Fighter Squadron 36 (VF-36) WW2

VF-36 served aboard a carrier with a remarkable story. USS Monterey (CVL-26) 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.

VF-36 & the Grumman F6F Hellcat

VF-36 served aboard USS Monterey (CVL-26) as part of Carrier Air Group 36 during World War II. Flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat, the squadron deployed to the Pacific Theater from 1943-1945, participating in carrier operations across the Pacific Theater, striking Japanese-held islands, providing fleet air defense, and supporting the island-hopping campaign that drove American forces from the Gilberts to Japan's doorstep.

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-36 flew combat missions during Pacific operations, 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-26, VF-36 was part of the carrier air power that won the Pacific War.

Explore our VF-36 collection,shirts, hoodies, and gear honoring the crews who flew from USS Monterey.