WW2 Pacific Treasures: The Hellcat of the Solomons, by Andrew Hamilton

The Hellcat Wreck is one of the most accessible airplane wrecks in the Solomons. The wreck is upright, intact and in just 9m of clear water.

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat.

The Hellcat became the Navy’s dominant fighter in the second part of World War II, a position it did not relinquish.

The Hellcat was best known for its role as a rugged, well-designed carrier fighter which was able to counter the Mitsubishi A6M Zero and help secure air superiority over the Pacific.

Such was the quality of the basic simple, straightforward design, that the Hellcat was the least modified fighter of the war, with a total of 12,200 being built in just over two years.

The wreck sits on the broken branching coral surrounded by fine branching coral. This means no silty sediment which means great visibility. One of the most accessible airplane wrecks in the Solomons.