{"title":"Fighter Squadron 26 (VF-26) WW2","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"collection-content\"\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003eFighter Squadron 26 (VF-26) WW2\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFighter Squadron 26 (VF-26) was assigned to \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/uss-monterey-cvl-26-merchandise\"\u003eUSS Monterey (CVL-26)\u003c\/a\u003e during \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/world-war-ii-merch\"\u003eWorld War II\u003c\/a\u003e, flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat as part of the most powerful \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/u-s-naval-aviation-merchandise\"\u003enaval aviation\u003c\/a\u003e force ever assembled. By 1944, the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/u-s-navy\"\u003eUS Navy\u003c\/a\u003e had over 100 aircraft carriers in the Pacific, thousands of combat aircraft, and the trained pilots to fly them,and VF-26 was part of that force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eUSS Monterey: The Ship\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/uss-monterey-cvl-26-merchandise\"\u003eUSS Monterey (CVL-26)\u003c\/a\u003e earned 11 battle stars and is notable for having future President Gerald R. Ford serve among her crew as an athletic officer and anti-aircraft battery commander. During Typhoon Cobra in December 1944, fires broke out aboard Monterey after aircraft broke loose on the hangar deck. Ford narrowly escaped being swept overboard while fighting the fires, an incident he later described as his closest brush with death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCombat Service\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVF-26 served as part of Carrier Air Group 26 from 1943-1945, participating in the Central Pacific campaign of 1943-1944, striking Japanese-held islands from the Gilberts and Marshalls through the Marianas as the Navy drove westward toward Japan. The squadron flew combat missions during Central Pacific and Philippines, providing fleet air defense and striking Japanese military targets across the Western Pacific.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Grumman F6F Hellcat\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrumman built 12,275 F6F Hellcats between 1942 and 1945, and the aircraft equipped every fast carrier fighter squadron in the Pacific from late 1943 onward. Powered by the 2,000-hp Pratt \u0026amp; Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp,the same engine family that powered the F4U Corsair and P-47 Thunderbolt,the Hellcat could reach 380 mph at 23,400 feet and had a combat range of 945 miles. Its combination of speed, firepower, and survivability made it the weapon that won air superiority over the Pacific.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the flight deck of USS Monterey to your collection. Browse VF-26 gear and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/u-s-naval-aviation-merchandise\"\u003enaval aviation merchandise\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/tacticallyacquired.com\/collections\/fighter-squadron-26-vf-26-ww2.oembed","provider":"Tactically Acquired","version":"1.0","type":"link"}