| Can someone explain the GC code meaning? Thanks........ |
It stands for Air Group Commander. This model represents the SBD-3 flown by Commander Wade McCluskey who was commander of the USS Enterprise Air Group on June 4, 1942 at the Battle of Midway. McCluskey was the commander who led the two Enterprise SBD squadrons to the Japanese Fleet that morning through some pretty good guesswork, when the fleet wasn't where they expected it to be. They found it and McCluskey and most of the two squadrons dove on and bombed the Japanese carrier Kaga, sinking it in the process, while Lt. Dick Best with just two other Enterprise SBD's dove on the carrier Akagi and sank it. Almost simultaneously, the SBD's of Yorktown's VB-3 had also found the Japanese fleet, having come from a different direction. They dove on and sank the Japanese carrier Soryu. Later that afternoon, a combined group of SBD's returned and sank the remaining Japanese carrier at Midway, the Hiryu. All told, the SBD's sank four Japanese fleet carriers on June 4th. It was a remarkable day and was what made the SBD into a legend.
Anyway, enough of the history lesson-- the GC was Wade McCluskey's airplane and signified his status as air group commander on the Enterprise.