"Pjmac35" wrote in message
...
The Hellcat was originally to have been named Gannet in Royal Navy
service, this one lingered on in storage at Lossiemouth until the CO had
it brought to flying condition for use as a hack. Strictly speaking, it
should have been returned to the USA under the terms of Lend-Lease, but
the paperwork must have got mislaid! When this photo was taken, in the
60s, it shared gate-guardian duties with the Fulmar in the background,
both of them, I believe, now in the FAA Museum at Yeovilton. I understand
the only reason this Fulmar survived was because it was in fact the
prototype and never entered sercice with the Navy, being used as a
runabout by the Fairey company. Another fortuitous accident!


Are you sure that's not an F6? It looks like the wheels retract into the
wings, that would eliminate the F4. Maybe it's just the angle, but I
thought the F4's wheels retracted into the fuse, just ahead of the wing root
area.........can someone correct me on this??

Bruce