U.S. Navy Fighting Squadrons in WW2
By Stephen Sherman, Feb. 2000. Updated July 2, 2011.
Few aspects of naval aviation are more confusing than the U.S. Navy's squadron designations. The Navy changes them all the time, from World War Two to the present. Following is a table that presents a selection of the high-scoring WW2 squadrons. Actually, each row of the table shows one squadron during one deployment.
One of the key American strengths during WWII's air war was the excellent training and depth of our combat pilots. By policy, naval pilots served in combat for a finite tour (e.g. 250 combat hours, or six months, or 25 missions, or whatever). Then they rotated back stateside, typically to train other pilots.
Each Navy squadron would usually serve in combat for several months, usually from one carrier or land base, and usually under one commanding officer (CO). This time was called a "cruise," a "deployment," or a "combat tour." Each row in the table corresponds to one of these deployments.
It got confusing when the Navy would then organize another squadron under the same designation, with new fliers and a new CO, and frequently with a new aircraft. So VF-8 flying Wildcats from Hornet in 1942 had little connection with VF-8 in 1944 on Bunker Hill flying Hellcats. "VF" meant "Heavier-than-air Fighting Squadron," nomenclature that arose when the Navy also flew dirigibles.
By far, the highest scoring squadron was VF-15, with 310 confirmed aerial kills. They had skilled fliers (McCampbell, Rushing, Rigg, Strane, Twelves, et al) and they flew off Essex during some the great aerial fights of 1944 - the Marianas Turkey Shoot of June 19, the Formosa strikes of September, and the Leyte Gulf battles of late October.)
All of the information in this table was summarized from Barrett Tillman's excellent U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II. Any errors or over-simplifications are my mistakes, not the author's.
Squadron # "Nickname" | Start | End | A/C | Carrier/Base | Top Ace (kills w/ sqn) | CO (kills w/ sqn) | Kills | # Aces |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VF-1 "High Hatters" | Nov-43 | Aug-44 | F6F | Yorktown CV-10 | Richard Eastmond (9) | B.M. Strean | 100 | 3 |
VF-2 "Rippers" | Mar-44 | Sep-44 | F6F | Hornet CV-12 | Cdr. William A. Dean (10) | 240 | 28 | |
VF-3 "Felix the Cat" | Dec-41 | May-42 | F4F | Lexington CV-2 | Butch O'Hare (5) | Jimmy Thach | 18 | 1 |
May-42 | Jun-42 | F4F | Yorktown CV-5 | Elbert McCuskey (5) | Jimmy Thach | 34.5 | 1 | |
VF-5 | Aug-42 | Oct-42 | F4F | Saratoga CV-3 | H. M. Jensen (7) | Leroy Simpler | 78 | 4 |
Oct-43 | Apr-44 | F6F | Yorktown CV-10 | Robert Duncan (7) | Ed Owens (5) | 93.5 | 7 | |
VF-6 "Shooting Stars" | Dec-41 | Oct-42 | F4F | Enterprise CV-6 | Donald E. Runyon (8) | James S. Gray | 63 | 1 |
VF-6 | Aug-43 | Feb-44 | F6F | various CV's | Alexander Vraciu (9) | H.W. Harrison | 37.5 | 0 |
VF-7 | Sep-44 | Jan-45 | F6F | Hancock CV-19 | Lt. Cdr. L. J. Check (10) | 72 | 2 | |
VF-8 | Dec-41 | Jun-42 | F4F | Hornet CV-8 | Merrill Cook (2) | Sam Mitchell | 5 | 0 |
Mar-44 | Oct-44 | F6F | Bunker Hill CV-17 | Cdr. William Collins (9) | 156 | 13 | ||
VF-9 "Cat o' Nines" | Oct-43 | Mar-44 | F6F | Essex CV-9 | Hamilton McWhorter (10) | Phil Torrey | 116 | 10 est. |
Mar-45 | Jun-45 | F6F | Yorktown CV-10 | Eugene Valencia (23) | John S. Kitten | 129 | 10 est. | |
VF-10 "Grim Reapers" | Oct-42 | May-43 | F4F | Enterprise CV-6 | Swede Vejtasa (7.25) | J.H. Flatley | 43 | 1 |
Jan-44 | Jun-44 | F6F | Enterprise CV-6 | Richard Devine (8) | William Kane | 88 | 5 | |
Feb-45 | Apr-45 | F4U | Intrepid CV-11 | P. L. Kirkwood (8) | Walter E. Clarke | 87 | 7 | |
VF-11 "Sundowners" | May-43 | Jul-43 | F4F | Guadalcanal | Charles Stimpson (6) | Charles White | 52 | 2 |
Oct-44 | Jan-45 | F6F | Hornet CV-12 | Charles Stimpson (10) | E. G. Fairfax | 106 | 5 | |
VF-12 | Sep-43 | Jun-44 | F6F | Saratoga CV-3 | John Magda (4)? | R.G. Dose | 20 | 0 |
Jan-45 | Jun-45 | F6F | Randolph CV-15 | Lt. Cdr. Frederick H. Michaelis (5) | 51 | 2 | ||
VF-13 "Black Cats" | Jul-44 | Nov-44 | F6F | Franklin CV-13 | Albert Pope (7) | Wilson Coleman (6) | 86 | 3 |
VF-14 "Iron Angels" | May-44 | Nov-44 | F6F | Wasp CV-18 | William Knight (7.5) | R. Gray | 146 | 8 |
VF-15 "Fighting Aces" | May-44 | Nov-44 | F6F | Essex CV-9 | McCampbell, Duncan, Rushing, Strane, Twelves | James Rigg (11) | 310 | 26 |
VF-16 "Fighting Airedales" | Oct-43 | Jun-44 | F6F | Lexington CV-16 | Alexander Vraciu (10) | Paul D. Buie (9) | 136.5 | 7 |
VF-17 "Jolly Rogers" | Oct-43 | Mar-44 | F4U | Solomons | Ike Kepford (16) | Tom Blackburn (11) | 152 | 11 |
VF-18 | Oct-43 | Mar-44 | F6F | Bunker Hill CV-17 | Lt. Cdr. Sam Silber (6) | 74 | 1 | |
Aug-44 | Nov-44 | F6F | Intrepid CV-11 | Cecil Harris (22) | Ed Murphy | 176.5 | 13 | |
VF-19 "Satan's Kittens" | Jul-44 | Nov-44 | F6F | Lexington CV-16 | William Masoner Jr. (10) | T. Hugh Winters (8) | 155 | 11 |
VF-20 | Aug-44 | Jan-45 | F6F | Enterprise CV-6/etc. | Douglas Baker (16.33) | Fred Bakutis (7.5) | 158 | 9 |
VF-21 | Feb-43 | Jul-43 | F4F | Guadalcanal | Ross Torkelson (6) | John Hulme | 69 | 3 |
Jul-44 | Oct-44 | F6F | Belleau Wood CVL-24 | Bob Thomas (5) | V. F. Casey | 40 | 1 | |
VF-22 | Sep-44 | Jan-45 | F6F | Cowpens CVL-25 | Clement Craig (12) | Thomas Jenkins | 49.5 | 3 |
VF-23 | Aug-43 | May-44 | F6F | Princeton CVL-23 | L.H. Kerr (4.83) | H.L. Miller | 35 | 0 |
VF-26 | Apr-44 | Oct-44 | FM2 | Santee CVE-29 | Kenneth Hippe (6) | Harold Funk | 31 | 1 |
VC-27 | Oct-44 | Jan-45 | FM2 | Savo Island | Ralph Elliott (9) | P. W. Jackson | 61 | 1 |
VF-27 | May-44 | Oct-44 | F6F | Princeton CVL-23 | James Shirley (12) | Fred Bardshar (7.5) | 134 | 10 |
VF-28 | May-44 | Dec-44 | F6F | Monterey CVL-26 | Oscar Bailey (5) | Roger Mehle | 55 | 2 |
VF-29 | Oct-44 | Apr-45 | F6F | Cabot CVL-28 | Robert Murray (10.3) | William Eder (6.5) | 113 | 12 |
VF-30 | Jan-45 | Jun-45 | F6F | Belleau Wood CVL-24 | James Reber (11) | Douglas A. Clark | 110 | 7 |
VF-31 "Meataxers" | Jan-44 | Sep-44 | F6F | Cabot CVL-28 | Cornelius Nooy (19) | Bob Winston | 165.5 | 14 |
VF-32 "Outlaw's Bandits" | Mar-44 | Oct-44 | F6F | Langley CVL-27 | Lt. Cdr. Eddie Outlaw (6) | 44 | 2 | |
VF-33 | Aug-43 | Jan-44 | F6F | Solomons | Frank Schneider (7) | Hawley Russell | 74.5 | 3 |
VF(N)-41 | Aug-44 | Jan-45 | F6F | Independence CVL-23 | William Henry (9.5) | T. F. Caldwell | 46 | 2 |
VF-42 | Dec-41 | May-42 | F4F | Yorktown CV-5 | Art Brassfield (4.83) | Oscar Pedersen | 25 | 0 |
VF-44 "Crusaders" | Oct-44 | Feb-45 | F6F | Langley CVL-27 | Cdr. Malcolm T. Wordell (7) | 47 | 3 | |
VF-45 | Nov-44 | May-45 | F6F | San Jacinto CVL-30 | James B. Cain (8) | Gordon Schechter | 81.5 | 6 |
VF-47 "Fighting Cocks" | Mar-45 | Aug-45 | F6F | Bataan CVL-29 | Samuel Hibbard (7.33) | Albert Clancy | 67.5 | 1 |
VF-50 "Devil Cats" | Apr-44 | Jul-44 | F6F | Bataan CVL-29 | Daniel Rehm (6) | J.C. Strange | 61 | 4 |
VF-51 | Apr-44 | Nov-44 | F6F | San Jacinto CVL-30 | William Maxwell (7) | C. L. Moore | 50.5 | 1 |
VF-60 | Nov-43 | Oct-44 | F6F | Suwanee CVE-27 | R. Singleton (3.25) | H.O. Feilbach | 25 | 0 |
VF-72 | Jul-42 | Oct-42 | F4F | Hornet CV-8 | George Wrenn (5.25) | Henry Sanchez | 38 | 1 |
VF-80 "Vorse's Vipers" | Nov-44 | Jan-45 | F6F | Ticonderoga CV-14 | Patrick Fleming (19) | Leroy Keith | 159.5 | 10 |
VF-82 | Jan-45 | Jun-45 | F6F | Bennington CV-20 | Robert Jennings (7) | Edward Hassell | 85 | 5 |
VF-83 "Kangaroos" | Mar-45 | Sep-45 | F6F | Essex CV-9 | Thaddeus Coleman (8) | H.A. Sampson | 137 | 11 |
VBF-83 | Mar-45 | Sep-45 | F4U | Essex CV-9 | Thomas Reidy (10) | Frank Patriarca | 91 | 3 |
VF-84 "Wolf Gang" | Jan-45 | Jun-45 | F4U | Bunker Hill CV-17 | Doris Freeman (7) | Roger R. Hedrick | 137 | 4 |
U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II, by Barrett Tillman
If you've read this far in this website, this book is for you. Most of the book consists of short summaries of the USN fighting squadrons that saw combat in WWII. (It unravels the tangled mess of squadron designations, re-designations, and deployments.) Each squadron history includes its deployments, CO's, and top scorer.
The appendices provide tables of Navy aces in every imaginable way: by aircraft type, a complete alphabetical list of aces, top 50 aces in descending order, the first twenty navy aces, Naval Academy aces, and more.
Buy "U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II" at Amazon.com