General Motors (Eastern Aircraft Division) FM-2 Wildcat - Seattle, WA
N 47° 31.153 W 122° 17.856
10T E 552880 N 5263104
One of many static aircraft displays located at the Museum of Flight at King County International Airport. Admission fees apply.
Waymark Code: WMVJMW
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 04/25/2017
Views: 6
Located at the Museum of Flight are a large number of static aircraft on display. One of them is a Aeronca L-3B Grasshopper. The Museum of Flight website contains a
page devoted to this aircraft and it reads:
Designed in 1939, the Grumman Wildcat was America's most capable naval fighter in the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. By exploiting its advantages of firepower and armor, and using advanced tactics, the Wildcat competed successfully against the faster and more agile Japanese Zero.
The Grumman Aircraft Company suspended Wildcat production in May of 1943 to concentrate on producing the new F6F Hellcat. The Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors also built Wildcats as the FM-1 and FM-2. This aircraft is an FM-2 with the more powerful Wright Cyclone R-1820 engine.
This aircraft loan courtesy of the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida.
A nearby placard highlights this Wildcat FM-2 in more detail and reads:
This Museum's FM-2 was delivered to the Navy in 1944,
and served aboard the escort carrier U.S.S. Petrof Bay
(CVE 80). This aircraft participated in the invasion of Okinawa,
and often flew anti-kamikaze patrols.