World War II Diaries:The Complete War Report
1943 September
E49 Jan 7, 2018
The American carrier-based fighter plane Grumman F6F “Hellcat sees action for the first time. Protected by a heavy fuselage and armed with six 12.7mm machineguns, it will attain air supremacy. In many ways, it can be considered to be the best naval single-seater fighter of the Second World War. Over 12,000 units of its different models were produced. By the end of the conflict it will have shot down some 6,000 enemy aircraft. Hitler believes that Germany will recoup the initiative thanks to the fighting spirit of the Wehrmacht soldiers, the lack of unity among the Allies, and his new weapons of mass destruction. In order to accelerate the production of war materials, he gives more power to Albert Speer, Minister of Armaments and War Production. Walter Funk, the Minister of Economic Affairs, who up to present had been in charge of raw materials, will be subordinated to him.