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Besides the tank destroyer and the carrier-based fighter, another lesser known Hellcat...

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#1
The 38th Fighter Squadron (55th Fighter Group) was both nicknamed and officially referred to as "the Hellcats" and Hellcat respectively. Example of call usage "I was flying Number Two in Hellcat Red Flight." This unit saw considerable action and has quite a history.
 


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Thread Starter #2
Have to share this. I have read numerous AARs, encounter reports, etc... (both modern and historical) and even written some in my time. I recently came across something that astonished me. No one can fault the 38th Fighter Squadron (the Hellcats from the above post) for not being aggressive. First Lieutenant Clifford Sherman, flying P-51D (tail number omitted at this point in the war), reports flying at 23,000 feet as Red Three near Erfurt at 1200 on 11 Sep 1944 escorting bombers. Thirty plus enemy aircraft were called far ahead at 12 oclock. The squadron leader drove them over where they could see the Acorn elements (believed to be the 338th Fighter Squadron) engaged with the enemy aircraft, and more E/A over head. After making sure (they do not say how) that the E/A above were not going to attack, they "joined in the scrap."

Sherman bounced an Me-109 making sure his wingman is sticking with him as anticipates more E/A to come to his targets aid. The E/A begins taking violent evasive action to starboard and Sherman closes in from "150 yards to zero" in the left hand turn, pulling 15 degrees deflection down to zero as well, firing bursts all the time "without observing strikes." (the K-14 sight had not yet been introduced to the field units and deflection shooting was still an art). This obviously pissed him off because his next sentence states, since he was at "zero" range he "was tempted to ram him," which is amazing. Never, in literally thousands of reports of air and ground combat, have I ever read a declaration from the pilot or other testifier that they seriously considered ramming the enemy. Instead, he "thought better of it, and skidded to the right and flew formation with [the E/A]." That, formation flying with the enemy, is not that unusual; however, usually the pilot then reports things about the enemy pilot (especially) or the the E/A aircraft. Sherman is silent on all this and next reports swinging out and back behind the enemy and ripping him to shreds, reporting his fire was so intense around the cockpit and wingroots that the enemy canopy literally disintegrated. At this point, fuel, flames, glycol, and smoke are pouring from the E/A and he reports the enemy pilot was "obviously finished."

Now, he could have been "talking shit" as we might say today, but in these reports that has never once been done (the reports belonged to Intelligence after all and were also used to coordinate guncamera footage and credit for various things in combat, like kills, damaged aircraft, etc...). Also, the demeanor of the whole report indicates Sherman was dead serious. Ramming was used to some extent by other air forces, mostly as desperation moves, especially the German, Russian, and Japanese, but not by the US. And I must admit, in my younger days there were times when I would, not so much lose my head, as much as become so focused on besting an opponent, that the equivalent of ramming was (or would have been) on the table. Like Audie Murphy said, "they made me mad."

Here's to you Sherman; hope that aggresiveness served you well later in life. Honor where honor is due.
 




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