Top Navy Hellcat Aces

USN Top Fighter Pilot by Squadron and Leading Commanding Officer

Major US Navy Historical Timeline for World War II.

Dec. 7, 1941 - Carrier aircraft of the Japanese Imperial Navy launched a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor and on the military and air installations in the area. The three aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet were not present. USS Saratoga (CV 3), just out of overhaul, was moored at San Diego. USS Lexington (CV 2) was at sea about 425 miles southeast of Midway toward which she was headed to deliver a Marine Scout Bombing Squadron. USS Enterprise (CV 6) was also at sea, about 200 miles west of Pearl Harbor, returning from Wake Island where she had delivered a Marine Fighter Squadron. Her Scouting Squadron, launched early in the morning and headed to Ewa Airfield, arrived over Pearl Harbor during the attack and immediately went into action in defense of the naval base. The carrier, meanwhile, launched her remaining aircraft in a fruitless search for the Japanese striking force. She put into Pearl Harbor on Dec. 8 for fuel and supplies and sailed early the next morning to patrol against possible additional attacks on the Hawaiian Islands. While the group did not encounter any surface ships, Enterprise aircraft sunk the submarine I-170 on 10 Dec. This submarine was one of those used to scout the Hawaiian area in conjunction with the attack and was the first Japanese combatant sunk in World War II by U.S. aircraft.

Feb. 1, 1942 - Task Forces 8 (under Vice Adm. William F. Halsey) and 17 (under Rear Adm. Frank J. Fletcher, built around the carriers Enterprise and Yorktown, attacked the Japanese installations on the islands of Wotje, Kwajalein, Jaluit, Makin, and Mili in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. This was the first U.S. aircraft carrier offensive.

Feb. 27, 1942 - Early in the morning, USS Langley (AV 3) rendezvoused with her antisubmarine screen, USS Whipple (DD 217) and USS Edsall (DD 219) near Tjilatjap, Java. At 1140, nine twin-engine Japanese bombers attacked her. The first and second strikes were unsuccessful, but during the third strike, Langley took five hits. Aircraft topside burst into flames, steering was impaired, and the ship took a 10 degree list to port. Unable to negotiate the narrow mouth of Tjilajap Harbor, Langley went dead in the water as inrushing water flooded her main engines. At 1332, the crew was order to abandon ship, and shortly after all were clear, the two destroyers fired 4-inch shells and two torpedoes into her and she sunk about 75 miles south of Tjilatjap. Sixteen crew were lost.

Apr. 18, 1942 - Army Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, taking off from USS Hornet (CV 8), Capt. Marc A. Mitscher commanding, bombed Tokyo, the first American air strike against the Japanese homeland.

The plan had called for USS Enterprise (CV 6) to provide air combat cover while Hornet was to steam to where Col. Doolittle would lead the B-25s in the strike on Tokyo and other important Japanese cities. Originally, the task force intended to proceed to within 400 miles of the Japanese coast; however, on the morning of 18 April a Japanese patrol boat, No. 23 Nitto Maru, sighted Hornet. The patrol boat informed the Japanese of the presence and location of the American task force before the cruiser USS Nashville (CL 43) sank the craft. Though some 600 miles from the Japanese coast, confirmation of the patrol boat's warning prompted Adm. William F. Halsey at 0800 to order the immediate launching of the ‘Tokyo Raiders.’

As Hornet swung about and prepared to launch the bombers which had been readied for take-off the previous day, a gale of more than 40 knots churned the sea with 30-foot crests; heavy swells, which caused the ship to pitch violently, shipped sea and spray over the bow, wet the flight deck and drenched the deck crews. The lead plane, commanded by Colonel Doolittle, had but 467 feet of flight deck while the last B-25 hung far out over the fantail.

The first of the heavily-laden bombers lumbered down the flight deck, circled Hornet after take-off, and set course for Japan. By 0920 all 16 of the bombers were airborne. Hornet brought her own planes up to the flight deck and steamed at full speed for Pearl Harbor. Intercepted broadcasts, both in Japanese and English, confirmed at 1446 the success of the raids. Exactly one week to the hour after launching the B-25s, Hornet sailed into Pearl Harbor. Hornet's mission was kept an official secret for a year; until then President Roosevelt referred to the origin of the Tokyo raid only as ‘Shangri-La.’

May 4-8, 1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea. In the first naval engagement of history fought without the opposing ships making contact, U.S. carrier forces stopped a Japanese attempt to land at Port Moresby by turning back the covering carrier force. In the battle, the Japanese lost the light carrier Shoho and the U.S. lost the carrier, USS Lexington (CV 2).

Task Force 17 (Rear Adm. Fletcher) with the carrier USS Yorktown (CV 5), bombed Japanese transports engaged in landing troops in Tulagi Harbor, damaging several and sinking one destroyer. They then joined the other Allied naval units, including Task Force 11 (Rear Adm. Aubrey W. Fitch) with USS Lexington (CV 2). On 7 May, carrier aircraft located and sank the light carrier Shoho.

The next day, the Japanese covering force was located and attacked by air, resulting in the damage of the carrier Shokaku. Simultaneously, the Japanese attacked task Force 17, scoring hits on Yorktown. Lexington was struck by a torpedo to port. Seconds later, a second torpedo hit to port directly abreast the bridge. At the same time, she took three bomb hits from enemy dive bombers, producing a 7 degree list to port and several raging fires. By 1300 her skilled damage control parties had brought the fires under control and returned the ship to even keel; making 25 knots, she was ready to recover her air group. Then suddenly Lexington was shaken by a tremendous explosion, caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors below, and again fire raged out of control.

At 1558 Capt. Frederick C. Sherman, fearing for the safety of men working below, secured salvage operations, and ordered all hands to the flight deck. At 1707, he ordered, ‘abandon ship!’, and the men began going over the side into the warm water, almost immediately to be picked up by nearby cruisers and destroyers. Adm. Fitch and his staff transferred to the cruiser USS Minneapolis (CA 36); Capt. Sherman and his executive officer, Cmdr. M. T. Seligman insured all their men were safe, then were the last to leave their ship.

Jun. 3-6, 1942 - The Battle of Midway. A strong Japanese thrust in the central Pacific to occupy Midway Island was led by a four-carrier Mobile Force, supported by heavy units of the Japanese First Fleet, and covered by a diversionary carrier raid on Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The Japanese attack on Midway was met by a greatly outnumbered U.S. carrier force composed of task Force 17 (Rear Adm. Fletcher) with USS Yorktown (CV 5) and Task Force 16 (Rear Adm. Raymond A. Spruance) with USS Hornet (CV 8) and USS Enterprise (CV 6).

Early in the morning of 4 June, the Japanese sent their torpedo, horizontal and dive bombers against targets on Midway. Hornet, Yorktown, and Enterprise launched strikes as the Japanese carriers struck their planes below to prepare for a second strike on Midway. Hornet's dive bombers missed contact, but 15 planes comprising her Torpedo Squadron 8 found the enemy and pressed home their attacks. They were met by overwhelming fighter opposition about 8 miles from three enemy carriers and followed all the way in to be shot down one by one.

Ens. George H. Gay, USNR, the only surviving pilot, reached the surface as his plane sunk. He hid under a rubber seat cushion to avoid strafing and witness the greatest carrier battle in history. Of 41 torpedo planes launched by the American carriers, only six returned. Their sacrifices drew enemy fighters away from dive bombers of Enterprise and Yorktown which sank three of the four Japanese carriers (Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu) with an assist from submarine USS Nautilus (SS 168). The fourth Japanese carrier, Hiryu, was sunk the following day.

On June 6, 1942, USS Yorktown (CV 5) was attacked by Japanese ‘Vals’ and ‘Zeros’. Intense antiaircraft fire greeted these planes as they approached Yorktown but three ‘Val’ divebombers scored hits, each sending a bomb into the carrier. One bomb blew a 10-sq. ft. hole in the flight deck and started fires. The second pierced the flight deck and exploded in the lower part of the funnel. The third ripped through the number one elevator and exploded on the fourth deck. Within an hour, the crew had the fires sufficiently

The fueling had just begun with the ship's radar picked up more attackers. In minutes, Japanese torpedo planes were attacking. Although the ship was maneuvering radically, two torpedoes tore into her port side and she went dead in the water, listing to port. Without power, the list worsened and all hands were order to abandon ship.

When the ship stubbornly remained afloat, a salvage party was organized to save Yorktown. Power was supplied by USS Hammann (DD 412).

Just as it looked like the Yorktown could be saved, a Japanese submarine fired four torpedoes at the carrier and her assisting destroyer. One torpedo hit Hammann directly amidship and broke her back. She jackknifed and went down rapidly. Two torpedoes hit the carrier, and moments after Hammann's stern slid beneath the waves, her depth charges exploded, killing men in the water and further damaging Yorktown. Although the carrier stayed afloat throughout the night of June 6, men on the ships nearby noted her port list increasing rapidly. At 0701, the valiant flattop rolled over on her port side and sank in 3,000 fathoms of water, her battle flags flying.

Midway was one of the decisive battles of history that had far reaching and enduring results on the Pacific War. Midway was saved as an important base for operations into the western Pacific. Likewise saved was Hawaii. Of greatest importance was the crippling of Japan's carrier strength, a severe blow from which she never fully recovered. The four large aircraft carriers sent to the bottom of the sea carried with them 258 planes along with a high percentage of Japan's most highly trained and battle-experienced carrier pilots. Midway was the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

Jun. 15, 1942 - USS Copahee (CVE 12), Cmdr. J. G. Farrell in command, commissioned at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, the first of 10 escort carriers of the Bogue class.

Aug. 12, 1942 - USS Wolverine (IX 64) commissioned at Buffalo, N.Y., Cmdr. G. R. Fairlamb, commanding. Wolverine and USS Sable (IX 81), commissioned May 1943, were Great Lakes excursion ships converted for aviation training . Sailing Lake Michigan, they provided flight decks on which hundreds of student aviators qualified for carrier landings and many flight deck crews received their first practical experience in handling aircraft aboard ship.

Aug. 20, 1942 - The designation of escort carriers was changed from AVG to ACV.

Aug. 24, 1942 - USS Santee (ACV 29), under the command of Capt. W. D. Sample, was placed in commission at the Norfolk Navy Yard, the first of four escort carriers of the Sangamon class, converted from Cimarron class fleet oilers.

Sept. 15, 1942 - The Loss of USS Wasp (CV 7). On Tuesday, 15 Sept. 1942, USS Wasp (CV 7) and USS Hornet (CV 8), along with USS North Carolina (BB 55) and 10 other warships, were escorting transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal as reinforcements. Wasp had drawn the job of ready-duty carrier and was operating some 150 miles southeast of San Cristobal Island. The crew had been at General Quarters from an hour before sunrise to about 1000 when the morning search returned to the ship. The ship's planes were being refueled and rearmed for antisubmarine patrol missions. Afterwards, the ship went to condition 2, with the air department at flight quarters.

There was no contact with the enemy during the day, with the exception of a Japanese four-engined flying boat downed by a Wasp Wildcat at 1215.

About 1420, the carrier turned into the wind to launch eight fighters and 18 SBD-3s as well as to recover eight F4F-3s and three SBDs that had been airborne since before noon. The ship rapidly completed the recovery of the 11 planes, then turned to starboard. The air department was at flight quarters, refueling and respotting the ship’s planes for the afternoon mission. Suddenly, at 1444, a look-out called out, ‘three torpedoes … three points forward of the starboard beam!’

A spread of four torpedoes, fired the Japanese submarine I-19, rapidly approached the carrier. Wasp's helmsman put the ship's rudder over hard to starboard, but it was too late. Two torpedoes smashed into the ship in the vicinity of gasoline tanks and magazines.

In quick succession, fiery blasts ripped through the forward part of the ship. Aircraft on the flight and hangar decks were thrown about like toys and dropped on the deck with such force that landing gears snapped. Planes triced up in the hangar overhead fell and landed upon those on the hangar deck; fires broke out almost simultaneously in the hangar and below decks. Soon, the heat of the intense gasoline fires detonated the ready ammunition at the forward antiaircraft guns on the starboard side; and fragments showered the forward part of the ship. The number two 1.1-inch gun mount was blown overboard.

Water mains in the forward part of the ship were broken by the force of the explosions and thus were useless. There was no water available to fight the conflagration forward; and the fires continued to set off ammunition, bombs, and gasoline. As the ship listed to starboard between 10 and 15 degrees, oil and gasoline, released from the tanks by the torpedo hit, caught fire on the water.

Wasp's skipper, Capt. Forrest P. Sherman, slowed to 10 knots, ordering the rudder put to port to try to get the wind on the starboard bow; he then went astern with right rudder until the wind was on the starboard quarter, in an attempt to keep the fire forward. At that point, some flames made central station untenable, and communication circuits went dead. Soon, a serious gasoline fire broke out in the forward portion of the hangar, and, within 24 minutes of the initial attack, three additional major gasoline vapor explosions occurred.

Capt. Sherman consulted with his executive officer, Cmdr. Fred C. Dickey. The two men saw no course but to abandon ship, as all fire-fighting was proving ineffectual. The survivors would have to be gotten off quickly to prevent unnecessary loss of life.

Reluctantly, after consulting with Rear Adm. Leigh Noyes, Capt. Sherman ordered ‘abandon ship’ at 1520. All badly injured men were lowered into rafts or rubber boats. Many unwounded men had to abandon the ship from aft because the forward fires were burning with such intensity.

The departure, as Capt. Sherman observed it, looked ‘orderly’, and there was no panic. The only delays occurred when many men showed reluctance to leave until all the wounded had been taken off. The abandonment took nearly 40 minutes; and at 1600 — satisfied that no one was left on deck, in the galleries, or in the hangar aft — Capt. Sherman swung over the lifeline on the fantail and slid into the sea.

USS Laffey (DD 459), USS Lansdowne (DD 486), USS Helena (CL 50), and USS Salt Lake City(CL 25) rescued 1,946 men. There were 193 killed and 366 wounded.

The fires continued to spread through the abandoned ship, traveling aft. Four more violent explosions erupted as night began to fall. USS Lansdowne was directed to sink the burning hulk, and she fired five torpedoes into the dying ship’s hull. Three hits, yet Wasp remained afloat. By now, the flames had enveloped the stern. The carrier literally floated in a burning pool of gasoline and oil.

Finally, at 2100, Wasp sank by the bow.

Oct. 26, 1942 - The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands resulted in a tactical victory for Japan, but a strategic one for the U.S. in that Japan was unable to dislodge American forces off Guadalcanal. While the Japanese suffer no losses, USS Hornet (CV 8) was sunk. That morning USS Enterprise (CV 6) planes bombed the Japanese carrier Zuiho. Planes from USS Hornet (CV 8) severely damaged the carrier Shokaku, and the cruiser Chikuma. Two other cruisers were also attacked by Hornet aircraft. Meanwhile, Hornet, herself, was fighting off a coordinated dive bombing and torpedo plane attack which left her so severely damaged that she had to be abandoned. Commented one sailor, awaiting rescue, when asked if he planned to re-enlist, ‘Damn it, yes ... on the new Hornet!’ The abandoned Hornet, ablaze from stem to stern, was still afloat after receiving nine torpedoes and more than 400 rounds of 5-inch shellfire from destroyers USS Mustin (DD 413) and USS Anderson (DD 411). The two destroyers had to retire from the scene upon the arrival Japanese destroyers. The Japanese administered the coup de grâce to Hornet by firing four 24-inch torpedoes at her blazing hull, sending her to the bottom at 0135, 27 Oct. 1942, off the Santa Cruz Islands.

Dec. 31, 1942 - USS Essex (CV 9), Capt. D. B. Duncan commanding, was placed in commission in Norfolk, Va., the first of 17 ships of her class commissioned during World War II.

Jan. 14, 1943 - USS Independence (CVL 22), begun as Amsterdam, (CL-59), commissioned in Philadelphia, Capt. G. R. Fairlamb, Jr., in command. The ship launched as CV 22 on 22 Aug. 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. This was the first of nine light carriers of her class constructed on Cleveland class cruiser hulls.

Feb. 17, 1943 - USS Lexington (CV 16) commissioned, Capt. Felix B. Stump in command. The ship was originally laid down as Cabot 15 Jul. 1941 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass., and renamed Lexington 16 Jun. 1942. She was launched 23 September 1942.

Feb. 25, 1943 - USS Princeton (CV 23) commissioned at Philadelphia, Capt. George R. Henderson, commanding. The ship was originally laid down as Tallahassee (CL 61) by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. She was reclassified as CV 23 on Feb. 16, 1942, and renamed Princeton on Mar. 31, 1942. The ship was launched Oct. 18, 1942. Following shakedown in the Caribbean, she was reclassified CVL-23 on 15 July 1943.

Apr. 15, 1943 - USS Yorktown (CV 10) commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Capt. Joseph J. (‘Jocko’) Clark in command. The ship was laid down 1 Dec. 1941 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. as Bon Homme Richard. It was renamed Yorktown 16 Sept. 1942 and launched 21 Jan 1943.

Apr. 21, 1943 - Capt. Frederick M. Trapnell made a flight in the Bell XP-59A jet Airacomet at Muroc, Calif., the first jet flight by a Naval Aviator.

May 25, 1943 - USS Bunker Hill (CV 17) commissioned, Capt. J. J. Ballentine in command. The ship was launched 7 Dec. 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.

May 28, 1943 - USS Cowpens (CVL 25) commissioned, Capt. R. P. McConnell in command. The ship was launched Jan. 17, 1943, by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.

Jun. 17, 1943 - USS Monterey (CV 26) commissioned, Capt. Lester T. Hundt, commanding. The ship was laid down as Dayton (CL 78) Dec. 29, 1941, by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. and was reclassified as CV 26 Mar. 27, 1942. She was launched Feb. 28, 1943.

Jul. 8, 1943 - USS Casablanca (ACV 55), first of her class and the first escort carrier designed and built as such, was placed in commission at Astoria, Ore., Capt. S. W. Callaway commanding.

Jul. 15, 1943 - New designations for carriers were established which limited the previous broadly applied CV symbol to Saratoga, Enterprise, and carriers of the Essex class, and added CVB (Aircraft Carriers, Large) for the 45,000 ton class being built and CVL (Aircraft Carriers, Small) for the 10,000 ton class built on light cruiser hulls. The same directive reclassified escort carriers as combatant ships and changed their symbol from ACV to CVE.

Jul. 24, 1943 - USS Cabot (CVL 28) commissioned, Capt. M. F. Shoeffel in command. The ship was laid down as Wilmington (CL 79). She was redesignated as CV 28 on Jun. 2, 1942, and renamed Cabot on Jun. 23. She was converted while building and was launched Apr. 4, 1943, by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.

Aug. 16, 1943 - USS Intrepid (CV 11) commissioned in Norfolk, Va., Captain Thomas L. Sprague in command. She was launched 26 Apr. 1943, by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.

Aug. 18, 1943 - The Secretary of the Navy establishes the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) with Vice Adm. John S. McCain as the first DCNO(Air).

Aug. 31, 1943 - USS Langley (CVL 27) commissioned, Capt. W. M. Dillon in command. The ship was originally named Fargo (CL 85) but laid down as Crown Point (CV 27) by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J. Apr. 11, 1942. The ship was launched on May 22, 1943.

Oct. 16, 1943 - The Navy accepted its first helicopter, a Sikorski YR-4B (later an HNS-1), at Bridgeport, Conn., following a 60 minute test flight by Lt. Cmdr. F.A. Erickson, USCG.

Nov. 15, 1943 - USS San Jacinto (CVL 30) commissioned, Capt. Harold Martin, commanding. The ship was laid down as Newark (CL 100) on Oct. 26, 1942, by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., and redesignated CV 30 and renamed Reprisal on Jun. 2, 1942. The ship was again renamed San Jacinto on Jan. 30, 1943, and converted while building to a light aircraft carrier. She was reclassified CVL 30.

Nov. 17, 1943 - USS Bataan (CVL 29) commissioned, Capt. V. H. Schaeffer in command. Built by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., she was originally laid down as Buffalo (CL 99) but was reclassified as CV 29 and renamed Bataan Jun. 2, 1942.

Nov. 24, 1943 - USS Wasp (CV 18) commissioned, Capt. Clifton A. F. Sprague in command. The ship was laid down as Oriskany on 18 Mar.1942 at Quincy, Mass., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; renamed Wasp on 13 Nov. 1942; and, launched on 17 August 1943.

Nov. 29, 1943 - USS Hornet (CV 12) commissioned, Capt. Miles M. Browning in command. The ship was launched 30 Aug. 1943 by the Newport News Shipbuilding Dry Dock Co. Newport News, Va., sponsored by Mrs. Frank M. Knox, wife of the Secretary of the Navy.

Jan. 31, 1944 - USS Franklin (CV 13) commissioned in Newport News, Va., Capt. James M. Shoemaker in command. The ship was launched Oct. 14, 1943.

Apr. 15, 1944 - USS Hancock (CV 19) commissioned, Capt. Fred C. Dickey in command. The ship was originally laid down as Ticonderoga 26 Jan. 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass., and renamed Hancock 1 May 1943.

May 8, 1944 - USS Ticonderoga (CV 14) commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 8 May 1944, Capt. Dixie Kiefer in command. The ship was laid down as Hancock on 1 Feb. 1943 at Newport News, Va., by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., and renamed Ticonderoga on 1 May 1943. It was launched on 7 February 1944.

May 28, 1944 - At 2013, USS Block Island (CVE 21), while engaged in hunter-killer operations near the Azores, was torpedoed by the German U-549 which had slipped undetected through her screen. The German submarine put one and perhaps two more torpedoes into the stricken carrier before being sunk itself by USS Eugene E. Elmore (DE-686) and USS Ahrens (DE-575). Block Island was the only carrier lost in the Atlantic.

Jun. 4, 1944 - USS Guadalcanal (CVE 60), under the command of Capt. Dan Gallery, while on patrol in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa, captures the German submarine U-505 with help of USS Chatelain (DE 149) and USS Pillsbury (DE 133) . It was the only submarine captured by the U.S. Navy in World War II.

Jun. 19, 1944 - The Battle of the Philippine Sea began when USS Hornet (CV 12) launched strikes to destroy as many land-based Japanese planes on Saipan as possible before the carrier-based Japanese aircraft came in. The Japanese approached the American carriers in four massive waves. But fighter aircraft from Hornet and other carriers broke up all the attacks before the Japanese reached the task force. Nearly every Japanese aircraft was shot down in what became commonly known as ‘The Marianas Turkey Shoot.’ Only 35 operational aircraft remained out of the 430 planes with which Japanese Adm. Ozawa had commenced the Battle of the Philippine Sea. U.S. air strikes also sank the Japanese carrier Hiji and so damaged two tankers that they were abandoned and scuttled.

Jun. 29, 1944 - Carrier Air Groups were standardized for all commands under the following designations: CVBG, large carrier air group; CVG, medium carrier air group; CVLG, light carrier air group; CVEG, escort carrier air group (Sangamon class); and, VC, escort carrier air group (C3 and Kaiser classes).

Aug. 6, 1944 - USS Bennington (CV 20) commissioned, Capt. J. B. Sykes in command. The ship was launched 16 Feb. 1944 by New York Navy Yard.

Sept. 15, 1944 - USS Shangri-La (CV 38) commissioned at Norfolk, Va., Capt. James D. Barner, commanding.

Oct. 9, 1944 - USS Randolph (CV 15) was commissioned in Norfolk, Va., 9 October 1944, Capt. Felix Baker in command.

Oct. 24, 1944 - USS Princeton (CVL 23) was lost in an air attack in the Sibuyan Sea during the Battle for Leyte Gulf. On the 20th, Princeton, commanded by Capt. William H. Buracker, USN, sent her planes against airfields on Luzon to prevent Japanese land based aircraft attacks on Allied shipping massed in Leyte Gulf. On the 24th, Japanese planes from Clark and Nichols Fields found Princeton and her task group.

At 9:38 a.m. on Oct. 24, 1944, a lookout aboard Princeton spotted a single Japanese plane making a shallow dive on the ship. The plane had come out of low-hanging clouds and while under fire from Princeton's guns and those of other ships in company, dropped a 500-pound bomb from under 1,200 feet. It hit forward of the after elevator and slightly to port of the center line, crashed through the flight deck and hangar, then exploded. Flames shot down to the engineering spaces aft and back into the hangar. The explosion also knocked out the after fire-fighting system. Initial fires soon expanded.

The smoke was very thick and flowed across the after part of the ship. The heat from the fires and the dense smoke forced many of the men on the stern of the ship to jump overboard.

USS Princeton on fire The first major explosions rocked the light carrier at about 10:02 a.m., engulfing the ship in more heavy billowing smoke and flame. The first blew out the after elevator; the second, shortly after the first, buckled the flight deck. The explosions also sent fragments of the ship flying in all directions, causing many casualties.

At about 10:10 a.m., USS Irwin (DD 794) went alongside the burning carrier to port. The seriously injured were lowered from the carrier onto the destroyer. Irwin continued to play hoses into the forward part of Princeton's hangar and to take aboard the carrier's crew to the point where between 600 and 700 men were packed like sardines on the small destroyer's decks.

The Task Force commander, Rear Adm. Forrest C. Sherman, seeing the heavy explosions, dispatched the cruiser USS Birmingham (CL 62) and another destroyer to the Princeton's assistance.

USS Birmingham fighting fires onboard USS Princeton At about 10:55 a.m., Birmingham came alongside the blazing Princeton. Shortly after, USS Reno (CL 96) also came alongside but could not remain due to dense smoke and the scorching heat from the fires. As the crew worked the fires toward the after part of the carrier, Birmingham shifted back there as well. By about 1 p.m., enough progress had been made so that it looked as though the fires might be out within 20 or 30 minutes.

Just as Princeton's fires were about to be extinguished, Japanese aircraft were said to be in the vicinity. Immediately, at about 1:30 pm, Birmingham pulled away to get set for a fight that didn't come. Meanwhile, with very little fire-fighting capability on the carrier, Princeton's blazes grew again.

At 3:23 p.m., as Birmingham approached Princeton for the second time, the carrier's reserve bomb and torpedo stowage blew up, blowing away part of the stern. Shrapnel from the blast ripped across Birmingham killing 229 and injuring 420, far more than those hurt on the carrier.

The injured Birmingham was obliged to back off. Princeton had no fire-fighting capability left aboard, and at 4:40 p.m., Capt. Buracker left the carrier, the last to go. A message came from Rear Adm. Sherman: ‘Destroy Princeton. Remaining ships join task force.’ Shortly after 5 p.m., USS Irwin began to fire torpedoes at the burning hulk.

At 5:46 p.m., USS Reno relieved Irwin and at 5:49 p.m. the carrier's torpedo warhead storage exploded. Flames and debris shot up 1000 to 2000 feet. Princeton's forward section was gone and what was left of her after section appeared momentarily through the smoke. By 5:50 p.m., she disappeared. Ten officers and 98 enlisted men had been lost, but 1,361 of her crew survived.

Included in that number was Capt. John M. Hoskins, who had been prospective commanding officer of CVL 23 and had lost his right foot with her. Despite this, Capt. Hoskins would become the first commanding officer of the fifth Princeton (CV 37).

Oct. 30, 1944 - While USS Belleau Wood (CVL 24) was patrolling with her task group east of Leyte, she shot down a Japanese suicide plane which fell on her flight deck aft causing fires which set off ammunition. Before the holocaust could be brought under control, 92 men were killed or missing.

Nov. 25, 1944 -During the battle to oust the Japanese from the Philippines, planes from USS Intrepid (CV 11), and other carriers, continued to hit airfields and shipping in the islands. On 25 Nov., two kamikaze aircraft broke through the antiaircraft fire and crashed into Intrepid. Six officers and 59 sailors were killed in the attack but Intrepid maintained station, and in less than two hours had extinguished the blaze.

Nov. 26, 1944 - USS Bon Homme Richard (CV 31) commissioned, Capt. A. O. Rule, Jr., in command. The ship was launched 29 Apr. 1944 by New York Navy Yard.

Jan. 28, 1945 - USS Antietam (CV 36) commissioned, Capt. James R. Tague in command. The ship was laid down on 15 Mar. 1943 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard and launched on 20 August.

Mar. 19, 1945 - USS Franklin (CV 13), which had maneuvered closer to the Japanese homeland than any other U.S. carrier, had launched a pre-dawn strike against the island of Honshu as well as a later strike against shipping in Kobe Harbor. Suddenly, a single Japanese plane came through the cloud cover, made a low level run on the ship and dropped two armor-piercing bombs. One struck the flight deck centerline, penetrating to the hangar deck which it devastated. The bomb also ignited fires through the second and third decks and knocked out the combat information center and air plot.

The second bomb hit aft and tore through two decks, fanning fires which detonated ammunition, bombs and rockets. Franklin, within 50 miles of the Japanese mainland, lay dead in the water, took a 13-degree starboard list, lost all radio communications and was enveloped by fire. Many of the crew were either blown overboard, driven off by fire, or killed or wounded. Remaining were 106 officers and 604 enlisted, who by sheer valor and tenacity, saved the ship. Casualties totaled 724 killed and 265 wounded. Franklin, the most heavily damaged aircraft carrier during the war, remained afloat and after a tow from USS Pittsburgh, proceeded under her own power to Pearl Harbor for repairs.

Apr. 16, 1945 - USS Boxer (CV 21) commissioned, Capt. D. F. Smith in command. It was launched 14 Dec. 1944 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.

Jun. 3, 1945 - USS Lake Champlain (CV 39) commissioned, Capt. Logan C. Ramsey, commanding. The ship was laid down at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., Mar. 15, 1943.

Sept. 2, 1945 - World War II ends when representatives of Japan and the Allied Forces meet and Japan signs the instruments of surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) in Tokyo Bay.

Web Referances:
http://www.acesofww2.com/
http://www.navsource.org/archives/
http://www.battle-fleet.com/

Grumman F6F Hellcat

A U.S. Navy Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat
Type: Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer: Grumman
Maiden flight: 26 June 1942
Introduced: 1943
Retired: 1954, USN
Primary users:
United States Navy USN,
United States Marine Corps USMC,
Royal Navy RN,
French Navy FN
Produced: 1942-1945
Number built: 12,275

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a fighter aircraft descended from the earlier F4F Wildcat, but was a completely new design sharing only a familial resemblance to the Wildcat. Some tagged it as ‘Wildcat's big brother’. The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary United States Navy carrier fighters in the second half of World War II.

The Hellcat proved to be the most successful aircraft in naval history, destroying 5,171 aircraft while in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (5,163 in the Pacific and eight more during the invasion of Southern France), plus 52 with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II. Postwar, the Hellcat aircraft was rapidly phased out of front line service, finally retiring in 1954 as a night-fighter in composite squadrons.

Design and development
Grumman was working on a successor to the F4F Wildcat well before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. While the F4F was a capable fighter, early air battles revealed the Japanese A6M Zero was more maneuverable and possessed a better rate of climb than the F4F. The F4F did have some advantages over the Zero. Wildcats were able to absorb a tremendous amount of damage compared to the Zero, and had better armament. The F4F was also much faster in a dive than the Zero, an advantage Wildcat pilots used frequently to elude attacking Zeros.

These advantages carried over into the F6F and, combined with other improvements, created a fighter that outclassed the Zero almost completely. The contract for the prototype XF6F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. The F6F was originally to be given the Wright R-2600 Cyclone engine of 1,700 hp (1,268 kW), but based on combat experience of F4F Wildcat and Zero encounters, Grumman decided to further improve their new fighter to overcome the Mitsubishi Zero's dominance in the Pacific theater. Grumman installed the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) estimating a 25% increase in performance would result. The first, Cyclone-equipped prototype (02981) flew on 26 June 1942 while the first Double Wasp-equipped aircraft, the XF6F-3 (02982) had its first flight on 30 July 1942.

Proposed at the same time as the first Hellcat prototypes, the XF6F-2 incorporated a turbo-supercharger but performance gains were only slight and until fleet demands for improvements in speed, this variant, along with the two-speed supercharger-equipped XF6F-3, languished. However, later F6F-4 and F6F-5 variants did benefit from these initial development programs.

Like the Wildcat, the Hellcat was designed for ease of manufacture and ability to withstand significant damage. A total of 212 lb (96 kg) of cockpit armor was fitted to aid pilot survival, as well as a bullet-resistant windshield and armor around the engine oil tank and oil cooler. Self-sealing fuel tanks further reduced susceptibility to fire and often allowed damaged aircraft to return home. The U.S. Navy's all-time leading ace, Captain David McCampbell USN (retired) scored all his victories in the Hellcat. He once described the F6F as ‘...an outstanding fighter plane. It performed well, was easy to fly and was a stable gun platform. But what I really remember most was that it was rugged and easy to maintain.’

The first production aircraft off the line, designated F6F-3s, flew on 3 October 1942 with the type reaching operational readiness with VF-9 on USS Essex in February 1943.

Two night fighter subvariants of the F6F-3 were also developed. The F6F-3E, converted from standard -3 frames, featured the AN/APS-4 radar in a fairing in the starboard wing. The later F6F-3N, first seen in July of 1943, was fitted with the AN/APS-6 radar in a similar fairing. By November of 1943, Hellcat night fighters had seen their first action. Fitting AN/APS-6 radar fairings to F6F-5s resulted in the night fighter F6F-5N, and a small number of standard F6F-5s were also fitted with camera equipment for reconnaissance duties as the F6F-5P.

Instead of the Wildcat's narrow-track undercarriage retracting into the fuselage requiring awkward hand-cranking by the pilot, the Hellcat had hydraulically-actuated undercarriage struts set wider and retracting backward, twisting through 90° into the wings, exactly as the Chance Vought F4U Corsair's landing gear did. The wing was low-mounted instead of mid-mounted and folded the same way as the later versions of the Wildcat, allowing the Hellcat to take on a compact, tucked-in appearance on a flight deck.

Standard armament on the F6F consisted of six .50 caliber (12.7mm) Browning M2/AN air-cooled machine guns with 400 rounds each; later aircraft gained three hardpoints to carry a total bombload in excess of 2,000 lbs. (900 kg). The center hardpoint also had the ability to carry a single 150 U.S. gallon (568 L) disposable drop tank. Six 5 in. (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) could be carried; three under each wing.

The next and most common variant, the F6F-5, featured improvements such as a more powerful R-2800-10W engine housed in a slightly more streamlined engine cowling, spring-loaded control tabs on the ailerons, deletion of the rear-view windows behind the main canopy, an improved, clear view windscreen with a flat armored-glass front panel replacing the curved perspex panel and internal armor glass screen and numerous other minor advances. Another improvement in the F6F-5 was the availability of more potent armament than the standard six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns. Trials with cannon-armed Hellcats were not followed up by a production version; although all F6F-5s could carry an armament mix of a pair of Hispano 20mm (0.79 in.) cannon cannon, one mounted in each of the inboard gunbays, with a minimum of 220 rounds per gun, along with two pairs of .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns, with 400 rounds per gun, this configuration was only used on many later F6F-5N night fighters.

Two F6F-5s were fitted with the 18-cylinder 2,100 hp (1,567 kW) Pratt and Whitney R-2800-18W two-stage blower radial engine which was also used by the F4U-4 Corsair. The new Hellcat variant was fitted with a four-bladed propeller and was called the XF6F-6. The aircraft proved to be the best performer in the series with a top speed of 417 mph. Plans for mass production of this variant were cancelled with the advent of VJ day.

The last Hellcat rolled out in November 1945, the total production figure being 12,275, of which 11,000 had been built in just two years. This impressive production rate was credited to the sound original design, which required little modification once production was underway.

Operational history
USS Yorktown (CV-10) during the Marcus Island raid on 31 August 1943: CAG-5 Lt. Cmdr. ‘Jimmy’ Flatley
The Hellcat first saw action against the Japanese on 1 September 1943 when fighters off the USS Independence (CVL-22) shot down a Kawanishi H8K ‘Emily’ flying boat. Soon after, on 23rd and 24th November, Hellcats engaged Japanese aircraft over Tarawa, shooting down a claimed 30 Mitsubishi Zeros for the loss of one F6F. Over Rabaul, New Britain, on 11 November 1943, Hellcats and Corsairs were engaged in day-long fights with many Japanese aircraft including A6M Zeros, shooting down nearly 50 airplanes. Hellcats also utilized the ‘Thach Weave’, which had been developed into a formation tactic to compensate for the older F4F Wildcat's deficiencies.

Hellcats were involved in practically all engagements with Japanese air power from that point onward. It was the major U.S. Navy fighter type involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, where so many Japanese aircraft were shot down that Navy aircrews nicknamed the battle The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The F6F accounted for 75% of all aerial victories recorded by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific. Radar-equipped Hellcat night fighter squadrons appeared in early 1944.

Navy and Marine F6Fs flew 66,530 combat sorties (45% of all fighter sorties of the war, 62,386 sorties were flown from aircraft carriers) and destroyed 5,163 (56% of all Naval/Marine air victories of the war) at a cost of 270 Hellcats (an overall kill-to-loss ratio of 19:1). The aircraft performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a 13:1 kill ratio against Mitsubishi A6M, 9.5:1 against Nakajima Ki-84, 28:0 against Kawanishi N1K-J, and 3.7:1 against Mitsubishi J2M during the last year of the war. The F6F became the prime ace-maker aircraft in the American inventory, with 306 Hellcat aces. That being said, it must be noted that the U.S. successes were not only attributed to superior aircraft, but also because they faced increasingly inexperienced Japanese aviators from 1942 onwards, as well as having the advantage of ever-increasing numerical superiority.

In the ground attack role, Hellcats dropped 6,503 tons of bombs.

The British Fleet Air Arm received 1,263 F6Fs under the Lend-Lease Act and dubbed it Gannet I. The name Hellcat was eventually retained in early 1943 for the sake of simplicity, as the Royal Navy at that time adopted the use of the existing American naval names for all the U.S.-made aircraft supplied to it, with the F6F-3 being designated Hellcat F I, the F6F-5, the Hellcat F II and the F6F-5N, the Hellcat NF II. They saw action off Norway, in the Mediterranean and in the Far East. A number were fitted with photographic reconnaissance equipment similar to the F6F-5P, receiving the designation Hellcat FR II. The FAA Hellcat units experienced far fewer opportunities for air-to-air combat than their USN/Marines counterparts; a total of 52 enemy aircraft were shot down during 18 aerial combats from May 1944 to July 1945. 1844 Squadron FAA, on board HMS Indomitable of the British Pacific Fleet was the highest scoring unit, with 32.5 kills.

FAA Hellcats, as with other Lend-Lease aircraft, were rapidly replaced by British aircraft after the end of the war, with only two of the twelve squadrons equipped with the Hellcat at VJ-Day still retaining Hellcats by the end of 1945. These two squadrons were disbanded in 1946. In British service, the Hellcats proved to be a match even for the main Luftwaffe fighters, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190.

Postwar, the Hellcat was succeeded by the Grumman F8F Bearcat which eclipsed the F6F in performance but was developed too late to see combat in World War II. The Hellcat soldiered on in a number of second line USN duties including training. The French Aéronavale was equipped with F6F-5 Hellcats and used them in Indochina. The Uruguay Navy also used them until the early 1960s.

Operators
* French Navy
* Royal Navy
* United States Navy
* United States Marine Corps
* Uruguayan Navy

Data from Quest for Performance, Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of WWII, and Standard Aircraft Characteristic

Performance

* Maximum speed: 330 knots (380 mph, 610 km/h)
* Stall speed: 73 knots (84 mph, 135 km/h)
* Combat radius: 820 nm (945 mi, 1,520 km)
* Ferry range: 1,330 nm (1,530 mi, 2,460 km)
* Service ceiling 37,300 ft (11,370 m)
* Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min (17.8 m/s)
* Wing loading: 37.7 lb/ft² (184 kg/m²)
* Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (260 W/kg)
* Time-to-altitude: 7.7 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
* Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.2
* Takeoff roll: 799 ft (244 m)

Armament

Guns:
6× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rounds/gun, (F6F-3, most F6F-5)
2× 20 mm cannon, 225 rounds/gun
4× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns 400 rounds/gun (F6F-5N only)
Rockets:
6 × 5 in (127 mm) HVARs or
2 × 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets
Bombs: up to 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) full load, including:
Bombs or Torpedoes: (Fuselage mounted on centreline rack)
+ 1 × 2,000 lb (910 kg) bomb or
+ 1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo;

Underwing bombs: (F6F-5 had two additional weapons racks either side of fuselage on wing centre-section)
+ 1 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) or
+ 2 × 250 lb (110 kg)
+ 6 × 100 lb (45 kg)

F6F Variants

References

Bibliography

* Barber, S.B. Naval Aviation Combat Statistics: World War II, OPNAV-P-23V No. A129. Washington, DC: Air Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, 1946.
* Bridgman, Leonard (ed.). ‘The Grumman Hellcat.’ Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946.
ISBN 1-85170-493-0.
* Brown, Eric, CBE, DCS, AFC, RN.; Green William and Swanborough, Gordon. ‘Grumman Hellcat’. Wings of the Navy, Flying Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War Two. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1980, p. 167–176.
ISBN 0-7106-0002-X.
* Dean, Francis H. America's Hundred Thousand. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997.
ISBN 0-7643-0072-5.
* Drendel, Lou. ‘Grumman F6F Hellcat’. U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of World War II. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1987, p. 45-68.
ISBN 0-89747-194-6.
* Green, William. Famous Fighters of the Second World War. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1975.
ISBN 0-385-12395-7.
* Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. ‘Grumman F6F Hellcat’. WW2 Fact Files: US Navy and Marine Corps Fighters. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1976, p. 47-56.
ISBN 0-356-08222-9.
* Kinzey, Bert. F6F Hellcat in detail and scale. Shrewsbury, UK: AirLife Publishing Ltd., 1987.
ISBN 1-85310-603-8.
* Mendenhall, Charles A. Wildcats & Hellcats: Gallant Grummans in World War II. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1984.
ISBN 0-87938-177-9.
* O'Leary, Michael. ‘Hellcat’. United States Naval Fighters of World War II in Action. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press, 1980, p. 67-96.
ISBN 0-7137-0956-1.
* Sullivan, Jim. F6F Hellcat in action. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1979.
ISBN 0-89747-088-5.
* Taylor, John W.R. ‘Grumman F6F Hellcat.’ Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.
ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
* Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Fourth Edition. London: Putnam, 1994.
ISBN 0-85177-861-5.

Additional Aircraft References:

Lt. Eugene A. Valencia - Okinawa ace
Leader of Valencia's ‘Flying Circus’ a top Navy ace in WWI, with 23 kills, awarded Navy Cross

Eugene Valencia, one of the Navy's top aces, quipped. ‘I love this airplane so much, that if it could cook, I'd marry it.’

The heaviest losses of U.S. warships occurred in the last year of the war, due to Japanese kamikaze attacks. In the first three months of the suicide attacks (from October 25, 1944), the kamikaze pilots damaged 50 American ships. They continued in large numbers until the very end of the war. On April 16 alone, during the Okinawa campaign, over 100 kamikaze attacks were launched, sinking the destroyer Pringle, and hitting 11 other ships.

Among the badly damaged was the Intrepid, with a 12 by 14 foot hole in the flight deck, 40 planes destroyed, and 9 men killed (the second kamikaze hit on Intrepid).

Aboard nearby Yorktown was the most successful fighter division (4 planes) of the war, known as ‘Valencia's Flying Circus’. Eugene Valencia was born in San Francisco in 1921. He joined the Navy as an aviation cadet in mid-1941, and trained until April 1942. After a stint as an instructor, he was assigned to the brand-new Essex in February 1943. With Essex, he scored his first aerial kills, shooting down 3 enemy planes over Rabaul and 1 over Tarawa in Nov. '43.

Over Truk on Feb. 16, 1944, he became separated from his wingman, Bill Bonneau, and was attacked by several Zeros. They chased him at length and fired repeatedly, but couldn't hit him. Figuring that their poor gunnery didn't threaten him too much, Valencia swung around to face his attackers, and shot down three in short order. On his return to Essex, he exuded enthusiasm for the Hellcat, saying, ‘I love this airplane so much that if it could cook, I'd marry it.’

At Truk, he spotted a weakness in the enemy's fighter tactics, from which he developed his famed ‘Mowing Machine.’ Returning to NAS Pasco, Washington for more training, he recruited three promising pilots to work with him: James French (who finished the war with 11 victories), Joe Roquemore, and Clinton Smith (6). They worked relentlessly, flying over 100 hours a month. They even resorted to bribing the service crews with booze, in exchange for the extra, unauthorized fuel they needed for their extra flight time. Roquemore died of pneumonia before they reached Hawaii, and Valencia recruited Harris Mitchell (ultimately 10 kills) to fill in. The intense and mercurial Valencia strove to build an esprit de corps in his division: requesting purple lightning bolts on their Hellcats (denied), decorating their helmets flamboyantly, and securing mint juleps or champagne for the division's pre-flight refreshment.

When this division and others of VF-9 were ready, they returned to the Pacific, serving briefly with the new Lexington (CV-16) in Feb.- Mar. 1945. Buy 'U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II' at Amazon.com This was the new VF-9, an entirely different outfit than the VF-9 that flew from Essex in 1943-44.

Barrett Tillman's U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II does a great job in unscrambling the different squadrons, their deployments, their aces, and C.O.'s. You can order it from Amazon.com.

On Feb. 15, VF-9 escorted a raid on Tokyo (the first in 3 years). Still led by CO Lt. Cdr. Herb Houck, they launched the first morning sweep less than 100 miles from Japan. They made the Honshu coast flying through rain and snow, something they hadn't expected to encounter in the Pacific, but VF-9 fliers didn't see much action on the day's first mission. That afternoon, they went up again, Valencia's division flying with CAG Phil Torrey. Valencia spotted a bogey high and behind them. He racked his Hellcat around and challenged the Tojo head-on, first firing his rockets. Mitchell came up to help, flamed the bandit, and saw the pilot bail out. The division re-formed and continued hunting both aerial and ground targets. Valencia got two more, while French and Smith got three between them. The ‘Flying Circus’ came back from its first combat mission with six confirmed kills, with no damage to their Hellcats. But CAG, Phil Torrey, had been lost.

In March VF-9 joined USS Yorktown, CV-10 (a new Essex-class carrier, the first Yorktown being sunk at Midway), a part of Task Force 58. TF 58 participated in the difficult Okinawa campaign, which the Japanese defended fiercely from March until June 21.
Okinawa

On the morning of April 17, VF-9 was flying Combat Air Patrol (CAP); Jap air attacks were expected. Before dawn Valencia and the other Hellcat pilots launched and began the climb to 25,000 feet. Patrolling to the north, Valencia had a good chance of encountering the Japanese. The Hellcats circled on reaching altitude, and continued uneventfully for an hour. But then Yorktown's radar room reported contacts to the north, which Smith soon spotted. ‘Tally ho! Bogeys! Three o'clock!’

The closest pilot, French (a wingman), headed toward them; the division had trained so that any one of the four could take the lead. From ten miles out, the enemy seemed to number about 20 or 30. But as the distance closed, Valencia estimated 35 or 40. Closing further, French called out ‘There must be fifty of 'em!’ French and Smith led the first diving attack, with Valencia and Mitchell as top cover. The enemy formation didn't react; French and Smith both fired and hit the bomb-carrying Franks, which disintegrated when their high explosives were hit. These two crossed and pulled up to cover Valencia and Mitchell, who then rapidly closed with the enemy gaggle and exploded two more Franks. (l. to r.) Valencia, Herb Houck, Bert Eckard, & Gus Morrison

The four Hellcats then reversed direction, while the Japs continued on their southern course, gambling that they could reach the American fleet before the Hellcats decimated their planes. Valencia and Mitchell led the return, closed in, and exploded two more Franks. French and Smith repeated the well-practiced ‘Mowing Machine’ and shot up two more planes. After this, the Japanese dispersed, and Valencia radioed ‘Break tactics. Select targets of opportunity.’ The Franks, Zeros, and Oscars scattered widely, and Valencia's division split into pairs, pursuing as well as they could. To his relief, some other Hellcats joined the interception, as the Japs were closing in on Yorktown. Valencia got onto another Frank's tail, and opened up from one hundred yards. Smoke streamed back and the Frank exploded. Victory number 3 for Valencia! So far his division had scored nine kills and two probables!

Valencia spotted three other Franks, and was briefly distracted by tracer fire, which turned out to be from Mitchell. Recovering, Valencia walked up on his fourth victim, and fires. Valencia stayed with his smoking target, while Mitchell clobbered another Frank from the same trio. Soon these two went down, upping the division's total to eleven, and Valencia's to four. Maneuvering, he then went for the remaining plane in the division, and poured shells into it. Victory number 5! All over the sky, American planes were downing the Japanese attackers. Valencia spotted a Frank on the tail of two unsuspecting Hellcats (intent on their own targets); he picked up speed, came within range, and pulled the trigger. His win number 6 saved the other Hellcat pilot. By this time his division had racked up 14 kills.

At this point, low fuel forced Valencia to head back for the Yorktown. He rendezvoused with Mitchell, and circled, hoping to pick up French and Smith. A stray Jap fighter came too close, and Valencia stood on a wing and made for him. But as he pressed the trigger, nothing happened. His guns were empty! Valencia radioed the Yorktown and received permission for him and Mitchell to land. They thumped down their dirty, but unhurt fighters, followed shortly by Smith and French. The division had scored seventeen confirmed kills and four probables, their best day of the war.

The Flying Circus continued its deadly work. Seventeen days later, they knocked down eleven enemy aircraft. Then on May 11, they scored another 10 kills, all in defense of the fleet. By the end of the war, all had become aces, Valencia leading them with 23 kills, and receiving the Navy Cross for his heroism and leadership. Buy 'U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II' at Amazon.com

Sources:

* The fine photographs here of Valencia, his CO - Lt. Cdr. Houck, and others were sent to me by Jack Whitesell, a WW2 vet himself, and high school classmate of one of the fliers. Jack, I salute you! A man who served his country so long ago, and is now helping the next generations see some of what happened.

* Edward Sims, Greatest Fighter Missions, Harper and Brothers, 1962

* Barrett Tillman, U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II, Specialty Press, 1997

* Barrett Tillman, Hellcat: The F6F in World War II, Naval Institute Press, 1979

The highly successful follow-on to the Wildcat. Built specifically to counter the Japanese Zero, the Hellcat filled the bill, and earned the nickname ‘ace maker.’ Its docile handling characteristics, especially important for a carrier-based plane to be used by a large number of reasonably well-trained pilots, made it the Navy's first choice fighter to deploy with the Essex-class carriers. In the critical years 1943 and 1944, the Hellcat ruled the skies of the Western Pacific.

Development
Although the F6F had been on the drawing boards at Grumman, even before Pearl Harbor, the advent of the war gave great impetus to the development of the replacement for the Wildcat. From the start it was a much bigger airplane. Leroy Grumman, and his two top engineers, Leon Swirbul and Bill Schwendler, laid out a plane with higher performance, more fuel & ammunition, and huge wings. The wings extended over 334 square feet; the average was less than 250 sq. ft.. The wings folded back and pivoted ingeniously, so that they folded up next to and alongside the fuselage.

The first prototype, the XF6F-1, was under development when the war started. Based on combat experience against the Zero and the intact A6M captured in the Aleutians, it was clear that speed and better climb would be needed from the Hellcat. Test pilot Robert L. Hall first flew the XF6F-1 in late June, 1942. Powered by a Wright Cyclone R-2600-16 engine (1,600 horsepower), the aircraft didn't have the needed performance. Grumman proposed the Pratt & Whitney 2800 Double Wasp (2,000 horspower). Equipped with the P&W 2800, the original prototype airframe became the XF6F-3. A month later, Bob Hall flew the new configuration. Despite a crash of the XF6F-3 in August, the Navy placed an order.

Grumman had to build a new facility, Plant Number 3, to produce the Hellcat. Obtaining the structural steel for the buildings was a challenge, met in part by the purchase of scrap from the Second Avenue El. Even before Plant Number 3 was finished, Hellcats began rolling off the production lines. Another Grumman test pilot, Selden ‘Connie’ Converse took up a production F6F-3 for the first time on October 3, 1942. Grumman's Hellcat output picked up quickly: 12 planes in the last quarter of 1942, 128 in the first quarter of 1943, and then 130 in the month of April, 1943. Eventually they would be churning out 500 per month. The company built over 12,000 in three years.

During ‘The War,’ Grumman was an outstanding example of American productivity, employing 20,000 workers, few of whom had ever worked in the aircraft industry before; many of them were women. Bethpage was a happy place; there were no strikes, work stoppages, nor unions. Grumman took care of its employees with daycare centers for working mothers, social events for all, Christmas turkeys, and the famous ‘Green Car Service’ to help employees with dead batteries and other minor problems.

F6F Performance
Especially with the delays in the F4U program, the US Navy needed a superior carrier-based fighter in 1942-43. The Hellcat filled the bill. On average, it flew 55 MPH faster than the Zero; at about 20,000 feet it was 70 MPH faster. At altitudes in excess of 10,000 feet, it had a comparable rate of climb. At all altitudes, due to its heavier weight and greater power, it could out-dive the A6M. (This was generally true of American fighters; in a tough spot, the pilots could nose over, firewall the throttle, and zoom down.)

The 'dash Five' closely resembled the 'dash Three.' It had some extra armor, stronger main gear legs, spring tabs on the ailerons (for better maneuverability), and most of them had water-injection engines (the R-2800-10W). Both versions had 250 gallons capacity in internal tanks and a 150 gallon belly drop-tank.

Its armament, power, and range gave the Hellcat great versatility. The basic weaponry consisted of six wing-mounted .50 caliber machine guns, each with 400 rounds of ammunition. Many, including all F6F-5N and F6F-5P variants substituted a 20mm cannon with 200 rounds for the innermost machine gun in each wing. The Hellcat could carry a up two 1,000 pound bombs. Its most destructive weapons were six 5-inch HVAR's (High Velocity Aircraft Rockets), which the author Barrett Tillman described as ‘equal to a destroyer's broadside.’

This variety of weapons and equipment permitted the Hellcat to carry out a broad range of missions: fighter versus fighter combat, strike plane escort, combat air patrol, long range search, ground support over invasion beaches, night fighting (see F6F-5N), and photo recon (see F6F-5P).

Operations - 1943
Fighting Squadron Nine (VF-9) took delivery of the first Hellcats in January, 1943. As they were flying from the Long Island factory to their Norfolk base, one crashed near Cape May, New Jersey. VF-6, commanded by Butch O'Hare, also received early deliveries of the F6F.

The Hellcat's first combat mission occurred on August 31, 1943, in a strike against Marcus Island, including Cdr. Charles Crommelin's VF-5, Lt. Cdr. Phil Torrey's VF-9, and a detachment of O'Hare's VF-6. The early-morning raiders destroyed eight twin-engine bombers on the ground; while losing two Hellcats to anti-aircraft fire and one to engine trouble. The next day, over Howland and Bakers Islands, Lt.(jg) Dick Loesch and Ens. A.W. Nyquist scored the Hellcat's first aerial victory when they teamed up to shoot down a Kawanishi H8K ‘Emily’ flying boat.

Large-scale carrier operations began in October, with a attack on Wake. When four carriers struck Wake Island on October 5-6, the Hellcats saw their first significant aerial combat. Half an hour before dawn on the 5th, each of the four carriers launched three fighter divisions, 47 Hellcats in all. When they were still 50 miles out from Wake, the Japanese radar detected them, and 27 Zeros intercepted. In the ensuing dogfight, Fighting Nine's skipper, Phil Torrey, shot down one Zero, then evaded two more by dodging in and out of clouds. Lt. Hadden, while watching a shared kill fall into the ocean, was jumped by two Zeros, and was lucky enough to make it back to Essex with most of his engine oil emptied out through several 20mm holes. Lt. (jg) Hamilton McWhorter dove into a gaggle of Zeros, when one serendipitously appeared in his gunsight. He fired a short burst and exploded the Zero - his first aerial victory.

The raid showed that the new Hellcats could more than hold its own against the Zeros. They destroyed 22 of 34 aircraft at Wake, and 12 American planes were lost - 6 to the Zeros and 6 to AA gunfire.

In early November, the U.S. forces attacked the large Japanese base at Rabaul, and again the Hellcats overmatched the Zeros.

Night Fighters
The Navy saw the need for night fighters and started the Project Affirm program in early 1942, originally with Corsairs equipped with primitive AI (Air Interception) radar sets built by MIT engineers. In 1943, the Hellcat emerged as the preferred night fighter because of its easier landing characteristics and greater stability as a gun platform. The F6F-3E, converted in the field at MCAS Quonset Point, was the first Hellcat night fighter, using the AI radar, red cockpit lighting (to preserve the pilot's night vision), and without an easily scratched Plexiglass windscreen fairing. Eighteen F6F-3E's were built. (On November 26, 1943, Butch O'Hare, flying an unmodified F6F-3 on a night mission with a TBF Avenger, disappeared over the Gilberts. One of the best books I have read about the Pacific War, Crossing the Line, by Alvin Kernan - who was the gunner on the Avenger that night - deals with this event in detail.)

Next came the F6F-3N, 205 of these built by the Grumman factory. The F6F-3N employed an improved radar, the APS-6. Installed in a bulbous pod on the starboard wing, the APS-6 was simple to operate (only six knobs), had a range of five miles, and weighed 250 pounds. It featured a double-dot system that displayed a shadow blip to the right of the true blip; this secondary blip showed the target's altitude relative to the F6F. The -3E's and -3N's deployed to the carriers in the Pacific in early 1944, but were difficult to integrate into carrier operations, as they essentially would have required round-the-clock duty by launch and recovery crews. Nonetheless, three Hellcat-equipped night squadrons (VF(N)-76, VF(N)-77, and VF(N)-78) served in the Pacific in 1944.

The F6F-5N was the definitive night-fighting version of the Hellcat, over 1500 of these built by Grumman.

Post War Service
Hellcats flew with the French Aeronavale in the Indochina war of the early 1950's.

Surviving Hellcats
As late as 1980, sixteen Hellcats survived (including some in private hands). More recently, there are at least ten Hellcats at the following museums:

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/ Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum New York NY

http://www.airzoo.org/ Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum Kalamazoo MI

http://www.lsfm.org/aircraft/hellcat.htm Lone Star Flight Museum Galveston TX

http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/aero/aircraft/grumman_f6f.htmNational Air and Space Museum Washington DC

http://www.naval-air.org/ National Museum of Naval Aviation AS Pensacola FL

http://www.neam.org/ New England Air Museum Windsor Locks CT

http://www.planesoffame.org Planes of Fame Air Museum Eden Prairie MN

http://users.ids.net/~qam/qam/ Quonset Air Museum North Kingston RI

http://www.aerospacemuseum.org/ San Diego Aerospace Museum North Kingston RI

http://www.planesoffame.org/ The Air Museum Planes of Fame Chino CA

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