Fighter Squadron 51 (VF-51) WW2

VF-51 flew from a ship with an extraordinary record. USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) earned six battle stars and is forever linked to future President George H.W. Bush, who served as an Avenger torpedo bomber pilot aboard her. On September 2, 1944, Bush was shot down over Chichi Jima while attacking a Japanese radio installation. He was rescued by the submarine USS Finback after four hours in the water,two of his crewmates were killed. Bush was 20 years old.

Fighter Squadron 51 (VF-51) served aboard USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) as part of Carrier Air Group 51 during World War II. Flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat in the Pacific Theater from 1943-1945, VF-51 participated 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 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.

VF-51 was part of the massive expansion of Navy fighter strength during the final year of the Pacific War. The squadron flew combat sorties during Central Pacific and Okinawa Campaign, providing fleet air defense and conducting strike missions against Japanese forces from USS San Jacinto's flight deck.

Carry the history. VF-51 t-shirts, hoodies, and heritage gifts,built for those who remember what these squadrons gave.