Fighter Squadron 5 (VF-5),Coral Sea to Big Ben

USS Franklin (CV-13), "Big Ben," holds the grim distinction of being the most heavily damaged aircraft carrier to survive World War II. Fighter Squadron 5 (VF-5) was her fighter squadron,a unit whose own history stretches back to the earliest carrier battles of 1942 and the original USS Yorktown (CV-5), linking VF-5 to two of the most dramatic carrier stories of the Pacific War.

Coral Sea: Defending Yorktown

VF-5 entered the war aboard USS Yorktown (CV-5), flying F4F Wildcats in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. This was one of the war's earliest carrier-versus-carrier engagements,the first battle where opposing ships never sighted each other. VF-5's pilots defended Yorktown against waves of Japanese dive bombers and torpedo planes, helping the carrier survive hits that could have sunk her. Coral Sea checked Japan's advance toward Australia, but the cost was high: USS Lexington (CV-2) was lost, and Yorktown was badly damaged. Rushed repairs at Pearl Harbor returned Yorktown to sea just in time for Midway,where she was lost on June 7, 1942.

Transition to the Hellcat

After reforming, VF-5 transitioned from the F4F Wildcat to the Grumman F6F Hellcat,a progression that mirrored the broader transformation of American carrier aviation. The Wildcat was the scrappy underdog that held the line in 1942, powered by a 1,200-hp engine and armed with six .50-caliber guns. The Hellcat was the dominant air superiority fighter that swept Japanese aviation from the Pacific skies, with a 2,000-hp engine, superior armor, and a 19:1 kill ratio. VF-5's pilots knew both worlds.

USS Franklin: The Survival Story

VF-5 deployed aboard USS Franklin as part of CVG-5, flying F6F Hellcats in strikes across the Western Pacific during 1944-1945. Franklin's story became one of the most dramatic survival narratives in naval history. On March 19, 1945, operating just 50 miles off the Japanese coast near Kobe, a single enemy dive bomber placed two 550-pound bombs into Franklin's crowded hangar deck. The detonation of armed and fueled aircraft created a chain reaction of explosions that killed 807 men and wounded 487. Despite being dead in the water, listing 13 degrees, and engulfed in fires, her crew saved the ship. Franklin sailed 12,000 miles back to the Brooklyn Navy Yard under her own power,the most heavily damaged American warship to make it home.

The pilots of VF-5 earned their place in history. Honor them with authentic Navy squadron gear,from Coral Sea's first carrier battles to Franklin's impossible survival.