Markings for F4F-4 Wildcat late 1/48

VMF-441, Nanumea, November 1943

Marine Fighting Squadron 441 (VMF-441) was formed on October 1, 1942, at Tutuila, American Samoa, from part of VMF-111 and flew F4F Wildcats. By the end of May 1943, the entire squadron moved to Funafuti in the Ellice Islands, followed by another move to Nanumea Base on September 28, 1943. The squadron moved back to Tutuila in December 1943, where it rearmed to the F4U-1 Corsair. VMF-441 was also known as “The Blackjacks”. The unit was credited with a total of 49 aircraft shot down during World War II and was inactivated after the surrender of Japan on July 11, 1946. The Wildcat shown here wore non-standard camouflage with a third shade of Semi-Gloss Sea Blue added to the original older Blue Gray/Light Gray scheme on the upper fuselage and wing surfaces. The nose of the aircraft was decorated with a white “Little Joe” inscription on the left side of the engine cowling with a dice motif.

VC-13, USS Core (CVE-13), August 1943

The Tacoma-built Bogue-class escort carrier USS Core (CVE-13) was commissioned on December 10, 1942, and named after Core Sound. USS Core operated on the west coast off San Diego, but soon joined the Atlantic Fleet to take part in the bloody war against submarines with TBF-1C Avengers and F4F-4 Wildcats on board. Core’s first combat cruise in the Atlantic lasted from June 27 to July 31, 1943, during which VC-13 hit a pair of submarines. USS Core and VC-13 scored a total of four submarine kills by the end of 1943, helping to end the good times of the German U-boat fleet. The Wildcats on USS Core carried combination of colors from the factory blue-grey NS through light grey NS as well as both the then-new ASWN I and II schemes designed for the Atlantic. The aircraft shown, with the black identification number 3 on the rudder, had a three-tone camouflage, i.e. ASWN I scheme, and was sporting red outlined insignias. These were repainted with Insignia Blue in September 1943.

VGF-29, Lt Cdr John T. Blackburn, USS Santee (CVE-29), November 1943

John Thomas Blackburn (born January 24, 1912) became first commanding officer of famous VF-17 Jolly Rogers Squadron flying F4U Corsairs. Prior to that, he had managed to achieve fame and ace status with Wildcats. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1933 and served as flight instructor when the USA entered the war in 1941. Although anxious to get to combat, he was relegated to fly Buffalos in Miami and had to apply several times for assignment with combat unit. He was tasked to set up VGF-29 as its CO on the new escort carrier USS Santee. After the pilots acquainted themselves with Wildcats at Pungo, Virginia, the Squadron embarked aboard USS Santee in October 1942 to participate in Operation Torch. The first combat was a disaster, as pilots could not find the target due to poor weather. More to it, damaged homing equipment aboard Santee forced them to ditch or force-land their Wildcats. Blackburn himself floated adrift in a life raft for three days before he was rescued by a destroyer. Shortly thereafter, Blackburn was ordered to set up a new unit, the VF-17, the second squadron to fly F4U Corsairs in combat. Blackburn achieved 11 victories in WWII and became Commander Air Group of CAG 74 aboard the new USS Midway (CVB-41) in 1945 and he commanded the ship from 1958 to 1959. After the war he worked at the Pentagon and was one of the first jet pilots in the Navy. He retired in 1962 and began growing wine grapes and raising the Golden Retrievers in California. He died on March 21, 1994.

VMF-111 (121), 2Lt. Thomas Mann, Samoa Spring 1943

Marine Fighting Squadron 121 (VMF-121) was activated on June 24, 1941 and adopted the nickname The Green Knights. They began combat operations with F4F Wildcats, which they changed for F4U Corsairs later. They took part in the battle for Guadalcanal starting October 1942 and also fought from the forward air bases on Bougainville and Emirau. On September 15, 1944, the Green Knights landed on Peleliu and were fighting from this base until July 25, 1945. The unit was deactivated on September 9, 1945. During the war, fourteen pilots of VMF-121 became fighter aces, and the whole unit downed 208 Japanese aircraft, 165 of them while flying Wildcats. Marine Second Lieutenant Thomas H. Mann, Jr., moved to VMF-121 from VMF-224 and became an ace in the fighting over Guadalcanal with five victories on his account. On November 11, 1942, he took off with others to intercept a formation of Japanese Aichi Type 99 bombers. He managed to shoot down three of them prior to being shot down and lost seven teeth in landing on water, which added the pain to his wound he suffered from enemy fire. Mann managed to reach the beach of a small island in the Tulagi archipelago and got back with the help of natives in a canoe. At the end of the WWII, he amassed ten aerial victories.