Hellcat

Back in the 1980s, Crown Publishers put out a series of coffee-table books on WW II warbirds (P-51, Me 109, Spit, FW 190, etc.) written by various authors and featuring the exquisite artwork of Rikyu Watanabe. This 1981 release, a salute to Grumman's brutish war-winning Hellcat, combined the talents of Watanabe and David Anderton.

In 58 pages, Anderton charts the development and combat history of the F6F. The Hellcat destroyed over 5,100 Japanese aircraft, compiling a never-to-be topped kill-loss ratio of 19-to-1. Anderton's text is clear, concise and entertaining.

The major draw in this and the other Crown books, however, was Watanabe's artwork…and it's magnificent as always. HELLCAT features several gatefolds, one of which - a triple-gatefold, color side profile of a VF-27 F6F - folds out to over three feet in length! Double-gatefolds of the F4F and F8F are also included as is a four-page gatefold showing the major USN and IJN aircraft of World War II, a triple-gatefold of the USS Yorktown, a six-view of an F6F-3, F4F three-view, F6F-5 cutaway, etc.

Despite the preeminent role the F6F played in World War II, it never received the historic coverage it deserved. While not definitive, the Anderton/Watanabe volume presents a comprehensive and wonderfully vivid portrait of this legendary fighter.