VT-8

Torpedo Squadron 8
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 * Battle of Midway * Battle of Guadalcanal
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 torpedo bombers assigned to the Air Group operating from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). The squadron joined the ship shortly after its commissioning in October 1941 and remained in the Pacific following her sinking in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942.

Midway

VT-8's first and best-known combat mission came during the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. Flying the vulnerable Douglas TBD Devastators, Commander John C. Waldron's 15 planes were all shot down during their unescorted torpedo attack on four Japanese aircraft carriers. The squadron did not destroy any enemy aircraft with their rear .30-caliber machine guns, nor did they damage any of the Japanese carriers.

All members of Torpedo Squadron 8 who flew from the Hornet on that day perished in the action, with the exception of Ensign George Gay. 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. A detachment of the squadron under the command of Lt. Harold "Swede" Larson remained in Norfolk, Virginia when Hornet sailed to the Pacific 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.

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. 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. 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 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.

South Pacific

VT-8 flew from Saratoga during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal and participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomans. When the Saratoga was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, the squadron flew 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 ones. 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.

Gallery

• 
  An VT-8 SBN-1 trainer, 1941
• 
  VT-8 pilots, May 1942
• 
  VT-8 CO LCdr. Waldron taking off
• 
  VT-8 in flight
• 
  Ens. Gay (right), sole survivor at Midway
• 
  8-T-1, the only VT-8 TBF to return to Midway

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.

External links

• Torpedo Squadron 8 photograph, US Navy Historical Center

The following links were helpful to Bob Mrazek in researching and writing A Dawn Like Thunder. They would be of interest to those readers seeking to learn more about Torpedo Squadron Eight, or the Pacific battles they fought in between June 1942 and November 1942.

• The Battle of Midway Roundtable This is a site dedicated to the veterans of the Battle of Midway. The web master is Ron Russell, and the site includes first person accounts from many Midway combat veterans, both living and deceased. The Roundtable is also committed to fostering ongoing research into every aspect of the battle and its aftermath.
• The Naval Historical Center, Washington, DC The Naval Historical Center manages the Navy Department Library, twelve Navy museums, art collections, archives, and an underwater archaeology program. The Center prepares and publishes reference, documentary, analytical, and narrative works on the history of the United States Navy.
• The Cactus Air Force This is a wonderful tribute Site to the Cactus Air Force at Guadalcanal, which included Torpedo Squadron Eight from September to November 1942. David Hanson is the web master.
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) An invaluable resource for millions of documents and photographs related to the Pacific War. (www.archives.gov) This site will also provide assistance in securing military service records from WWII.
• George Gay Tribute Site This is a website devoted to the memory of Ensign George “Tex” Gay, one of the three survivors out of the forty-eight airmen who flew with Torpedo Squadron Eight on June 4, 1942. The web master is Ensign Gay’s grandson.
• Bruce Harwood Tribute Site This site is dedicated to the service of Lieutenant Commander Bruce Harwood, who was awarded three Navy Crosses before being killed in action aboard the USS Princeton in 1944.