the test evaluation did not look good. One night working with matchsticks on the table, he eventually came up with a promising plan with paired airplanes, instead of a one-on-one tactic. The next day, this tactic was put into test with his then wingman Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare. To simulate the test, the defending aircraft was Wildcat with their throttles wired (to restrict its performance), while the attacking aircraft had an unrestricted performance. The test result is stunning. The weave fly pattern tactic by paired defending aircraft could always check each other’s tail. When on the tail of one defending plane, the attacking aircraft is under the fire path of another defending plane. The tactic is especially suited for Wildcat since Wildcat is equipped with armor and a sealed fuel tank is much more durable than Zero which does not have armor and sealed fuel tank.
On the morning of June 4, 1992, at Midway, Thach led six of his VF-3 Wildcats escorting a strike from USS Yorktown. They were met with 15 to 20 Japanese fighters (among 42 Zeros in the air). They were outnumbered and outmaneuvered. One of Wildcat was shorted downright way that left only one wingman who had trained with the newly developed tactic (Navy had ordered the first ace pilot Edward “Butch” O’Hare stateside during this time). Thach started to fly “Weave”. He shot down 3 Zeros and a wingman short down another, a four to one victory for Wildcat. That tactic did work in a real dogfight with Zero. The tactic, Thach called “Beam Defense Position”, is forever known as “Thach Weave” and it remains a useful tactic even in the 21st century.
From inferior to wining dogfight, it’s a story of never give up; never being intimidated; combining own strength to turning the odds. A classic of making an impossible possible.
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Main wing
Base
Grumman F4F Wildcat Fighter.
Thach Weave-The Wildcat Story:
Forward fuselage
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4D model template of Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat.
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Famous Ace pilot of F4F Wildcat include:
- LCDR John Smith “Jimmy” Thach with 6 credited kills.
- Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare, the Navy’s first flying ace. Named in his honor: the Navy destroyer USS O’Hare and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Related 4D model:
Brewster F2A Buffalo
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(follow video may contain depictions of violence, viewer discretion is advised.)
Story of F4F Wildcat. F4F wild cat Dogfight at Guadalcannal.
Top piece/wing
(Note: The movie title misspelled Thach as "Thatch". However, the first half of the movie has a good demo for "Thach Weave")
4D model template of Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat. (Skill index 7)
Final assemble
Butch O'Hare/F4F-3 Wildcat exhibition, O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL, USA
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F4F wildcat became the navy’s standard fighter during the first half of the WWII, and although it was inferior to its direct adversary (the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Reisen), it played this difficult role until 1943, when more powerful aircraft, such as Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair, entered front line service. However, the production of Wildcat remained active from 1939 until August 1945.
The F4F project originated as a biplane (G-16, given the navy designation XF4F-1). However, the US Navy favored a monoplane design, the Brewster F2A-1, and kept the Grumman XF4F-1 project as a backup. It was clear to Grumman that the XF4F-1 would be inferior to the Brewster monoplane, so Grumman abandoned the XF4F-1, designing instead a new monoplane fighter, the XF4F-2. The monoplane design XF4F-2 was marginally faster, but the Buffalo was more maneuverable. The F2A Buffalo, therefore, become the first Navy monoplane. After losing out to Brewster, Grumman completely rebuilt the prototype as the XF4F-3 with new wings and tail and a supercharged radial engine. Testing of the new XF4F-3 led to an order for F4F-3 production models.
To against a superior A6M Zero, USN Commander “Jimmy” Thach devised a defensive strategy that allowed Wildcat formations to act in a coordinated maneuver to counter a diving attack, called the “Thach Weave”. This tactic was first revealed during the battle of Midway and caused 4 kills of Zero.
Fighter aircraft,
First flight: September 2, 1937,
Introduction: December 1940,
Retired: 1945,
Production: 7,885
Engine cover-forward
4D model template of Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat. (version 2.0) (Skill index 7)
Cockpit
Main frame
4D model template of Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat.
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Tail wing