Markings for FM-2 Wildcat 1/48
Lt. Robert I. Myers, VC-93, USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80), April 1945
USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80), after being commissioned into the Navy in February 1944, was first engaged in shipping aircraft, material, and military personnel. In May VC-76 boarded and participated in the Peleliu landings, the Philippine Campaign, and the Battle of Iwo Jima. After the latter operation, VC-76 was replaced by a fresh unit, VC-93, with which USS Petrof Bay intervened in the Okinawa landings and subsequently supported ground forces and provided protection to vessels off that island. During this activity, the pilots of VC-93 had to face primarily kamikaze raids, and on this Wildcat, on April 6, 1945, Lt. Robert Ira Myers managed to shoot down Kamikaze Zero attacking a transport ship, shortly after another Zero, and finally a D3A Val dive bomber attempting to engage a destroyer. For these achievements he was subsequently awarded the Navy Cross.
VC-88, USS Saginaw Bay (CVE-82), 1945
The escort carrier Saginaw Bay (CVE-82), one of fifty Casablanca-class vessels, was commissioned on March 2, 1944, after a construction period of 123 days. Like her sister ships, she first participated in the transport of personnel, aircraft, and material, then combined squadron boarded to participate in combat operations, specifically the landings in Palau, the liberation of the Philippines, and the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Okinawa landings were supported from aboard the USS Saginaw Bay by VC-88 equipped with FM-2 Wildcats and TBM-3 Avengers.
VC-9, USS Solomons (CVE-67), spring/summer 1944
Combined VC-9 squadron consisting of nine FM-2 Wildcats and twelve Avengers was assigned aboard USS Solomons (CVE-67), docked in Recife, Brazil. The primary mission of the ship and her unit was anti-submarine patrols in the South Atlantic. The VC-9 spent five months aboard from March to August 1944 and participated in four cruises during this period. The most successful cruise was the third one, which involved the detection and subsequent sinking of the German Type IXD2 submarine U-860 on June 15, 1944. The submarine was on her first patrol under the command of Fregatenkapitän Paul Büchel and 42 crew members followed her into the depths. Wildcats flying over the Atlantic wore the so-called Atlantic camouflage scheme, consisting of white paint on the lower and side surfaces, while the upper surfaces were camouflaged with Dark Gull Gray.
VC-99, USS Hogatt Bay (CVE-75), 1945
USS Hoggatt Bay (CVE-75), a Casablanca-class escort carrier, joined the fleet operating off Okinawa on May 8, 1945. Aboard was combined squadron VC-99 that had embarked shortly before at Saipan to support ground troops at Okinawa and to participate in fleet protection against Kamikaze raids by Japanese pilots. On June 24, the ship was released from operations off Okinawa and sent to Leyte, where she parted ways with the VC-99 awaiting rest and replenishment of losses. An all-blue camouflage scheme in Gloss Sea Blue was introduced in June 1944, replacing the three-color camouflage scheme used since January 1943.
Lt. Martin Ferko, VC-4, USS White Plains (CVE-67), June – September 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 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.
JV836, No. 882 Naval Air Squadron, HMS Searcher, August 1945
No. 882 NAS embarked aboard HMS Searcher in September 1943 after previous service on the carriers Illustrious and Victorious. Already on these motherships she used Martlets, as the British called Wildcats until January 1944. Aboard HMS Searcher the unit took part in major operations of the Royal Navy. These included Operation Tungsten (the attack on Tirpitz, anchored in Kaafjord) in April 1944, Operation Dragoon (the Allied landings in southern France) in August 1944, and Operation Outing (attacks on German-occupied islands in the Aegean Sea) in September of that year. This was followed by a return to the home islands, where the unit took delivery of new Wildcats VI (FM-2 Wildcat) and in February 1945 headed again aboard Searcher to the Norwegian coast, where it conducted raids on German-occupied territory. After the end of the war in Europe, it was decided that No. 882 NAS aboard Searcher would move to the Pacific to reinforce the British Pacific Fleet, but the end of the war found her enroute during a stop in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The all-blue Wildcats VI serving with the British Pacific Fleet had cockades painted in blue and white only. The red center was omitted because of possible confusion with the Japanese Hinomaru. At the same time, white stripes were painted on the wings and tail surfaces for easier identification of friendly aircraft.