M50 · Later institutional aircraft history

Wildcat development and folding wings

The distinction between fixed-wing F4F-3 and folding-wing F4F-4.

Author
National Naval Aviation Museum
Date
Undated collection page · checked 18 October 2026
Passage
F4F-3 collection page · passage on the F4F-4 wing-folding mechanism

What has been checked

Relevant museum text read in indexed page content on 18 October 2026. Original design and acceptance records not inspected.

How to read it

Only the variant distinction is used. Broad production, capacity and performance claims are not used as dated Midway returns; the museum object is an F4F-3.

Read the museum’s Wildcat account ↗ (new tab)

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Photograph

Enlarged historical photograph

Web copy resized and compressed; original framing retained. Open image file ↗