The squadron initially flew Martlets, the British designation for the Grumman Wildcat, before the naming distinction was dropped. The changing names reflect a design loop in which British and American operational experience fed into the same aircraft's evolution. The result was a fighter family continuously adapted to become more useful and lethal for its carrier crews. Shared combat experience had erased much of the nominal national distinction within a common aircraft programme.
Notable Point · 3:54-5:30
Martlets, Wildcats, and a shared design lineage
See why 881's Martlets and Wildcats were increasingly treated as the same evolving fighter family rather than separate British and American designs.