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    This page documents a history of a specific aircraft. The details provided vary from aircraft to aircraft and are dependent on the research and amount of data uploaded to the Aerial Visuals database.

    Airframe Family: Grumman F6F Hellcat
    Latest Model:F6F-3 Hellcat
    Last Military Serial:66237 USN
    Construction Number:A-1257
    Compressed ID:Grumman F6F-3 sn 66237 USN cn A-125...
    Latest Owner or Location:Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum, Lower Township, NJ

    EDIT THE HISTORY HERE    		 If you can add to the history or would like to submit a correction please use the editor to do so.

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    Dates

    Event

    Constructed as a F6F-3.

    Circa October 1943

    Taken on Strength/Charge with the United States Navy with BuNo 66237.

    Circa October 1943

    Transferred to Fighting Squadron 20 (VF-20), NAS San Diego, CA.

    12 January 1944

    Crashed.
    Ditched in Pacific Ocean 12 miles off San Diego, California.

    1970

    Discovered by Lockheed Ocean Laboratorys research submarine Deep Quest.

    9 October 1970

    Recovered from depth of 3400ft by USN.

    10 October 1970

    NAS North Island, CA: standing on gear, unrestored.

    1972

    Placed on display with San Diego Air and Space Museum, CA.

    1974

    Placed on display with Pima County Air Museum, Tucson, AZ.
    Open display, unrestored.

    Circa 1974


    Photographer: Larry Johnson
    Notes: At Pima Museum

    Circa 1974


    Photographer: Larry Johnson

    March 1990


    Photographer: Tom Tessier
    Notes: At Pima Air Museum, AZ

    1992

    To National Naval Aviation Museum, NAS Pensacola, Pensacola, FL.
    View the Location Dossier

    1992

    Transported by ground.
    Moved from Pima to Jacksonville, FL for restoration.

    From 1992 to By 2003

    Restored.
    Markings Applied: 7
    Restored by Roy Stafford of Herlong, FL, using parts salvaged from F6F drones at NAS San Nicholas Island, CA. Painted in the markings of a Hellcat assigned to USS Cabot (CVL-28) to Fighting Squadron 31 (VF-31).

    11 September 2003


    Photographer: Glenn Chatfield

    8 October 2012


    Photographer: Glenn Chatfield

    8 October 2012


    Photographer: Glenn Chatfield

    8 October 2012


    Photographer: Glenn Chatfield

    19 April 2019

    To Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum, Lower Township, NJ.
    This dossier is waiting for review by an editor.This airframe dossier was started by a contributor.
    An preliminary review of the submitted data is pending.
    If you can verify the documented history or add to it with additional text and/or photos please feel free to do so by using the upload tool and the history editor.
    Credits
     Data for airframe dossiers come from various sources. The following were used to compile this dossier...
    Internet Sources
     Aviation History Site by Geoff Goodall
    Pacific Wrecks
    United States Military Services Serial Number Lists by Joe Baugher
    Individual Contributors
     Glenn Chatfield
    Adam Estes
    Matt Maranto
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