Barrett Tillman. Hellcat Aces of World War 2 . , Osprey Publishing, 1996.

Whilst Wildcat pilots of the US Navy and Marine Coupe ween junt manag ing to hold their own in the Pacific as the final months of 1942 slipped away, Grumman was hastily push ing its new fleet fighter through its test programme. This company shat shows second prototype XFGF-3 BuNo 029823 ou a test flight over upstate New York in late October 1942 (Aerospace Publishing! As this photograph clearly shows, the first production aircraft completed at Bethpage by Grumman were finished at the factory in the Blue Grey (FS 36118) over Light Grey (FS 36440) scheme. This anonymous early-build F6F-3 is undergoing carri-er trials aboard an equally unidenti-fiable carrier in 1943 (Jerry Scutts)