|
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
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Admiral Nimitz State Historic Park | Fredericksburg | Texas |
| Cavanaugh Flight Museum | Addison | Texas |
| Fantasy of Flight | Polk City | Florida |
| Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum | Kalamazoo | Michigan |
| Lone Star Flight Museum | Galveston | Texas |
| MCAS El Toro Historical Foundation | Irvine | California |
| National Museum of Naval Aviation | NAS Pensacola | Florida |
| New England Air Museum | Windsor Locks | Connecticut |
| Planes of Fame Air Museum | Eden Prairie | Minnesota |
| The Air Museum "Planes of Fame" | Chino | California |
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
