FM-2 Wildcat VI

[rbp71854]

Anybody have a FM-2 Wildcat VI vintage 1944 livery suitable for service on an escort carrier? Seems Hellcats were deemed to large and heavy for an escort carrier.

 

[Pat Pattle]

Do you have a particular squadron I mind?

 

[rbp71854]

VC-91 on Kitkin Bay or Probably cv-10 on Gambier Bay would be the best as they had to divert to Tacloban airfield when the carrier was sunk.
October 1944, the USN Carrier Gambier Bay is lost during the Battle off Samar forcing many of its air fleet to divert either to other carriers or to the Army airfield at Tacloban on Leyte in the Philippines.

VC10 squadron continued to operate for a short time from the muddy Philippine air strips. Here a joint crew of Navy and Army mechanics try to fix an issue with the external fuel tank linkage on one of the FM-2s.

 

[Thudman]

FM-2 with the two stripes on the vertical is from one of the Sangamon class carriers (Taffy 1) after it was hit by Japanese attacks and diverted to Tacloban also

 

[rbp71854]

Here are some more pics of vc-10 and tacloban airfield.

FM-2 Wildcat VC-10 aboard CVE-73 USS Gambier Bay 6th Nov 1944

Asisbiz article about Ford FM-2 Wildcat from the USN's VC-10 coded 'White B27' and named Smokey's Lucky Witch operated from CVE-73 USS Gambier Bay 1944

www.asisbiz.com

 

[Pat Pattle]

Thanks for the info gents, a bit to work on there!

This one is an FM2 from USS Fanshaw Bay. I'll upload shortly. It should only have the 2 outer guns on each wing apparently and a few other details, but without a source file I can't correct it.

 

[Hiede]

Gramps model is probably the same as the CFS2 model,if so if there are CFS2 skins for it they may work for his CFS3 model.I know the CFS3 skins for his SBD-5 work fine in CFS2,You just need to change the skin format.

Hiede