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Lt. Martin Ferko, VC-4, USS White Plains (CVE-67), June – September 1944
JV836, No. 882 Naval Air Squadron, HMS Searcher, August 1945
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.
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.
KITS 09/2024
INFO Eduard56
September 2024