The Bearcat also illustrates how wartime development worked. Its dimensions are close to the Wildcat's, while its engine and performance belong to a later generation. Aircraft and carriers entering service in 1945 and 1946 often delivered capabilities navies had wanted six or seven years earlier. War drew near-ready ideas into service and drove rapid refinement. The Bearcat was an excellent answer to a long-understood problem that arrived as the war and naval-aviation environment were changing.
Chapter · 18:45-20:47
The dream fighter arrives after the problem changed
The Bearcat is presented as one of the late-war aircraft navies had wanted years earlier, arriving after wartime refinement had caught up with prewar ambitions.