I'm following John...
The incredible F4U Corsair...
Baddest, fastest Carrier plane of WWII.
Called "Whistling Death" by the Japanese counterparts because the unique high pitched scream made by the inverted gull wing design in a dive was often the last thing they heard before being shot down.
History of Carrier Development.
The incredible story of the USS Gambier Bay...
Quick summary...
An escort carrier designed only for ferrying airplanes from the larger Essex class carriers to land, the USS Gambier Bay was offshore from a critical US beachhead in Leyte Gulf in the Phillipines in 1944.
Through a series of incredible events / mistakes, a far superior Japanese Navy fleet of battleships and cruisers suddenly appeared on the horizon fast approaching the beach head with the intent of destroying it, the offshore naval forces and the thousands of Marines there.
Without hesitation, the Captains of the USS Gambier Bay and it's escort destroyer, the USS Johnston, turn into the far superior Japanese force and close the distance on a head on suicide run at the Japanese battleships and heavy cruisers to protect the beach head.
They close the distance so fast that they are literally steaming through the Japanese fleet firing at point blank range with their 5" guns and launching aircraft at the same time.
The Gambier Bay and Johnston are being shot to pieces by Japanese battleships and cruisers so close that the armor piercing shells are passing through the ships without exploding.
The counterattack of the Gambier Bay and Johnston and the rest of Taffy 1, 2 and 3 (the other US escort carrier forces) was so sudden and ferocious that the Japanese Naval Commander was convinced they were being attacked by a much larger force and broke off the attack of the US beach heads.
The Gambier Bay and Johnston were sunk with great loss of life.
While tragic, it exemplifies the heroism exhibited by man in war, and is one of my favorite WWII battles.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Gambier_Bay_(CVE-73)#section_1
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Great history on that battle. Always bringing us some history lesson. Really appreciated that info. I know you are really enjoying yourself retracing the steps of the battles the Midway battles.
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