U.S. CARRIER-BASED PLANES:

Most of that stuff that came to be known as the Turkey Shoot takes place two or three miles from our ship.  Sometimes if you were looking at the right spot you’d see a plane on fire heading for the water.  The carrier planes did most of the work.  They were the Maine Potatoes!  In my opinion they’re the ones who won the War.

I know the Marines went through Holy Hell  –  no doubt you couldn’t live without them  –  but my heart lies with the carrier pilots.  Those guys went through it all; every day – up and down.  Of course they always lost a few every time they’d go up.  We didn’t see each and every air battle – but occasionally a few would break through and be right overhead and we’d be shooting them down.   George Pitts, Signalman, CA-69 Boston

FIGHTER PLANES

Grunman F6F HELLCAT

Vought FU-4A CORSAIR (Gullwing)

DIVE BOMBERS

Douglas SBD DAUNTLESS

TORPEDO BOMBERS

Grunman TBM Avenger

CAPITAL SHIP FLOAT PLANES

 

COMMON JAPANESE PLANES ENCOUNTERED BY TF58/38

CARRIER-BASED AIRCRAFT:

ZERO (aka ZEKE)  – Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen (most common) fighter plane

  VAL  – Aichi D3A dive bomber

JILL  – Nakajima B6N Tenzan (Heavenly Mountain) torpedo bomber

JUDY (aka Susie)  – Yokosuka D4Y Suisei (Comet) dive bomber

KATE  – Nakajima B5N torpedo bomber (see later model “Jill”  B6N)

MYRT (aka MYRTLE)  – Nakajima C6N Saiun (Painted Cloud) reconnaissance

LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT:

BETTY  – Mitsubishi G4M  [nicknamed  Hamaki  (Cigar) by Japanese pilots] twin-engine long range bomber

FRANCES  – Yokosuka P1Y1 Ginga (Milky Way) twin-engine bomber

GEORGE  – Kawanishi N1K1-J / N1K2-J Shiden (Violet Lightning)

IRVING  – Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko (Moonlight) twin-engine fighter

NICK  – Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (Dragon Slayer) twin-engine fighter

OSCAR  – Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) single-engine fighter

TONY  – Nakajima Ki-61 Hien (Flying Swallow) fighter plane