Text: Richard Plos

Illustration: Adam Tooby

Graphic desing: Jan Zdiarsky

Cat. No. 11170

When Operation Watchtower was launched on August 7, 1942, a “green hell” was waiting for the men of the 1st Marine Division under the command of Maj. Gen. Alexander Vandegrift on Guadalcanal. Though only 2,000 Japanese stood against 6,000 Marines, their fanatical determination did not waver even after fighting for 36 hours, when American forces had captured most of the island, including the airfield under construction. The landing was strongly supported by naval and air forces, with the USS Enterprise’s pilots making 237 combat sorties that day, others added by the pilots from the USS Saratoga. After the Enterprise withdrew from the area, the aerial support weakened and the Marines on the island suffered intense bombing. No wonder they were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the fighters. Those arrived on August 20, when VMF-223 Wildcats landed at Henderson Field.

Air combat and on-site accidents quickly reduced the numbers of aircraft and just ten days after arrival there were only five of the 19 Wildcats left. Even later, after the arrival of reinforcements, the numbers of airworthy Wildcats were rapidly decreasing. The pilots had no choice and no Wildcat from Guadalcanal can be attributed to a particular pilot. In the case of the GUADALCANAL Limited kit, we solved this in a jokey way: Where possible, we assigned a specific pilot to the aircraft he flew in a known event.

The third most successful fighter of the campaign, Capt. Marion Carl, would certainly deserve “his” marking in the kit. But concerning the Wildcat often attributed to him, it’s complicated. The aircraft with the number 2 on the fuselage and nineteen kill marks under the cockpit (marking F) was most likely one he ever flew with. According to the testimony of historians who spoke with the famous ace, Carl said that this aircraft in the well-known photographs was in fact an “hangar queen” pulled out of the hangar at Espiritu Santo to be photographed with the hero by the media. For this purpose, the nineteen kill mark stickers were applied. The media then reportedly took a lot of pictures of Marion Carl at “his” Wildcat. But ...

No matter how much you are searching, you won’t find a proof photo of Carl with this aircraft. Which is strange. In one famous photograph, a man is squatting on the wing, half undressed, wearing a crumpled cap. It’s said to be Marion Carl. But would a pilot, an officer, present himself to the media like that? Hardly ... In several other photos, sitting in the cockpit or standing on the wing is Tech Sgt R. W. Greenwood. The photo of him in the cockpit was published in Stars and Stripes magazine during the war. Firstly with the caption “unknown soldier in the cockpit of a Wildcat on Guadalcanal”. When the editors found out who it was through a letter from a sergeant’s fellow, they published the photo again, this time with his name. The mention of Guadalcanal remained and according to the sergeant’s son, his father never disputed that fact. But historians say this Wildcat never made it to Guadalcanal! But the picture with Greenwood shows the kill marks were worn out and the surroundings on the photo of the whole aircraft looks like Henderson field rather than Espiritu Santo airfield. What’s more, even the official US Navy archive dates the photo to February 2, 1943.  At this time Carl was gone from Guadalcanal for some four months! So, there are many questions regarding this aircraft. It is sometimes also attributed to the CO of VMF-223, Maj. John L. Smith, because he achieved nineteen kills, which corresponds to the number of kill marks. But he was also no longer on Guadalcanal in February.

We may never know the full truth about the Wildcat with number 2, but that uncertainty makes it an attractive option as well. We have, however, chosen other Wildcats for the boxart. The one in the background was “Swede” Vejtasa’s personal mount (marking A). For the foreground we have chosen an aircraft that was only marginally related to Guadalcanal, as it was used by 1/Lt. S. B. Folsom shortly after he left the island (marking H). But there are not many Wildcats with such a nice nose art, so it was an obvious choice. The author of the Wildcats on the boxart of the kit 11170 is Adam Tooby and he did a great job, which is supported by the graphics by Jan Zdiarsky. Twelve markings and two complete kits are what is waiting for the modeler inside the box ...