How much diffrent would the Air War been if the Grumman company had been able to build its designs two years earlier . Think of the Bearcat coming out in 1943 instead of 1945 . A little note about the Bearcat I was talking to a old Navy poilt about the Bearcat and he told me about bets his Sq. use to make with Army Poilts after the war they would lay $200 down on the bar in the officers club and bet the P-51 poilts that they could take of in half of the runway and then go out and take of from the side of the runway useing only half of it . That is side to side .