KITS 05/2023
BuNo 72296 Lt. Louis A. Menard, jr., VBF-12, USS Randolph, February 17, 1945
Louis Arthur Menard, called Lou, joined the Navy
on July 21, 1941. He was designated a Naval Aviator
on January 31, 1942 and promoted to the rank of
Ensign. His first combat deployment took him to
North Africa on board of USS Ranger as a member
of VF-9. There he achieved one confirmed and one
probable kill flying F4F-4 on November 9. A year
later, on November 11, he added two Zekes to his
tally still as a member of VF-9, but aboard USS
Essex. After shooting down a Kate on January 29,
1944, he made himself an ace as he shot down two
Kates and two Petes on February 17. Promoted to
the rank of Lieutenant on April 1, 1944, he was
attached to the VF-12 and, on January 2, 1945,
moved to its sibling squadron VBF-12. February 16
was the day of his last victory. He shot down one
Judy, but the next day he had to bail out over the
ocean and strong wind dragged him through the
water. The crew of the destroyer Taussig finally
saved him. This ended his tour and he returned to
the USA. He stayed in active duty until 1968, when
he retired in the rank of Commander. He was XO
of VF-33 from June 1953 and CO of VF-102 from
September 1954. Regarding the Navy loss list,
Menard flew Hellcat BuNo 72296 and a painting
accompanying the interview with him portrays the
aircraft with tactical number 32. We thus assume
it was the one Lou had to bail out from. Another
source states the aircraft was BuNo 72635 and
to make the things even more complicated, there
were two Hellcats with number 32 on board of
USS Randolph. Which of them was this No. 32
Hellcat of VBF-12 is not clear. The decals offer
both BuNo. options.
Flottille 1F, PA Arromanche, French Indochina, 1951
The French Navy bought 124 F6F-5s and fifteen
F6F-5Ns between 1950 and 1953. The plane
equipped several combat units, including famous
wartime I/6 Corse and II/6 Normandie-Niemen
squadrons. The Naval 1F Flotille was another unit
to convert to Hellcats and one of those fighting
in Indochina, where France tried to reinstate
May 2023
its pre-war colony but faced the communists
opposition led by Ho Chi Minh. The unit was
transformed into 11F on June 20, 1953, while back
in France, and sent back to French Indochina
immediately. The Hellcats were also used by 54S,
57S and 59S training squadrons. French scrapped
their Hellcats in 1960 and replaced them with the
F8F Bearcat. Their Hellcats were painted in Gloss
Sea Blue and had a modified French roundel
with an anchor. The aircraft sported the famous
symbol of the Seahorse on the vertical stabilizer.
The appearance of the seahorse varied from
aircraft to aircraft.
INFO Eduard
31