Academy's Hellcat rockets?

[comrade harps]

I've got the rockets from the Academy F6F Hellcat kit. I'm thinking of using them on an A-26 Invader, but the warheads are unsual and I haven't found a convincing explanation of this on the web. You can see them loaded on this model http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/rh/articles.php?id=1071 and this one http://allaircraftsimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=102&t=31060&start=0 and on this one too: http://airplanesandmore.com/proddetail.php?prod=HA1103&PHPSESSID=c7a6d02d58a01cf6d48435bdc7b6db98

True, I've got illustrations of Hellcats with 5 inch HVARs displaying the bulbous warhead (somewhat like the British 60lb RP3 or the Korean War era RPG-style RAM anti-tank warheads, but less streamlined). I've seen these bulbous warheads referred to as an amour-piercing warhead, but none of the more detailed HVAR descriptions mention such a warhead used in WW2.

Maybe the rockets are incorrect, or are really 3.5 inch FFARs? Then there's the 5 inch FFAR, used as an interim weapon before the 5 inch HVAR. Or are they of a real type of warhead used by USN Hellcats during WW2? I dunno.

While we're at it, if they aren't real, what could they be in a what-if world?

Any help appreciated.

[pyro-manic]

Are they just a poor attempt at the British 3" RP?

[Sensemann]

It is a 5-Inch Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket developed by the U.S. Navy and introduced in 1943. The 3.5-inch diameter nonexplosive warhead they were using as an aircraft-launched ASW rocket was accurate enough for surface ships and land targets but this required an explosive warhead. A 5-inch anti-aircraft shell was attached to the 3.5-inch rocket motor creating the 5-Inch FFAR and entered service in December 1943. Performance was limited because of the increased weight and the High Velocity Aircraft Rocket was developed to fix this.

[comrade harps]

So, you think it's a 5 inch FFAR, which I had as one of my options?

I'm leaning towards this as the solution to the puzzle.

Ta.

[Sensemann]

I guarantee that's what it is. Only the U.S. Navy used those during WW II. Like I said before it was a 3.5 in rocket with a 5 in AAA shell attached to it.