Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1),The High Hatters

On June 19, 1944, Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) launched from the deck of USS Yorktown (CV-10) into what would become the most one-sided aerial engagement of World War II. The Battle of the Philippine Sea,known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot,saw American pilots and anti-aircraft gunners destroy over 400 Japanese aircraft in a single day, breaking Imperial Japan's carrier aviation as a fighting force. VF-1, the High Hatters, flew the Grumman F6F Hellcat from Yorktown's flight deck as part of Carrier Air Group 1 (CVG-1), engaging Japanese strike packages that never reached the American fleet.

Origins & Formation

VF-1 was established in May 1943 and redesignated Fighter Squadron 1 in July 1943, carrying forward one of naval aviation's most storied designations. Assigned to CVG-1 aboard the "Fighting Lady" Yorktown (CV-10),the new Essex-class carrier named to honor the original Yorktown sunk at Midway,VF-1 deployed to the Pacific Theater in the spring of 1944 as part of Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher's Task Force 58, the most powerful naval striking force ever assembled.

Combat Record: From Saipan to Palau

VF-1 saw extensive action during the Central Pacific campaigns of 1944. The squadron flew combat missions during pre-invasion strikes against Saipan in June, raids on the Bonin Islands (including Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima), and support operations for the recapture of Guam in July-August 1944. During the Philippine Sea engagement on June 19, CVG-1 aircraft claimed numerous enemy planes as part of the Turkey Shoot, and on June 20 launched strikes against Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's carrier fleet, attacking the carrier Zuikaku. The squadron also conducted raids against Palau, Yap, and Ulithi as the Navy methodically seized island bases across the Western Pacific.

The Grumman F6F Hellcat

VF-1 flew the Grumman F6F Hellcat, the dominant American carrier fighter of the war. Designed as a direct response to the Japanese A6M Zero using intelligence from a captured specimen, the Hellcat's 2,000-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine gave it a top speed of 380 mph,fast enough to engage any Japanese fighter on equal terms. Armed with six .50-caliber M2 Browning machine guns and capable of carrying 2,000 pounds of ordnance, the F6F compiled a 19:1 kill ratio in the Pacific. Grumman built 12,275 Hellcats during the war, and the aircraft accounted for 5,223 aerial victories,56 percent of all US Navy and Marine Corps air-to-air kills.

Transfer to USS Bennington

In 1945, VF-1 transferred to USS Bennington (CV-20) for final operations against the Japanese home islands. Flying from Bennington, the High Hatters participated in strikes against airfields, factories, and military installations on Honshu and Kyushu during the last months of the war, part of the relentless carrier campaign that brought American air power directly to the enemy's homeland.

Explore our VF-1 collection,shirts, hoodies, and gear honoring the High Hatters who flew Hellcats from USS Yorktown into the Turkey Shoot and across the Pacific.