VF-16
Fighting Squadron 16 or VF-16 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy during World War II. Originally established in 1943, it was disestablished on 16 November 1945. Operational history From late November 1943, VF-16 deployed on and supported the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign including the Battle of Tarawa. On 23 November VF-16's pilots shot down 17 Japanese aircraft. By the end of 1943 the pilots of VF-16 had shot down 55 Japanese aircraft, with three pilots becoming aces. On 19 June 1944 while deployed on the ''Lexington'', the squadron participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea#Japanese raids, Marianas Turkey Shoot and squadron pilot Lt Alexander Vraciu shot down six Japanese Yokosuka D4Ys in eight minutes. In 1945 VF-16 was deployed on . See also *History of the United States Navy *List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons *List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons References

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Alexander Vraciu
Alexander Vraciu (November 2, 1918 – January 29, 2015) was a United States Navy fighter ace, Navy Cross recipient, and Medal of Honor nominee during World War II. At the end of the war, Vraciu ranked fourth among the U.S. Navy's flying aces, with 19 enemy planes downed during flight and 21 destroyed on the ground. After the war, he served as a test pilot and was instrumental in forming the post-war Naval and Marine Air Reserve program. From 1956 to 1958 Vraciu led his own fighter squadron, VF-51, for twenty-two months. He retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of commander on December 31, 1963. Vraciu later moved to Danville, California, and worked for Wells Fargo. Vraciu was born in East Chicago, Indiana, of Romanian immigrant parents. He graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and began his military career in 1941, when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. During his military service in World War II, Vraciu flew Grumman F6F Hellcats in the Pacific, spending five m ...
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