Douglas SBD Dauntlesses, Grumman TBF/TBM Avengers and F6F-3 Hellcats, as well as a sole Vought F4U-2 Corsair, of Air Group Six are ranged forward aboard the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CV-11) during - February 1944. The Intrepid was hit by a torpedo on the night of February 17 and had to withdraw to the USA for repairs.

Lieutenant (junior grade) Alex Vraciu proudly displays nine rising-sun emblems on his F6F Hellcat, each depicting an aerial victory, including three Zekes and a Rufe floatplane fighter downed during operations over Truk.

Hell in the Pacific - US Navy Grumman Hellcats, Avengers and Curtiss Helldivers prepare for a strike on the Empire of the Rising Sun in the Pacific in early 1944.

После успешных ударов по Труку самолеты F6F-3 Hellcat садятся на палубу "Энтерпрайза". В годы Второй мировой войны Hellcat уничтожили около 6000 самолетов противника, им принадлежит почти 75% воздушных побед авиации ВМС США.
The snarling Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engines of the Grumman F6F Hellcats of US Navy squadron VF-10 were captured by an official war photographer as the fighters returned to the USS Enterprise after escorting an Air Group Ten strike on Truk during Operation Hailstone, one of the most significant air operations of the Pacific War. Eugene Valencia, a pilot with Hellcat unit VF-9, said on his return from a raid on Truk: "Those Grummans are beautiful aeroplanes; if they could cook I’d marry one!”

Two VF-10 Hellcat pilots head back to the ready-room after returning from a mission over Truk. The unit was activated in June 1942 with Grumman F4F Wildcats, and completed its first combat tour aboard the Enterprise at Guadalcanal during 1942-43. Re-equipping with F6Fs, the unit rejoined the ship and sailed for the South Pacific.

A Hellcat of VF-9 prepares to launch from the USS Essex to escort Air Group Nine’s Dauntlesses and Avengers to Truk. Hellcat pilots reported that at speeds above 200kt the F6F could match the Zero in manoeuvrability and that, when hit, the Japanese aircraft burned quickly.

Even in the heat of battle the US Navy made sure official war photographers were on hand to document the action. One of numerous excellent images captured during the raid on Truk, this example shows a deck handler directing forward a VB-10 Dauntless with a 500 lb bomb under the fuselage, for launch from the Enterprise.

A Mitsubishi A6M Zero (Allied reporting name Zeke) is caught in the gunsight of a US Navy Hellcat during the fighter sweep over Truk on the first morning of Operation Hailstone.

Bob Jones climbs out of his Avenger on the Enterprise having been mauled by a Zeke; note the bullet holes in the leading edge of the TBF’s wing.