By the end of 1935, the US Navy (USN) was looking for a new high-performance carrier-based aircraft. The companies that responded to this request were Grumman and Brewster, each presenting their respective designs to the USN. Due to engine and other problems of the early Grumman prototype, the XF4F-2, the Brewster Buffalo was chosen. However, there were some in the Navy procurement who were skeptical of the Buffalo's potential; thus, a contract was awarded to Grumman in October 1938 to rebuild and improve their prototype as the XF4F-3. After some evaluation flights of the XF4F-3, the Navy ordered for 78 F4F-3's in August 1939. The F4F-3, later receiving the nickname “Wildcat”, was formally accepted by the USN in January 1941. The Wildcat is barrel-shaped with square-tipped wings, giving it a stocky appearance. It is equipped with two 12.7 millimeter Browning machine guns on each wing. Despite its laborious manual landing gear and cramped cockpit, its satisfactory performance allowed it to be liked by the USN. The Wildcat has also been flown by the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA), but under the designation of “Martlet Mark I”. It was the FAA that first led the Martlets into combat on Christmas Day 1940, destroying a German Junkers Ju-88 fast bomber over the Scapa Flow naval base. In September 1941, the Martlets damaged a German Focke-Wulf FW-200 Kondor long-range anti-shipping bomber. The following year, the Martlets supported the occupation of Madagascar, and later, the American invasion of North Africa alongside the Wildcats. Henry "Butch" O'Hare's Wildcat single-handedly shot down five G4M “Betty” bombers in 1942. His wingmen claimed the destruction of three more. O'Hare was the Navy's first air ace, and he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. This model has measurements of: Span: 14 1/4" Len: 10 3/4" and Scale: 1/32