The U.S. Navy accepted this FM-1 Wildcat on July 21, 1943, and it operated almost entirely from Naval Air Station Norman, Oklahoma. After thirteen months of service, the Navy struck the fighter from the active roster and placed it in storage. It was transferred to NASM in 1960. In 1974, Grumman Aerospace Corporation agreed to restore this Wildcat for exhibit in the new National Air and Space Museum.
Grumman F4F-4
(FM-1) Wildcat
The F4F Wildcat was the U.S. Navy's most widely used carrier-based fighter during the early days of the war in the Pacific. F4Fs saw action first at Wake Island and then took part in the battles for the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. Their ratio of victories to losses during World War II was 6.9:1.