Evening star., 1944-01-05
500 Jap Planes Downed by (orsuir-Fking Marines;
Spectacular Scores Uphold Traditions Of the Corps
individual Exploits Of Pilots
Add Lvstsr TO Flying Record
Of the Morine Corps

STRATFORD, CoNN.-Marine pilots Ay-
ing Chance Vought Corsairs have destroyed
more than 500 Japanese airplanes in combat.
Their squadrons have run up one of the most
spectacular fighter plane scores in World
War H.
Squadron records of the Corsair Marines
in the Pacific explain why they have some
of the ranking aces of this war Latest scores
of some of the squadrons are: Hellhawks,
104; Wolf Pack, S6; VMF-124, 6S confirmed
victories, 20 probables; Black Sheep, So;
Swashbucklers, 80; Eight Balls, %; Flying
Deuces, D.
The high-scoring Hellhawk squadron pilot,
had been trained in another airplane They
went into their first engagement with but ten
hours of flight experience in the big Corsairs
with their 2OO0-horsepower Double Wasp
engines.
In addition are countless Japanese air
planes destroyed on the ground scores of
troop barges sunk, enemy ground installa-
tions destroyed. Even Jap destroyers have
fallen victim to the Corsair's guns.
Navy Corsair Squadron Scores Over Japs
Corsairs are used by the Navy, too In less
than month, one land-based Navy squadron,
the Skull and Crossbones Gang, got AZ Jap
planes, 2l barges, 9 cargo ships, tug.
Since the Marines and their Corsairs
showed up at Guadacanal early in lo43, lap
.airpoWer in the Solomons has been blunted.
The Corsairs long range has made it possible
to escort bombers hundreds of miles from the
home fields.
The first American airplane to land on the
captured Jap airheld at Munda was Marine
Corsair Marines celebrated the capture of
the field by downing 20 Jap planes, chalked
up seven more as probables
Examples of individual, heroism are mum.
berless. One pilot was shot in the leg. an
artery severed Despite tourniquet, the pilot
was getting weak from loss of blood. He hg-
ured he would be safe if he could last for
IS more minutes. Letting go the stick, he used
both hands to control the bleeding, lifted his
feet from the rudder pedals and, with the
stick held between his knees, landed his Cor.
sair on newly cleared field.
Odds Mean Little to Corsair Pilots
Unfavorable odds seem to mean little to the
hard-riding Marines and their Corsars. For
example: one of the top ranking aces and
his wing man spotted p Zeros within sight
of the big Jap airdrome at Kahili on Bou-
gainville. The odds were eleven to one. Never
theless they did not hesitate. They tore into
the Japs, shot down four, broke off the fight
only when they ran out of gas
The Black Sheep are quite squadron. They
had been formed hastily from a collection of
casual (unassigned), transfer and replace
ment pilots. The skipper had just been dis
charged from a hospital The intelligence
officer was a refugee from disbanded bal
loon barrage outfit. The first time in action,
they got II Zeros. In one month they ac-
counted for three Jap dive bombers, S. Zeros.
At the end of their first tour of duty, the
Black Sheep Squadron paid farewell call
to the most powerful Jap airdrome in the
Solomons at Kahili Bougainvie Island. in
vited the Japs to come up The Black Sheep
shot down H. Then they went home.