The record of Carrier Air Group 15 in World War II is astonishing by any measure: it scored 312 enemy aircraft destroyed, 33 probably destroyed, and 65 damaged in aerial combat, plus 348 destroyed, 161 probably destroyed, and 129 damaged in ground attacks. Twenty-six Fighting 15 pilots became aces, including their leader, Commander David McCampbell, who became the U.S. Navy s Ace of Aces. Twenty-one squadron pilots were killed in action and one in an operational accident aboard the carrier Essex.
The fighter squadron s partners, Bombing Squadron 15 and Torpedo Squadron 15, scored...
The record of Carrier Air Group 15 in World War II is astonishing by any measure: it scored 312 enemy aircraft destroyed, 33 probably destroyed, and 6...
