KITS 08/2023

Ens. Darrell C. Bennett, VC-10, USS Gambier Bay, August 1944

The Composite Squadron 10 was established

on September 23, 1943 and adopted the name

Mallards. The unit served on board the carrier

USS Gambier Bay from April 5 and after her

sinking in the Battle off Samar on October 25,

the unit operated from airfields in Leyte. In

January 1945, VC-10 was reformed and prepared

for further deployment, but this never happened

and it was inactivated at the end of the war. Ens.

Darrell Bennett was born in Hamburg, Iowa, on

March 30, 1924 and entered the Navy as an air

cadet on October 1, 1943. Ten months later he

was sent on his first operational tour with the

VC-10 aboard the USS Gambier Bay. On the day

he arrived, he had his picture taken in front of

the FM-2 with a painting of two girls on the port

side of the engine cowling. The first was based

on a painting called Patriotic Gal by the famous

Antonio Vargas. It is not known who had the two

girls painted on the aircraft, but the paintings

already bore signs of modification and wear. It is

possible that Bennett only had “Smokey’s” added

to the inscription “Lucky Witch”, as the “Smokey”

was his nickname. He fought heroic battles with

VC-10 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf and narrowly

escaped sinking with the USS Gambier Bay, which

was shot up by Japanese cruisers at the Battle

off Samar. Bennett survived the war and stayed

in the Navy afterwards. He flew combat missions

in Korea and later trained recruits. During his

career, he rose to command Fleet Air Miramar.

After retirement in 1965 he flew as a private pilot.

He died in December 2020.

Lt. Leopold M. Ferko, VC-4, USS White Plains, November 1944

Leopold Martin Ferko was born to Slovak parents

on January 29, 1915, in Great Falls, Montana. He

earned his bachelor’s degree from Stanford

University, where he was also a star of the

American football team there. He then taught

math and English at San Francisco High School

and also coached the local football team before

signing up with the Navy and beginning flight

training on February 3. He then continued as an

instructor at Corpus Christi, Texas, before being

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INFO Eduard

transferred to Pearl Harbor in June 1943, where

he embarked with the VC-4 on the USS White

Plains. The unit consisted of 16 FM-2s and 12 TBM

Avengers. During the three days of the Battle of

Leyte Gulf, he scored all five of his kills, although

the first two may have been his last. After shooting

down two Oscars he was in fact attacked himself

and his FM-2 took one hit after another before the

attacking enemy was shot down by the Ens. Pool.

Ferko then had to make an emergency landing at

Tacloban due to a damaged elevator. There, the

aircraft was repaired, and he was able to return

in time to score three more kills. Leopold Ferko

retired from the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant

Commander and died on May 16, 1992, in San

Francisco. This FM-2 was the second one he used

and the kill symbols were probably only on the

right side. However, the decals also offer the

option of placing the symbols on the left side.

August 2023