FM-2 Wildcat’s in the North Atlantic

[Skinny_Mike]

Hi guys - I’m trying to figure out how to arm my Eduard FM-2 for the North Atlantic ASW mission. I’m having a hard time finding any information about how they were used and armed. Did they just carry external drop tanks or did they carry rockets as well? There seems to be lots of info on the late war wildcats in the pacific. 
 

Thanks for the help!

Mike

Edited December 28, 2023 by Skinny_Mike

[scoobs]

Based on what I've come across the FM-2s on ASW duty in the Atlantic rarely carried external weaponry - they worked in "hunter-killer" teams with the TBFs/TBMs torpedo bombers and provided scouting observation and flak-suppression support for the lumbering Avengers.  FM-2s routinely carried 5-inch High Velocity Aerial Rockets (HVARs) late in the war but I haven't come across any photos of Atlantic fleet squadrons carrying them:

Grumman Wildcat/Martlet - Aircraft - Fighting the U-boats - uboat.net

 

Probably the best book on the subject that might assist you with further research:

Hunter-Killer: U.S. Escort Carriers in the Battle of the Atlantic (Bluejacket Books): William T. Y'Blood: 9781591149958: Amazon.com: Books

 

-Scoobs

[Skinny_Mike]

Thanks Scoobs, that pretty much tracks with what limited info I found as well.