[Shawn 507]

OK since these Wildcats supported the 1942 landings in North Africa, did any by chance tangle with the Luftwaffe?

[1250ships]

No Luftwaffe present. North Africa was Vichy French.

[skysurfer808]

From what I've researched, there were no US vs German encounters during Operation Torch. But there was a bit later.

Here is the breakdown of the USN Fighter Squadron Order of Battle in November 1942. VF-9 and VF-41 equipped the fighter compliment of the USS Ranger. These two squadrons were supported by three escort carrier based Wildcat units, VGF-26 and VGF-28 aboard the USS Sangammon, and VGF-29 was aboard the USS Santee. These squadrons engaged the Vichy French from November 8-11 1942. VF-9 claimed 6 Vichy French aircraft, while VF-41 was credited with 14 victories. VGF-26 claimed 4 Vichy, VGF-28 didn't claim any victories, and VGF-29 managed to lose 10 of its 14 Wildcats, while claiming one Vichy aircraft. Despite this fiasco, VGF-29 skipper Tommy Blackburn went on to eternal fame and glory by establishing VF-17's Jolly Rogers.

The big dogfights occurred on the 8th of November, when the Wildcats of the task force first engaged the Vichy defenders while attacking the French Air Bases. The Wildcats managed to claim 18 victories on the 8th against the Vichy Curtiss P-36 Hawks and Dewoitine D-520s. VF-41 claimed 14 that day while VF-9 skipper Jack Raby claimed a single victory. The remainder of the victories that day were scored by VGF-26. On the 9th VF-9 managed to shoot down 5 more Vichy, while VF-41 managed one more victory. VGF-29 redeemed itself by shooting a Potez 63 for the final victory of the campaign.

Thus 25 Vichy aircraft were claimed by USN Wildcats during Torch. However, the Task force lost 5 Wildcats shot down by Vichy Aircraft, 6 to flak, and 14 operationally (mostly from VGF-29.) VF-9 and 41 combined lost 12 Wildcats. Most of the Wildcat air to air losses occurred on the 8th. For ratio hogs the air to air box score was 5 to 1 but the operational and flak losses make the overall result a tie. Honor thus preserved, and Vichy invaded by the Nazis, the Vichy capitulated and the allies could go on with the war. The serious attrition to the Task Force's fighters compelled the USN to withdraw soon after, especially as U-boat activity picked up in the aftermath of the allied landings.

The next time the USN engaged in air combat in the European Theatre was in October 4, 1943 during Operation Leader, when VF-4 (redesignated from VF-41) aboard the Ranger was involved in an air strike against Occupied Norway. The strike struck targets and shipping around the port of Bodo, and the Wildcats escorting the strike acted as flak supressors and escorts for the Ranger's Dauntlesses and Avengers. The Task Forces Combat Air Patrol managed to shoot down a Junkers Ju-88 shadowing the task force, while a Heinkel He-115 floatplane was also shot down.

USN floatplane pilots flew Spitfire Vs as spotters during D-day, and squadrons VOF-1 and VF-74 flew Hellcats during Operation Anvil covering the landings in Southern France during August of 1944. VOF-1 claimed 6 victories during that campaign (3 HE-111s and 3 Ju-52s) , while VF-74 claimed 2 (a Ju-88 and Do-217).

So after all that, the answer is that there was no USN vs Luftwaffe combat during Torch, but there was during Operation Leader and Anvil. For a more detailed information on this I'd recommend Barrett Tillman's excellent work on the Wildcat and Hellcat, either his book monograph,s or his Osprey work on Aces. There's a compilation of all 3 Osprey books called The Blue Devils, which combines Tillman's Wildcat, Corsair, and Hellcat aces books into one hardbound volume.

Hope that helps,
Skysurfer808

[Shawn 507]

Great info. I guess my next question would be, did the Dragon F4F as marked engage the Vichy French? Or is it a plain jane just to represent the Cat o Nines and the Ranger during this time?
- Shawn

[skysurfer808]

Here's some pics from the Naval Historical Center from the Ranger around the time of Torch.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/i...000/g30362.jpg

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/i...000/g30244.jpg

On the first one you can't see any Codes (ie no 9-F-1) on any of the Wildcats. On the second there may or may not be a code. From what I know about such things these codes were marked on airplanes stateside, once they went on a combat zone they were usually painted out so as to not help the enemy ID different squadrons.

Dragon's VF-9 Wildcat, marked 9-F-1 would have been the Squadron CO's airplane and Lt. Commander Jack Raby did score a victory against the Vichy on November 8th. However, CO's didn't always fly their assigned airplane, this was difficult on a carrier due to spotting requirements (moving airplanes just to give people their assigned planes wouldn't have been done.) So short of looking at Raby's logbook, or finding a photo of Raby with his plane there's no way to tell if he flew this one in combat. I'd say it is reasonable to assume his Wildcat would have appeared similar to the ones in the first pic.

Skysurfer808

[Shawn 507]

Thanks Sky, great info and help! It would appear, based on the second pic that Dragon missed the yellow outline on the underwing insignia. No biggie, I do like the look of this one so I'll keep it.
I wonder what a Vichy French kill mark would look like?
- Shawn

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

I wonder what a Vichy French kill mark would look like?

Like this

[Shawn 507]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Like this

Ya know.... at first glance I didn't get it. Now...

[Cardinal]

Vichy France (incl. Morocco) - definitely not their finest hour, although they did later redeem themselves ...

[skysurfer808]

Originally Posted by Cardinal

Vichy France (incl. Morocco) - definitely not their finest hour, although they did later redeem themselves ...

Well sort of. The French pilots of the Groupe de Chasse that assumed the Lafayette Escadrille tradition (ie. the Indian head) received P-40Fs that had flown off the escort carriers U.S.S. Chenengo and Charger only weeks after Torch. Two of them promptly defected to German occupied France. Don't even get me started on the Vichy colonial administrators who tricked the postwar French government into going to war with Ho Chi Minh. Lest one think I'm anti French, read Street Without Joy, by Frenchman Bernard Fall, who was a veteran resistance member who went to study the Indochina war for his post-graduate studies, and was killed by a mine blast there while visiting Vietnam during the U.S. intervention.

Note also, the Vichy remained in Indochina until March 1945, when the Japanese finally massacred the majority of them in retaliation for allied airstrikes there. U.S. forces were specifically ordered not to intervene, since the OSS was working with Ho Chi Minh and Roosevelt intended to assist in the de-colonization of the Third World.

Franklin Mint does the French P-40F in 1/48, and it is a pity that Corgi did their Torch Era P-40F as a legends rather than an Aviation Archive release.

Skysurfer808