The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy’s dominant fighter in the second half of the Pacific War. The Hellcat competed with the faster Vought F4U Corsair for that role and prevailed, as the Corsair had significant issues with carrier landings. The Corsair instead was primarily deployed to great effect in land-based use by the U.S. Marine Corps. The Hellcat belongs to the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon.

The Erickson Collection’s Hellcat was acquired in October 2017. This aircraft is an F6F-5N night fighter version that was initially delivered to the US navy in July 1945. It never saw combat in WWII and remained in service until the 1950’s, when it was declared surplus. The aircraft was acquired by Lone Star Flight Museum in 1986 and restored to airworthy condition by Steve Picatti, arriving in 1989.