{"title":"Fighter-Bomber Squadron 2 (VBF-2) WW2","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"collection-content\"\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003eFighter-Bomber Squadron 2 (VBF-2) WW2\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFighter-Bomber Squadron 2 (VBF-2) was born from the kamikaze crisis that reshaped \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/u-s-naval-aviation-merchandise\"\u003ecarrier aviation\u003c\/a\u003e. The \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/u-s-navy\"\u003eNavy\u003c\/a\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eVBF-2 \u0026amp; USS Hornet\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/uss-hornet-cv-12-merchandise\"\u003eUSS Hornet (CV-12)\u003c\/a\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVBF-2 deployed aboard \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/uss-hornet-cv-12-merchandise\"\u003eUSS Hornet (CV-12)\u003c\/a\u003e as part of Carrier Air Group 17 in 1945, flying combat missions during Japan homeland strikes. The squadron operated alongside \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/fighter-squadron-2-vf-2-ww2\"\u003eVF-2\u003c\/a\u003e and other air group units, providing the flexible combat power that carrier task forces needed in the final campaigns of \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/world-war-ii-merch\"\u003eWorld War II\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Corsair\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExplore our VBF-2 collection,shirts, hoodies, and gear honoring the crews who flew from \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/uss-hornet-cv-12-merchandise\"\u003eUSS Hornet\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/tacticallyacquired.com\/collections\/fighter-bomber-squadron-2-vbf-2-ww2.oembed","provider":"Tactically Acquired","version":"1.0","type":"link"}