29. Enter the Hellcat
Even before America joined WWII, Grumman had been working on a successor to the F4F. The company sped things up after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and took what became the F6F Hellcat from the experimental stage to operational employment in a mere 18 months. It featured folding wings for easier storage, thus allowing aircraft carriers to carry a greater number of fighters.
The Hellcat was faster, more powerful, more maneuverable, and longer-ranged than its predecessor. It outclassed the enemy’s Zeroes in every way except maneuverability at low speed. It saw its first combat in September of 1943, and proved so successful that, by 1944, it had become the Navy’s standard carrier-based fighter. 12,275 Hellcats were produced during the war, and they were the main platform that the US Navy used to clear the Pacific skies of enemy planes.