Strana 58
Lt. Hamilton McWhorter, USS Essex (CV-9), March 1944
As a member of the F4F Wildcat equipped
VF-9, Hamilton “Mac” McWhorter took part in
the first battles off the USS Ranger (CV-4) over
Casablanca, during Operation Torch without
encountering any enemy aircraft. He was luckier
after VF-9 transferred to the deck of the USS
Essex (CV-9), and this unit became the first to
be equipped with the F6F Hellcat. McWhorter
would get his first kill in combat over Wake
Island and on November 19, 1943, he became the
first Hellcat pilot to get five air to air victories,
achieving ace status. On January 16, 1944,
VF-9 left the decks of the USS Essex and, after
a short bit of R&R at Pearl Harbor, it supported
the invasion of Kwajalein Atoll. This was
followed by action against the Japanese base
at Truk, and on the bases on Guam and Saipan.
Over the course of these battles, McWhorter
raised his kill tally to ten confirmed victories.
During the return trip of the Essex to Pearl
Harbor at the beginning of March, members
of VF-9 were photographed for posterity, and
several of the pilots were photographed in the
cockpit of the Hellcat coded 12. The number of
kills were progressively raised to correspond
with each pilot. The Hellcat was thus, for a brief
moment, arranged in a way as to represent the
personal mount of McWhorter with ten Japanese
kill marks on the right side of the fuselage, but
in combat it only carried one kill mark on each
side of the fuselage.
OVERTREES
#7076X
F6F-3/Hellcat Mk.I
1/72
OVERLEPT
#7074-LEPT
F6F-3 Hellcat
1/72
Product Page Product Page
73792 F6F-3 (PE
-
Set)
672038 US 250lb bombs (Brassin)
672203 F6F wheels (Brassin)
672345 F6F wheel bays PRINT (Brassin)
For F6F-3 Hellcat 1/72
RECOMMENDED:
# 672345
KITS 09/2026
INFO Eduard58
September 2026