Fighter Squadron 7 | |
---|---|
Active | 3 January 1944 – 8 June 1946 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Navy |
Aircraft | F6F-3/5 Hellcat |
Engagements | World War II |
Fighter Squadron 7 or VF-7 was an aviation unit of the U.S. Navy, originally established on 3 January 1944, it was disestablished on 8 June 1946. It was the second US Navy squadron to be designated VF-7. [1]
VF-7 equipped with the F6F-3 Hellcat was deployed as part of Carrier Air Group 7 (CVG-7) aboard the USS Hancock in the Atlantic Fleet. [2] VF-7 reequipped with the F6F-5 Hellcat at Naval Air Station Quonset in July 1944 and then reembarked on USS Hancock. [3]
By September 1944 USS Hancock and CVG-7 had joined the Pacific Fleet. [4] Hancock fought in the Philippines campaign (1944-45), including in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, at the Battle of Iwo Jima, and in the Battle of Okinawa.
From February–September 1945 CVG-7 was shore-based at Naval Station Puget Sound and then Naval Air Station Astoria. [5] [6]
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The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second half of the Pacific War. In gaining that role, it prevailed over its faster competitor, the Vought F4U Corsair, which initially had problems with visibility and carrier landings.
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Fighter Squadron 2 or VF-2 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Established on 1 June 1943, it was disestablished on 9 November 1945. It was the third US Navy squadron to be designated as VF-2.
Fighter Squadron 15 or VF-15 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established on 1 September 1943, it was disestablished on 20 October 1945. During six months of combat in 1944 the squadron destroyed more enemy planes than any other squadron in the Pacific War. Twenty-six of the squadron's pilots became aces.
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