Fighter Squadron 63 (VF-63) WW2

VF-63 flew from a ship with an extraordinary record. USS Franklin (CV-13), "Big Ben," survived the most catastrophic attack on any carrier that wasn't sunk during the war. On March 19, 1945, a single Japanese dive bomber placed two 550-pound bombs into Franklin's crowded hangar deck, detonating armed and fueled aircraft. The resulting chain of explosions killed 807 men and wounded 487,the heaviest casualties suffered by any surviving US warship. Despite being dead in the water and listing 13 degrees, her crew saved the ship, and Franklin sailed 12,000 miles back to New York under her own power.

Fighter Squadron 63 (VF-63) served aboard USS Franklin (CV-13) as part of Carrier Air Group 63 during World War II. Flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat in the Pacific Theater from 1945, VF-63 participated 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.

VF-63 was part of the massive expansion of Navy fighter strength during the final year of the Pacific War. The squadron flew combat sorties during Pacific operations, providing fleet air defense and conducting strike missions against Japanese forces from USS Franklin's flight deck.

Carry the history. VF-63 t-shirts, hoodies, and heritage gifts,built for those who remember what these squadrons gave.