F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat Aces of VF-2

The first VF-2 was a prewar unit that had been dubbed the 'hottest outfit afloat' due to the skill of their non-commissioned pilots. This first unit only saw combat at the Battle of the Coral Sea, but VF-2 pilots flying Grumman F4F Wildcats were able to rack up 17 claims there during the bitter 48-hour period of fighting. The second 'Fighting Two' was armed with the new Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighter. Arriving in Hawaii in October 1943, the squadron so impressed Cdr Edward H 'Butch' O'Hare, the Medal of Honor winning first US Navy ace of World War 2, that he requested the squadron replace VF-6 in his Carrier Air Group 6 aboard USS Enterprise. No other US Navy unit created as many aces as VF-2, whose pilots went into action over the Carolines, Marianas, Guam, Iwo Jima and the Battle of the Philippines Sea. Using exquisite photographs and first-hand accounts from the elite fliers themselves, this volume tells the story of the ace pilots who comprised the original VF-2 and the second.

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver is a screenwriter who has written 12 produced motion pictures, and who holds both BA and MA degrees in History. He is a long-time contributor to such aviation publications as Air International, Air Enthusiast Quarterly, Air Force Magazine and Aviation History Magazine. He has been a Contributing Editor to Flight Journal since 1998 and is the author of the book Air Combat Annals, as well as having written Osprey Aircraft of the ACES 115 - Aces of the 78th Fighter Group in 2013. He has recently completed Fabled Fifteen - Air Group 15 In The Pacific War. He is a historical consultant at The Air Museum, Planes of Fame, in Chino, California. He served in US Naval Aviation as enlisted aircrew during the Vietnam War.