{"product_id":"hobby-master-f6f-5-ha1110","title":"Hobby Master HA1110 1:72 F6F-5 Hellcat, VF-17 \"Jolly Rogers\" USS Hornet (CV-12) 1945","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn April 4, 1944 the new F6F-5 took to the air. It was a much improved version of the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eF4F Wildcat. The designers gave the new plane a redesigned engine cowl for the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eengine that was now water-injected. The injection increased take off performance by\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e10% and increased the armament capabilities. Production of the F6F-5 lasted until\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNovember 1945 when Grumman had rolled out more than 900 “5”s. The UK received\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003esome of these aircraft under the Lend-Lease Act and they were designated Hellcat Mk.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eII. This plane was so lethal that it earned the nickname “Ace Maker” because of the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003elarge number of pilots that earned their 5 + victories while flying it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Jolly Rogers began during World War II as Fighter Squadron 17 (VF-17) on\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJanuary 1, 1943. The squadron was one of the first navy squadrons to fly the Vought\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eF4U Corsair fighter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBecause their plane was called Corsair, VF-17's men wanted a squadron name that\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewould correspond with that pirate theme. They came up with the now-famous black flag\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewith white skull and crossbones symbol and decided on the name Jolly Rogers. The\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJolly Rogers painted their new logo on the sides of the engine cowling, not under the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecockpit as tradition called for, so it wouldn't clutter up the fuselage where their kill\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003emarkings would later be painted. Thus, the legend was born. In October 1943 VF-17\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewas made a land based squadron because they still flew the Corsair and the safety of\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethese planes carrier operations was in question. April 10, 1944 the original VF-17\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003estands down and the CO is re-assigned. Under a new CO VF-17 began its second tour\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebut this time on aboard USS Hornet and flying the F6F Hellcat. They first flew the F6F\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eon strikes against Tokyo on February 16 1945. On March 18, 1945 over Kanoya and\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApril 16, 1945 near Okinawa the Jolly Rogers scored 31 victories each day. VF-17\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003emanaged to score a total of 161 victories and made 12 aces while flying the Hellcat.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe combined score for both tours brought the total to 313 narrowly beating the single\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003edeployment record of 30 held by VF-15.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hobby Master","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43750467436771,"sku":"7015","price":149.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0632\/5000\/6243\/products\/hobby-master-ha1110-172-f6f-5-hellcat-vf-17-jolly-rogers-uss-hornet-cv-12-1945-212543.jpg?v=1738273283","url":"https:\/\/www.mtsaviationmodels.com\/de\/products\/hobby-master-f6f-5-ha1110","provider":"MTS Aviation Models","version":"1.0","type":"link"}