Ordered by the French Navy. Diverted to the Royal Navy after France was invaded in World War II. To the museum in 1963.

Ordered by the French Navy. Diverted to the Royal Navy after France was invaded in World War II. To the museum in 1963. Undergoing restoration in the museum workshop.

This beautifully restored Martlet is now on display in Hall 2 of the Fleet Air Arm Museum. This is the only surviving F4F-4 and was originally intended for French AF service but transferred to the RAF after the fall of France in 1940. She spent most of WWII stationed in Scotland and then as an instructional airframe before arriving at the museum in the late 1950s.

The Wildcat was at first renamed Martlet by the British. This machine belonged to a batch of 81 originally ordered by the French navy. It was delivered in 1940 in an unusual camouflage scheme that has been restored as faithfully as possible.

The Naval version of the Wildcat was known as the Martlet with the Royal Navy and this beautiful example is the sole survivor of the type.