French Grumman G-36A
In late 1939 and early 1940, as World War II escalated, the French Navy sought to equip their two new aircraft carriers, JOFFRE and PAINLEVE, with modern carrier-based fighters. They showed interest in Grumman’s G-36 design, which was designated as the F4F-3 in the United States. The French placed an order for eighty-one of these aircraft, with some specific modifications to suit their needs.
The French modifications included the installation of the Wright GR-1820-G205A-2 engine, a nine-cylinder radial engine that produced 1200 horsepower for takeoff. Although the aircraft were not armed at the time of construction, they were intended to be equipped with four Darne 7.5mm machine guns—two mounted in the cowling and two in the wings. An unusual feature requested by the French was a throttle system that operated in reverse: pulling back increased power, while pushing forward reduced it, contrary to standard practice.
The first aircraft under this contract was painted in overall light gray and bore French Navy markings, including six-position national insignia and red, white, and blue stripes on the rudder and elevators. It was registered as NX-G1 and made its maiden flight on May 11, 1940.
However, as the aircraft were being produced, the situation in Europe drastically changed. The fall of France to German forces in June 1940 meant that the French could no longer take delivery of these planes. The British, who were in dire need of fighters due to the ongoing Battle of Britain, quickly took over the order.
The first seven aircraft that had been under construction for France were adapted to British standards. This included adjusting the throttles to operate in the conventional manner. These aircraft, originally designated NX-G1 to NX-G7, were flown to Canada, where they were taken over by the British and assigned new serial numbers: AX753, AX754, and AL231 to AL235.
The remaining aircraft in the order were built entirely to British specifications and were sent directly to England. These aircraft were designated as Martlet I by the Royal Navy, though Grumman continued to refer to them as G-36A. The Martlet I would go on to see action with the British Fleet Air Arm, marking the beginning of the Wildcat’s service in the Royal Navy.