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General Motors (Eastern Aircraft Div.) FM-2 'Wildcat'

Description
  Manufacturer:General Motors (Eastern Aircraft Div.)
  Base model:FM
  Designation:FM
  Version:-2
  Nickname:Wildcat
  Designation System:U.S. Navy / Marines
  Designation Period:1922-1962
  Basic role:Fighter

Specifications
  Length: 28' 11" 8.8 m
  Height:9' 11" 3.0 m
  Wingspan: 38' 0" 11.5 m
  Wingarea: 260.0 sq ft 24.1 sq m
  Empty Weight: 5,448 lb 2,470 kg
  Gross Weight: 7,487 lb 3,395 kg
  Max Weight: 8,271 lb 3,751 kg

Propulsion
  No. of Engines: 1
  Powerplant: Wright R-1820-56WA
  Horsepower (each): 1350

Performance
  Range: 900 miles 1,449 km
  Cruise Speed: 164 mph 264 km/h 142 kt
  Max Speed: 332 mph 534 km/h 288 kt
  Climb: 3,650 ft/min 1,112 m/min
  Ceiling: 34,700 ft 10,576 m

Known serial numbers
15952 / 16791, 46838 / 47437, 55050 / 55649, 56684 / 57083, 73499 / 75158, 86297 / 86973

Examples of this type may be found at
MuseumCityState
Admiral Nimitz State Historic ParkFredericksburgTexas
Cavanaugh Flight MuseumAddisonTexas
Fantasy of FlightPolk CityFlorida
Kalamazoo Aviation History MuseumKalamazooMichigan
Lone Star Flight MuseumGalvestonTexas
MCAS El Toro Historical FoundationIrvineCalifornia
National Museum of Naval AviationNAS PensacolaFlorida
New England Air MuseumWindsor LocksConnecticut
Planes of Fame Air MuseumEden PrairieMinnesota
The Air Museum "Planes of Fame"ChinoCalifornia

FM-2 on display

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Fantasy of Flight

Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum

Lone Star Flight Museum

National Museum of Naval Aviation

The Air Museum "Planes of Fame"
   


 

Recent comments by our visitors
 Richard Herbst
 , FL
The FM-2 was preceded by the FM-1 and built at GM's converted Linden, NJ plant. It was an assembly point for Buicks, Oldmobiles and Pontiacs until Grumman needed to offload manufacturing the F4F to build a production line for F6Fs.

The FM-2, as I recall (not personally) was referred to as The Wilder Wildcat.
02/27/2008 @ 12:56 [ref: 19795]
 John D. Voss
 , CA
To my knowledge the FM-2 was never used by the USMC. Can anyone verify this factoid? I have seen references to USMC FM-1 usage(equiv to the F4F-3)but that appears to be the last model of the Wildcat used by the Marines.
05/21/2007 @ 15:10 [ref: 16554]
 Greg Wood
 Orange Park FL, FL
Very minor photo correction. First picture 1 of 12 below pictures a formation of P-47A Thunderbolts vs Wildcats.
Great site getting better everyday ....

08/18/2005 @ 10:44 [ref: 11016]
 Aaron F. Robinson
 Wilmington, NC
There Is an FM-2 In the film `Midway` and It`s very strange.The American fighters in the Movie Were FM-2s instead of the F4F-3,F4F-4,or F2A Buffalo.The FM-2 Over Midway were dark gray instead of the light blue scheme.Anyone have a picture of an FM-2 From the Film `Midway`?????
04/17/2005 @ 09:17 [ref: 9974]

 

Recent photos uploaded by our visitors