Fighter-Bomber Squadron 2 (VBF-2) WW2

Fighter-Bomber Squadron 2 (VBF-2) 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-2 & USS Hornet

USS Hornet (CV-12) was an Essex-class carrier named to honor the original Hornet lost at Santa Cruz in 1942. Commissioned in November 1943, she earned seven battle stars fighting across the Western Pacific. Hornet's air groups struck targets from the Marianas to the Japanese home islands. Today she is preserved as a museum ship in Alameda, California.

VBF-2 deployed aboard USS Hornet (CV-12) as part of Carrier Air Group 17 in 1945, flying combat missions during Japan homeland strikes. The squadron operated alongside VF-2 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.

Explore our VBF-2 collection,shirts, hoodies, and gear honoring the crews who flew from USS Hornet.