[R Leonard]

And no, neither VOF-1 nor VF-74 encountered any German fighters in Operation Dragoon, this the only USN F6F combat operations in the the ETO.

There were no encounters between FAA F4Us and German fighters, though FAA F4Us served as high cover in the Operation Mascot strikes on Tirpitz. USN F4U squadrons only saw combat action in the Pacific theaters.

The only encounter, fighters-vs-fighters, involving F6Fs and German adversaries, of which I am aware, occurred on 8 May 1944. F6F's from the Fleet Air Arm's No. 800 Squadron (Lieut Comdr SJ Hall, DSC, RN), off HMS Emperor, while escorting a flight of Barracudas was attacked by a mixed group of Me 109's and FW 190's. Two F6F's were lost, one, probably, to anti-aircraft fire (one source indicates that both F6Fs were lost in a mid-air collision, not to any German fire of any kind); the Germans lost 2 Me 109's and one FW 190. The FW 190 was claimed by Sub-Lieut Ritchie. Luftwaffe losses in the area for this date were noted as three 109G’s, # 14697 (Ofw Otto) and #10347 (Uffz Brettin) both from 10/JG5, and another from 8/JG5 # unknown piloted by Fw Berger; there no record of an FW 190 loss. On the Luftwaffe side, Uffz Hallstick claimed two F6Fs and Ltn Prenzler claimed one.

There was at least one other instance of FM-2 operating off HMS Searcher going up against Me 109Gs in March 1945, being bounced by the Germans while escorting a TBM strike, and apparently coming out of the fracas in better shape than their German adversaries.

As has been noted, encounters were few, certainly not enough to provide data for any sort of statistcally based conclusion, but annecdotally, Hellcats and the Wildcats tended to come off well against their German opponents.

Rich