Hobby Master Air Power Series 1/32 Scale 

HA0306 F6F-5 "Death & Destruction" BuNo 72534, VF-83, USS Essex, May 1945

Limited Edition of 80 (Re-issue)

PRE-ORDER - EXPECT RELEASE Aug 2026 - PRICE £194.99 includes free UK P&P - RRP £215.99

Reserve this model with a £1 deposit today, with the balance due upon receipt of stock.

The F6F Hellcat was basically designed as the "Zero Killer". It could fly about an average 55 mph faster than the Zero and it was heavier and more powerful than the Zero. The Hellcat also had the highest kill ratio of any American fighter plane during WWII (19 to1). US Navy pilots referred the Hellcat as the "Aluminum Tank".

Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat “Death & Destruction” Bu.No 72534 White 115 belonged to VF-83 onboard the USS Essex that between March 23 and May 28, 1945 was assigned to assist in the invasion of Okinawa. F6F-5 “Death & Destruction” had mostly been shared by three pilots, McPherson, Kingston and Ward but it was on May 4, 1945 when Task Force 58 was attacked by a concentration of Kamikaze that Ward downed three Alf’s (Kawanishi E7K) and an Oscar (Nakajima Ki-43). All three of these pilots would achieve ACE status.