Fighter Squadron 21 (VF-21) WW2

VF-21 served aboard a carrier with a remarkable story. USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) earned 12 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation,more honors than most fleet carriers. Named after the World War I battle where Marines earned the title Devil Dogs, Belleau Wood fought from the Gilberts through Okinawa. On October 30, 1944, a kamikaze struck her flight deck off the Philippines, killing 92 men, but she returned to action after repairs.

VF-21 & the Grumman F6F Hellcat

VF-21 served aboard USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) as part of Carrier Air Group 21 during World War II. Flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat, the squadron deployed to the Pacific Theater from 1943-1945, participating in the Gilbert Islands campaign in November 1943, the first major Central Pacific amphibious assault, including the bloody battle for Tarawa.

The Grumman F6F Hellcat

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was the fighter that broke Japanese air power in the Pacific. Designed as a direct response to the A6M Zero,using intelligence from a captured specimen,the Hellcat combined a 2,000-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine with rugged construction, self-sealing fuel tanks, and 212 pounds of cockpit armor. The result was a fighter that could outclimb, outdive, and outgun the Zero while absorbing punishment that would have destroyed lighter aircraft.

Combat Operations

VF-21 flew combat missions during Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands and Philippines, providing fleet air defense, escorting strike packages, and conducting fighter sweeps against Japanese airfields and installations. The squadron was part of the massive expansion of Navy fighter strength that gave the Fast Carrier Task Force overwhelming air superiority during the final campaigns of the Pacific War. Alongside squadrons like VF-31, VF-21 was part of the carrier air power that won the Pacific War.

Carry the history. VF-21 t-shirts, hoodies, and heritage gifts,built for those who remember what these squadrons gave.