{"title":"Fighter-Bomber Squadron 20 (VBF-20) WW2","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"collection-content\"\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003eFighter-Bomber Squadron 20 (VBF-20) WW2\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFighter-Bomber Squadron 20 (VBF-20) 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-20 \u0026amp; USS Enterprise\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnterprise was one of only three American carriers operational in the Pacific after the disasters of 1942, and at times she was the only operational US carrier in the entire Pacific. Her air groups fought at Midway, the Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz, the Philippine Sea, and Leyte Gulf. Her crew called her the Big E, and the Japanese reported her sunk at least three times,yet she fought on until the last day of the war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVBF-20 deployed aboard \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/uss-enterprise-cv-6-merchandise\"\u003eUSS Enterprise (CV-6)\u003c\/a\u003e as part of Carrier Air Group 20 in 1945, flying combat missions during Japan homeland strikes. The squadron operated alongside \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/fighter-squadron-20-vf-20-ww2\"\u003eVF-20\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-20 collection,shirts, hoodies, and gear honoring the crews who flew from \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/uss-enterprise-cv-6-merchandise\"\u003eUSS Enterprise\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/tacticallyacquired.com\/collections\/fighter-bomber-squadron-20-vbf-20-ww2.oembed","provider":"Tactically Acquired","version":"1.0","type":"link"}