[Llarry]

Early December of 1941 and Grumman was already producing F4F Wildcats at a decent clip. Of course, the rate of production would increase sharply after war started.

This interesting photo shows F4F fuselages stacked compactly in the Grumman factory at Bethpage just before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The F4F carrier fighter would have to do for the first 18 months of the war against formidable opposition from the Japanese type Zero fighter. The Vought F4U Corsair was already flying but having difficulties and the Grumman F6F Hellcat existed only in preliminary drawings.