KITS 11/2022

BuNo. 03417, Lt. Stanley W. Vejtasa, VF-10, USS Enterprise (CV-6), October 1942

Paris, Montana native, Stanley Winfield Vejtasa after

graduation from the university in Montana enlisted

in the Navy where he undertook the pilot training.

He finished it at Pensacola base in June 1939 when

he was twenty-five years old. Consequently, he was

assigned to VS-5 flying Dauntless off USS Yorktown

aircraft carrier (CV-5). During the Battle of Coral

Sea, he scored the hit on Shōhō aircraft carrier.

In May 1942 he was transferred to VF-10 where he flew

Wildcat off USS Enterprise aircraft carrier until July

1943. During the Battle of Santa Cruz, he flew the

depicted Wildcat BuNo. 03417 and scored seven kills

at its controls - two D3A Val and five B5N Kate, plus

one probable kill of B5N Kate. After this mission he

had eight Japanese flags painted on the access

hatch under the windshield on the fuselage port side.

BuNo. 5149, VF-3, USS Yorktown (CV-5) & USS Hornet (CV-8), May/June 1942

In April 1942 this Wildcat was assigned to VF-3 unit

based at Kaneohe Bay airbase. The following month

it was assigned to Ens. G. F. Markham. After that

the unit was transferred on board of USS Yorktown

(CV-5). During the Battle of Midway Fox-10 was also

flown by Lt. A. J. Brassfield who during this engagement shot down four carrier borne D3A Val bombers

and damaged another two. Despite all the efforts

of the defenders USS Yorktown was damaged and

for that reason the surviving Yorktown pilots and

her Wildcats as well had to be transferred to USS

Hornet (CV-8) where, under the command of Lt. Cdr.

Thatch, they formed the provisional unit designated

VF-3-42-8. One of the pilots of this unit was John

Burton Bain who flew Wildcat portrayed hereby.

At that time Ens. Bain’s score stood at two confirmed

kills, A6M Zero fighter from the Battle of Coral Sea

and another Zero from the Battle of Midway, shot

down during the preceding raid on Shōkaku. Therefore, there are two Japanese flags painted under

his windshield as a symbol of his success in combat.

The national markings in the form of blue circles with

white star and red circle in the center were painted

on both sides of the fuselage and in four positions

on the wings. They were supplemented by red and

white stripes on the rudder. During the Battle

of Midway these stripes were painted over with the

camouflage paint and the red circles were deleted

from the national insignia. The kill marks were added

only at the time Ens. Bain was flying this aircraft.

Ens. Thomas W. Rhodes, VF-6, USS Enterprise (CV-6), beginning of August 1942

Texan Thomas Walker Rhodes enlisted in the Navy on

January 7, 1937 and served as a radio operator at VT-2

until January 1941 when he commenced his pilot training. After its completion first he flew with VF-2 and

in March 1942 he was ordered to VF-6 where he stayed

November 2022

until September 1942. During this deployment he took

part in the air battles defending the units that had landed at Guadalcanal. On August 7, during the dogfight

with Zeros, his Wildcat was damaged by the gunfire

of his opponent, but regardless Rhodes scored one

A6M Zero kill. On August 24 he added a carrier borne

bomber B5N Kate to his score. He continued with his

career with Navy, ultimately, he scored five kills and

on February 1, 1965 retired. He passed away on August

15, 2016, at the remarkable age of 99 years.

INFO Eduard

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