Why didn't the USAAF use the Grumman F4F Wildcat for early, long-range bomber escort, in Europe?

I don't believe the USAAF would have had to suffer so many early losses had they adopted the Navy's Wildcat for escort duties of B-17 & B-24 heavy bombers over Germany.

I'm not saying that the Wildcats would have been AWESOME; however their 845 mile(1,360 km) range & 39,500 ft(12,000 m) service ceiling escort capabilities, would have been preferable to NO fighter escort... right?

JD