One of the Navy’s first monoplane designs, the Wildcat fighter was the mainstay of the fleet’s fighter force for the first half of World War II. Though less nimble than its adversary, the Japanese Zero, the F4F was more ruggedly built and with tactics like the Thach Weave, it could turn the tables on its foe. Though replaced by later designs like the Hellcat and Corsair on large carriers, uprated variants of the Wildcat served from small escort carriers throughout the rest of the war.