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Lt.(Jg) William E. Eder, VGF-29, USS Santee (CVE-29), November 1942
BuNo.11992, Ens. Leroy Childs, VF-11, Guadalcanal,
May 1943
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.
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.
KITS 04/2024
INFO Eduard52
April 2024