USN Fighting Squadron Seventy One VF-71

Fighter Squadron 71 or VF-71 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established as Bombing Squadron 7 (VB-7) on 1 July 1939, it was redesignated as VF-71 on 5 November 1940 and disestablished on 7 January 1943. It was the first US Navy squadron to be designated as VF-71.

Operational history

VF-71 was deployed on board the USS Wasp and in April 1942 supported Operation Calendar to deliver Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft to Malta.

Wasp was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in June 1942 and supported the invasion of Guadalcanal in August 1942. Many of the squadron's aircraft were lost in the sinking of the Wasp on 15 September 1942. The squadron was then land-based at Palikulo Bay Airfield on Espiritu Santo, and some supplemented the defense of Guadalcanal as part of the Cactus Air Force. VF-71 scored seven kills before its disestablishment.

In March 1942, when Wasp sailed to Britain for brief service in the Mediterranean, most of the air group went ashore at RNAS Hatston. Though 47 RAF Spitfires were loaded aboard for delivery to Malta, 19 Wildcats were kept by VF-72. The British fighters were flown off 20 April, and upon return to the U.K., VF-71 relieved Fighting 72 for the next Malta trip.

Back in Norfolk by June, Wasp proceeded to San Diego via the Panama Canal, then on to Hawaii and points west. The air group's first genuine combat came on 7 August, covering the Guadalcanal landings. Court Shands' pilots strafed Japanese floatplanes at Tulagi, but Wasp's two SBD squadrons claimed seven aerial victories before either Wildcat outfit had a chance. VF-71 's initial shootdown was a patrol plane splashed 27 August, followed by a second on 15 September, but the ship was torpedoed and sunk that day. Many of the squadron's aircraft were lost in the sinking.

Temporarily based at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, VF-71 began reinforcing the hard-pressed VF-5 on Guadalcanal. Lt. Pat Rooney's detachment flew with Lt.Cdr. Roy Simpler's squadron, gaining five more confirmed and two probable victories in October. When VF-5 departed "Cactus," the Fighting 71 contingent joined the Marines of VMF-121. Wasp's displaced orphans finally left Guadalcanal by 3 November.

Source: Tillman, Barrett. U. S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II. 1997.

USN VF-71 Grumman F4F-4 Wildcats and Spitfires aboard USS Wasp CV7 off Malta Apr 1942 80-G-7085

Description: Launching officer, Lieutenant David McCampbell, USN, gets the ready signal from the pilot of a British Royal Air Force Spitfire, just before it took off for Malta, 9 May 1942. This was Wasp's second Malta reinforcement mission. Note deck crewmen holding the plane back. A Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat is in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 80-G-7085 USS Wasp (CV-7)

Source: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/us-people/m/mccampbell-david/80-g-7085.html