VT-8
| Torpedo Squadron 8 | |
|---|---|
 Standing (L-R): Owens, Ensign Fayle, Waldron, R.A. Moore, J.M. Moore, Evans, Teats, Cambell. Kneeling (L-R): Ellison, Kenyon, Gray, sole survivor Gay, Woodson, Creamer, Miles |
|
| Active | January 1942 - 1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | USN |
| Type | Attack |
| Role | Close air support Air interdiction |
| Part of | Carrier Air Wing Eight |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Decorations | Presidential Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
John C. Waldron |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | TBD Devastator TBM Avenger |
Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) was a United States Navy squadron of World War II torpedo bombers assigned initially to the Air Group operating from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8), until after her loss in October 1942 during the Battle of Santa Cruz Island. The squadron joined the ship shortly after its commissioning in October 1941.
After the Battle of Midway, the squadron was assigned to operate the remainder of the war from the USS Saratoga (CV-3), and later, while she was undergoing repairs, for a time flew from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, where they continued to team with other fleet elements protecting the lower Solomon Islands and aiding the defense of Guadalcanal during the long battle of attrition phase in the long months before the Japanese gave up the fight in the battle of Guadalcanal, evacuated their survivors, and that base was deemed as fully secured.
Contents |
[edit] Midway
VT-8's first and best-known combat mission came during the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. Flying the obsolete Douglas TBD Devastators, Commander John C. Waldron's 15 planes were all shot down during their unescorted torpedo attack on Japanese aircraft carriers. The squadron did not destroy any enemy aircraft with their defensive rear .30-caliber machine guns, nor did they damage any of the Japanese carriers.
Only one member of Torpedo Squadron 8 who flew from Hornet on that day survived in the action, Ensign George Gay. Ensign Gay was rescued the day following the battle. Torpedo 8 was afterwards awarded the American Presidential Unit Citation.
Torpedo 8 was the first squadron equipped with Grumman's new TBF-1 Avenger, a bigger, faster, longer-ranged replacement for the TBD. When Hornet sailed to the Pacific, a detachment of the squadron under the command of Lt. Harold "Swede" Larson remained in Norfolk, Virginia to receive the first shipment of the new aircraft. Larson's detachment arrived at Pearl Harbor the day after Hornet sailed for Midway. Six of the squadron's Avengers were flown to Midway under the command of Lt. Langdon Fieberling to participate in the battle. Attacking without fighter cover, five of the Avengers were shot down, with only Ensign Albert K. Earnest and CDR (then Radioman 2/c) Harry Ferrier surviving.
A list of the fallen:
- Lt. Commander John C. Waldron
- Lt. Raymond A. Moore
- Lt. James C. Owens, Jr.
- Lt.(jg) George M. Campbell
- Lt.(jg) John P. Gray
- Lt.(jg) Jeff D. Woodson
- Ens. William W. Abercrombie
- Ens. William W. Creamer
- Ens. Harold J. Ellison
- Ens. William R. Evans
- Ens. Henry R. Kenyon
- Ens. Ulvert M. Moore
- Ens. Grant W. Teats
- Robert B. Miles, Aviation Pilot 1c
- Horace F. Dobbs, Chief Radioman
- Amelio Maffei, Radioman 1
- Tom H. Pettry, Radioman 1
- Otway D. Creasy, Jr. Radioman 2
- Ross H. Bibb, Jr., Radioman 2
- Darwin L. Clark, Radioman 2
- Ronald J. Fisher, Radioman 2
- Hollis Martin, Radioman 2
- Bernerd P. Phelps Radioman 2
- Aswell L. Picou, Seaman 2
- Francis S. Polston, Seaman 2
- Max A. Calkins, Radioman 3
- George A. Field, Radioman 3
- Robert K. Huntington, Radioman 3
- William F. Sawhill, Radioman 3
Pilots of VT-8's Avenger detachment lost:
- Lt. Langdon K. Fieberling, Commanding
- Ensign O.J. Gaynier
- Ensign V.A. Lewis
- Ensign C. E. Brannon
- AMM1c D. D. Woodside
VT-8's losses have been attributed to several causes. Hornet's CAG, Stanhope C. Ring, elected to keep the group's fighter escort at high altitude in order to cover the dive bombers and to give the Wildcats an altitude advantage. This decision was supported by Admiral Marc Mitscher, commanding officer of the Hornet at the time of the battle.[1] Ring subsequently led the group on an incorrect heading which resulted in the failure of the dive bombers to make contact with the Japanese fleet. Commander Waldron made repeated attempts to take over the formation by radio before leading VT-8 off on his own.[2] Waldron's initiative coupled with Ring's faulty tactics led to VT-8 attacking the Japanese force without fighter or dive bomber support. It is important to note, however, that all of the carrier-based torpedo squadrons suffered heavily in the battle, including VT-3, which attacked with fighter escort.
Larson's detachment of VT-8 that remained at Pearl Harbor was loaded aboard the USS Saratoga when the carrier was sent to reinforce the forces at Midway. They were later transferred to Hornet where they learned of the loss of their comrades. The detachment became the nucleus of the reconstituted squadron and was reassigned to the Saratoga.
[edit] South Pacific
VT-8 flew from Saratoga during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal and participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, assisting in the sinking of the light carrier Ryūjō. When the Saratoga was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, the squadron was assigned to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, where it served as part of the Cactus Air Force. It fought there to the point where all aircraft were disabled, and then operated as a single-aircraft unit as a plane at a time was put back into service by salvaging parts (often themselves damaged) from other planes. VT-8 pilots and air crew also participated in the ground defense of Henderson Field, assisting to fend off Japanese infantry attacks on 24–26 October 1942. The squadron's last official mission was flown on Nov. 15, 1942, helping to finish off transports from the last major Japanese convoy to the island. After leaving Guadalcanal and returning to the United States, the squadron was disbanded.[3]
[edit] Central Pacific
A new Torpedo Squadron 8 was established in 1943 as part of the new Carrier Air Group 8 (CVG-8). It was assigned to the newly commissioned aircraft carrier Intrepid at Norfolk (Virginia), in November 1943. After training in the Caribbean and passing through the Panama Canal, VT-8 left Intrepid at Pearl Harbor in January 1944.[4] Here, VT-8 was assigned to the Bunker Hill, in March 1944. VT-8 attacked Palau, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai on 30 March and 1 April 1944. Truk, Satawan, Ponape, and Hollandia on New Guinea were attacked a month later. CVG-8 then took part in the Marianas Campaign between 12 June and 10 August 1944. VT-8 flew sorties in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Western Carolines were attacked in September, Okinawa, Luzón, and Formosa were attacked in October and November 1944.[5] For this deployment on Bunker Hill, Carrier Air Group 8 (CVG-8) was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation.
In June 1945, VT-8 trained with the USS Saratoga, but the did not deploy.[6] Together with CVG-8, VT-8 was disestablished after the end of World War II.
[edit] Awards
Torpedo Eight won two Presidential Unit Citations, one for Midway, and the other for Guadalcanal. Its members also won more than fifty medals for valor in combat.
[edit] Gallery
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An VT-8 SBN-1 trainer, 1941
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"8-T-7" at NAS Norfolk in March 1942
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VT-8 was the first squadron equipped with the new TBF-1
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VT-8 pilots, May 1942
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VT-8 CO LCdr. Waldron taking off
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VT-8 in flight
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Ens. Gay (right), sole survivor of Devastator attack at Midway
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8-T-1, the only VT-8 TBF to return to Midway
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A VT-8 TBF landing on USS Saratoga off Guadalcanal, August 1942
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The wrecked TBF of Ens. Earnest on Guadalcanal, November 1942
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A VT-8 Avenger on USS Bunker Hill off Saipan, June 1944
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[edit] Literature
Herman Wouk's novel, War and Remembrance pays tribute to Torpedo 8, whose pilots he called "the soul of America in action."
Robert Mrazek, A Dawn Like Thunder, 2008, chronicles the victories of Torpedo Squadron 8, in the Battle of Midway and Guadalcanal Campaign.
[edit] References
- ^ Mrazek, R, "A Dawn Like Thunder"
- ^ Mrazek
- ^ Mrazek, Robert J. "A Dawn Like Thunder"
- ^ http://www.wa3key.com/cv11data.html
- ^ http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv17-bunkerhill/cv17-bunkerhill.html
- ^ Stefan Terzibaschitsch Flugzeugträger der U.S. Navy, Band 1: Flottenflugzeugträger. Bonn, Bernard & Graefe 1986, p. 344. ISBN 3-7637-5803-8
