The Wildcat was the main shipboard fighter when the US entered WWII. The F4F was barrel-shaped, with angular wingtips and rudder and a narrow-track undercarriage. The F4F was well-armed and reliable, and was a natural shipboard aircraft, probably easier to land on a carrier deck than on land. The F4F never had a operational speed limitation.
The F4F had hydraulic wing folding,The US Navy orders totaled 1169 F4F-4s. It had replaced the F4F-3 by August 1942.
