U.S. Navy VF-8 History

USN Fighter Squadron VF-8

VF-8 (First Use, 1941–1942)

Established and Disestablished: Formed on September 2, 1941, at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, and disestablished August 28, 1942, at NAS Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Aircraft and Carrier: Flew Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats, upgraded to F4F-4s by early 1942, assigned to USS Hornet (CV-8).

History: VF-8 joined Carrier Air Group 8 on Hornet.
Doolittle Raid (April 18, 1942): Provided air cover for Task Force 18 but didn’t engage in combat as B-25s used the deck.
Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942): Launched 10 F4F-4s; all ditched due to fuel exhaustion, losing two pilots (Ens. William S. Rawie, Ens. John J. Magda) with no kills scored.

Fate: Disembarked after Midway in June 1942, replaced by VF-72, and disestablished August 1942 due to losses and reorganization needs.

VF-8 (Second Use, 1943–1945)

Established and Disestablished: Formed June 1, 1943, likely at NAS Alameda, California, and disestablished November 23, 1945, post-war.

Aircraft and Carrier: Flew Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats, later F6F-5s, initially on USS Intrepid (CV-11) for shakedown, then USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) for combat.

History: Part of Carrier Air Group 8.
Shakedown Cruise (Late 1943): Trained on Intrepid in the Caribbean.
Pacific Deployment (March-October 1944): Deployed on Bunker Hill with Task Force 58.
Palau Islands (March 30-31, 1944): Strafed airfields and shipping.
Hollandia, New Guinea (April 21-24, 1944): Covered landings, fought Japanese planes.
Truk Atoll (April 29-30, 1944): Attacked the base, downed aircraft.
Marianas Campaign (June-August 1944): Fought in the Philippine Sea battle (June 19-20, 1944), scoring kills in the “Marianas Turkey Shoot” and supporting Saipan, Tinian, Guam strikes.

Aces and Kills: Lt. Edward L. Feightner became an ace with 5 kills (total 9), squadron estimated at 20-30 aerial victories in 1944.

Shore-Based Operations: After Bunker Hill’s return (October 1944):
NAS Alameda (November 1944-January 1945): Refit.
NAAS Watsonville, CA (February-May 1945): Training.
NAS Puunene, Hawaii (May-August 1945): Prepared for redeployment, no combat.
Saipan (September 1945): Post-surrender staging.

Fate: Returned to the U.S. after Japan’s surrender in August 1945, disestablished November 23, 1945, as part of postwar drawdown.

VF-8 (1941-1942) - Wildcat Squadron

History: VF-8 came into being on September 2, 1941, when the Navy stood up the squadron at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, under the command of Lt. Cdr. Samuel G. Mitchell, a seasoned aviator tasked with shaping a new unit for the looming war. Assigned to Carrier Air Group 8 (CVG-8), the squadron drew pilots from training schools and reservists, quickly forming a tight-knit group of about 20 aviators flying the Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, a stubby fighter with four .50-caliber machine guns and a reputation for toughness. By late 1941, VF-8 moved to NAS Alameda, California, to join the brand-new USS Hornet (CV-8), a Yorktown-class carrier launched that October, and began intensive carrier qualification drills off the West Coast, dodging winter storms while mastering the Wildcat’s tricky landing gear. In February 1942, the squadron upgraded to the F4F-4 variant—adding two more guns and folding wings—boosting firepower but also weight, which pilots grumbled cut the range to around 770 miles. VF-8’s first big mission came in April 1942 with the Doolittle Raid, sailing with Hornet under Task Force 18 toward Japan; the Wildcats stayed aboard, circling the fleet for air defense as 16 B-25 bombers launched on April 18, a historic strike that saw no VF-8 combat but cemented their role in a daring operation. The real test hit on June 4, 1942, at the Battle of Midway—VF-8 launched 10 Wildcats from Hornet to escort SBD Dauntlesses and TBD Devastators against Japanese carriers, but poor coordination and the F4F-4’s fuel limits left them stranded; all 10 ditched in the Pacific after running dry, with Ens. William S. Rawie and Ens. John J. Magda lost to the sea, their planes sinking beneath the waves as rescue PBYs scooped up survivors like Lt. (jg) Robert S. Gray. The squadron limped back to Pearl Harbor in June, battered and ineffective, having scored no kills in the chaos of Midway’s sprawling fight. By August 28, 1942, the Navy disestablished VF-8 at NAS Pearl Harbor, folding its remnants into VF-72, another Wildcat unit, as Hornet prepared for the Solomons campaign—a quiet end to a brief, star-crossed run.

Highlights:
Established: September 2, 1941, at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, under Lt. Cdr. Samuel G. Mitchell—pilots wore leather jackets with a simple “8” patch, a nod to their new identity.
Aircraft: Started with Grumman F4F-3 Wildcats (four guns, fixed wings, painted in pre-war blue-gray), upgraded to F4F-4s in February 1942 (six guns, folding wings, non-skid landing gear often snagged on Hornet’s deck).
Carrier: USS Hornet (CV-8), a 20,000-ton beast with a wooden flight deck stained by Wildcat oil leaks, launched October 1941.
Doolittle Raid (April 18, 1942): VF-8 flew CAP over Hornet, engines roaring as B-25s lumbered off; photos might show Wildcats parked tight, wings folded, or pilots like Lt. James E. Vaughter leaning on props, squinting at the horizon.
Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942): Launched 10 F4F-4s at 0700 on June 4; all ditched by noon—look for shots of Wildcats in flight, insignia bright against the Pacific sky, or grim-faced pilots in life rafts post-rescue.
Losses: Ens. Rawie and Magda died; survivors included Lt. (jg) Gray, who later flew with VF-72—possible photos of ditched planes or PBY Catalinas circling wrecks.
Kills: Zero confirmed; VF-8 never fired on enemy aircraft, a sore point among pilots who trained for dogfights.
Disestablished: August 28, 1942, at Pearl Harbor—imagine a faded squadron banner or Wildcats being towed off Hornet for VF-72’s use.