The 2200hp F6F Hellcat made its massive presence in the Pacific theatre felt in a big way. It accounted for about 75% of all US carrier-based victories - some 5,000 enemy aircraft falling to its cannon.

The Hellcat was a strong all-round fighter, effective at any altitude and must be considered to be one of the most successful carrier based aircraft of all time. Hellcats were also operated in the European theatre and with the British Fleet Air Arm, as well as the US Navy and Marine Corps.

TFC's Hellcat, built in 1943, is the only one flying outside of America and appears in the colours of US Navy ace Lt Alex Vraciu who flew this particular aircraft as part of the Navy Fighting squadron VF-6, accounting for nine enemy aircraft in the process.

With only 115.7 hours of flying time on the clock, the machine was retired from service with VF-6, and was despatched to the newly formed VF-18 who were training at Hilo in the Hawiian Islands, wearing the same markings as she can be seen in today.

Another two hundred hours were put on her with VF-18 in the hands of many pilots who were later to become Navy Air aces - but for some inexplicable reason she was retired with only 318 flying hours on her, and transferred to the Naval Air Technical Training College (NATTC) in Chicago on the 29th August 1944.

The machine and Alex Vraciu were once again reunited on a Bond Fund raising tour based at the NATTC, but Alex was to cut the tour short after persuading Navy chiefs to return him to the action in the Pacific.

After the war, the NATTC was closed and gave way to the Chicago vocational training school. The aircraft continued to serve as a training aid in the same location for the following twenty years, after which time it was acquired by a US collector called Earl Rienert and was placed on display as part of his collection - in the open on the airstrip at Mundelein in Illiois.

The aircraft moved to the Planes of Fame after acquisition by Ed Maloney, but was quickly moved on to Tom Friedkin, whose own F6F had been destroyed in a crash. The identity of the TFC aircraft was altered to that of Friedkins original machine at this time to keep the paperwork simple.

Restoration work on the machine was started in California but, on the 1st of August 1990, she arrived in the UK at Southampton docks for the task of restoration to be completed by TFC.

Following completion, the Hellcat established itself as a favourite with our many American visitors, even being reunited again with the man who flew her to nine victories, and ended the war with a further ten - Alex Vraciu.

She has appeared at a large number of airshows around Europe, and usually features in Pacific 'set pieces' with the Corsair, or collections of Grumman aircraft, along with the Bearcats, Tigercat and Wildcat.

Winter maintenance during 1997 to 1998 has seen the 18 cylinders removed from the engine of the aircraft pending a rebuild of the 'upper' portion of the engine.

Oil leaks and high internal oil consumption pointed to engine problems which needed correction before they were allowed to get too serious. Hopefully, once rebuilt, the engine will continue to haul this big aeroplane around the UK skies for many show seasons to come.