KITS 11/2023

VF-34, Green Island (Nissan Island), Papua New Guinea, March–April 1944

The history of VF-34 is rather uncommon as it

was assembled in just four weeks and thrown

immediately into an action in the final phase of

the Operation Cartwheel (neutralization of the

Japanese base on Rabaul). Of 45 pilots just one

had seen any combat. The unexperienced unit

was not attached to any Air Group and leaved

San Diego on February 13. After they equipped

themselves with all needed on Espiritu Santo,

they moved to Guadalcanal on March 3, starting

their tour on March 7 from Piva Yoke airfield on

Bougainville. Enemy attacks forced the Squadron

to move to Vella Lavella Island and, finally, to

Green Island (now Nissan Island), which became

their permanent base. They flew bomber escort

or ground attack missions but did not engage

any enemy aircraft during 55 days of the tour.

The pilots flew a total of 1,165 sorties from Green

Island and 177 from Bougainville. The Squadron

was disbanded immediately after return and the

designation VF-34 was used again as VF-53 was

renamed so. Hellcats of “first” VF-34 had upper

side of horizontal tail surfaces and rear fuselage

ridge painted white for recognition reasons.

Some pilots took advantage of distant “big brass”

eyes and decorated their aircraft. This one got the

painting made after the Antonio Vargas’ Esquire

calendar girl (May 1944) on the port side of the

nose, while the starboard sported the girl from

August 1944. This one was most probably simple

cutout glued to the aircraft. It is not known to

which of the pilots was this aircraft assigned.

VF-27, USS Princeton (CVL-23), October 1944

Among the most recognizable markings carried

by US Navy aircraft were those of the Hellcats of

VF-27 operating from the board of USS Princeton.

Their shark mouths and bloodshot, menacing eyes

seared themselves into the memories of many

Japanese pilots. The uncommon and unofficial

markings were painted on to the front of all of

VF-27’s aircraft by one of its pilots, Robert Burnell.

These birds, adorned in this way, wreaked havoc

everywhere they engaged in combat over the

Pacific from May to October 1944. During this

span, some 200 enemy aircraft were destroyed.

November 2023

The string of success was snapped on October 24,

1944, when the Princeton was hit by a Japanese

bomb from alone Japanese Judy. The dive bomber

dropped a single bomb, which punched through

the wooden flight deck and hangar before

exploding. Structural damage was only minor,

but a fire broke out and quickly spread because

of burning gasoline. Cruisers and destroyers

came to help and USS Birmingham as a largest

ship there took the lead role in firefighting.

In the frantic activity Princeton collided with

some of the assisting ships and damaged them.

Worse to it, the fire caused multiple explosions

and the biggest of them damaged Birmingham

extensively with considerable casualties. USS

Irwin rescued 646 men from Princeton before

she was sunk by torpedoes. CO of the VF-27,

LtCdr. Frederick A. Bardshar reformed his unit

in time to return to the Western Pacific aboard

USS Independence (CVL-22). But during the tour

from June 10 to October 31, only one more victory

was scored by entire Squadron, which was

disbanded on November 26, 1945.

INFO Eduard

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