Markings for F4F-4 Wildcat late 1/48
Lt.(Jg) William E. Eder, VGF-29, USS Santee (CVE-29), November 1942
Prior to his assignment to VGF-29, William Eder fought with VF-3 at the Battle of Bougainville and with VF-2 at the Battle of the Coral Sea. He downed one Zero and shared a victory over a Betty bomber plus one probable kill of a Val bomber during these engagements. In all, Eder is credited with 6.5 kills of Japanese aircraft, and he destroyed another 10 of them on the ground. He also destroyed three French aircraft during Operation Torch. The Wildcat that Eder flew during Operation Torch wore standard camouflage consisting of shades of Light Gray and Blue Gray, the insignia being complemented by a yellow border on the fuselage and underside of the wing. Below the cockpit, two kills and the unit emblem were painted on both sides.
BuNo.11992, Ens. Leroy Childs, VF-11, Guadalcanal, May 1943
VF-11 was established at NAS North Island California on October 10, 1942 and was equipped with Wildcats. To emphasize its fighting spirit and superiority over the Japanese, the squadron chose the name Sundowners. The emblem featured two Wildcats shooting down a rising sun. From April to July 1943, VF-11 Wildcats shot down a total of 55 enemy aircraft in aerial combat at Guadalcanal. After returning to the U.S. and rearming with the new F6F Hellcat, VF-11 embarked on the USS Hornet in October 1944 and joined the fighting. By February 1945, her pilots had achieved 102 enemy kills in the air and destroyed dozens more on the ground. With this Wildcat was shot down Ens. Leroy Child on May 6, 1943. He was last seen breaking away from the formation and his body was never recovered. He was posthumously awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Wildcat number 16 was painted in standard camouflage shades of Light Gray and Blue Gray with a diffuse gradient of colors. On both sides of the fuselage there were the white lettering "JEANIE" and the unit emblem of VF-11 painted. The aircraft had numerous camouflage repairs to the fuselage and wings.
Lt. Philip H. Torrey Jr., CO VF-22, USS Independence (CVL-22), June 1943
The VF-22 unit was activated on September 30, 1942 and flew from the aircraft carrier USS Indenpedence (CVL-22) during World War II. The unit was flew F4F Wildcats, later F6F Hellcats. The unit’s first commander was Lt. Philip H. Torrey Jr. who commanded the unit until the summer of 1943. During the summer of 1943, Torrey became the commanding officer of Fighting Squadron 9 (VF-9), operating from the USS Essex (CV-9). In March 1944, he was transferred to Carrier Air Group 9 (CAG-9) operating aboard USS Lexington (CV-16) with F6F Hellcats. On February 16, 1945, Torrey volunteered for his first mission which was to fly over Tokyo. Over the target, however, his Hellcat was shot down by a Japanese fighter and Torrey fatally crashed in the village of Habu near Narita. His Wildcat, which he flew with VF-22, had a non-standard camouflage with a third shade of Semi-Gloss Sea Blue applied to the original older Blue Gray/Light Gray scheme on the upper fuselage and wings.
VC-13, USS Core (CVE-13), August-September 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 an interesting 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 6 on the rudder, had a unique design of the unit emblem painted on the fuselage with the number 13 inscribed on it. This made it a popular background for photographs of VC-13 pilots.
Lt. (jg) Dean S. Laird, USS Ranger (CV-4), Operation Leader, October 1943
Dean Samuel “Diz” Laird was the only US Navy ace with kills on both the Pacific and European battlefields. He also served in the Korean War and Vietnam War after the World War II. Laird shot down 5.75 enemy aircraft in combat and damaged one. Two of his victims were German Ju 88 and He 115 aircraft, shot down in October 1943 near Norway during Operation Leader. The others were Japanese aircraft. Laird flew 138 combat sorties during World War II and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Congressional Gold Medal, among other awards. He flew the F4F Wildcats and then the F6F Hellcats and was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) from November 1942 to March 1943. From November 1944 to March 1945, he operated from the USS Essex (CV-9). In 1969, he was one of the three lead pilots in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! Laird helped reenact the attack on Pearl Harbor during its filming and flew approximately 164 hours during the production.
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.