F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat Aces of VF-2 cover
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Description

The first VF-2 was a prewar unit that had been dubbed the 'hottest outfit afloat' due to the skill of their non-commissioned pilots. This first unit only saw combat at the Battle of the Coral Sea, but VF-2 pilots flying Grumman F4F Wildcats were able to rack up 17 claims there during the bitter 48-hour period of fighting. The second 'Fighting Two' was armed with the new Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter. Arriving in Hawaii in October 1943, the squadron so impressed Cdr Edward H 'Butch' O'Hare, the Medal of Honor winning first US Navy ace of World War 2, that he requested the squadron replace VF-6 in his Carrier Air Group 6 aboard USS Enterprise. No other US Navy unit created as many aces as VF-2, whose pilots went into action over the Carolines, Marianas, Guam, Iwo Jima and the Battle of the Philippines Sea. Using exquisite photographs and first-hand accounts from the elite fliers themselves, this volume tells the story of the ace pilots who comprised the original VF-2 and the second.

Table of Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE
19 JUNE 1944

CHAPTER TWO
THE 'FLYING CHIEFS'

CHAPTER THREE
'RAMSEY'S LAMBSIES'

CHAPTER FOUR
'THE RIPPERS'

CHAPTER FIVE
WESTPAC

CHAPTER SIX
'HEY RUBE!'

CHAPTER SEVEN
PACIFIC HIGH TIDE

Appendices
Colour plates
Commentary
Index

Product details

Published Feb 17 2015
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 96
ISBN 9781472805584
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Aircraft of the Aces
Short code ACE 125
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has been a published write…

Illustrator

Jim Laurier

Jim Laurier is a native of New England and lives i…

Illustrator

Mark Postlethwaite

Mark Postlethwaite was born in Leicestershire in 1…

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