Fighter-Bomber Squadron 17 (VBF-17) WW2

Fighter-Bomber Squadron 17 (VBF-17) was born from the kamikaze crisis that reshaped carrier aviation. The Navy needed more fighters on every carrier to defend the fleet, but still needed the ability to strike ground targets. The answer was the VBF squadron,fighter-bomber units flying the Vought F4U Corsair, capable of shooting down enemy aircraft and delivering 4,000 pounds of ordnance in the same mission.

VBF-17 & USS Bunker Hill

USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) earned 11 battle stars before being devastated by two kamikaze strikes off Okinawa on May 11, 1945. The first Zero crashed through the flight deck into the pilots' ready rooms; thirty seconds later, a second struck near the base of the island. The resulting fires and explosions killed 393 men and wounded 264,one of the deadliest attacks on any American warship during the war. Despite catastrophic damage, her crew saved the ship.

VBF-17 deployed aboard USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) as part of Carrier Air Group 17 in 1945, flying combat missions during Okinawa Campaign. The squadron operated alongside VF-17 and other air group units, providing the flexible combat power that carrier task forces needed in the final campaigns of World War II.

The Corsair

With 12,571 airframes produced between 1942 and 1953, the Corsair had the longest production run of any American piston-engine fighter. Its 2,250-hp engine gave it a top speed of 417 mph,faster than any carrier fighter in the war. The Navy's VBF (fighter-bomber) squadrons introduced in January 1945 chose the Corsair specifically for its ability to combine air superiority with heavy ground attack, carrying four times the bomb load of an F6F Hellcat.

Carry the history. VBF-17 t-shirts, hoodies, and heritage gifts,built for those who remember what these squadrons gave.