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 The Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign were a series of battles fought from August 1942 through February 1944, in the Pacific theatre of World War II between the United States and Japan. They were the first steps of the drive across the cent ...

including the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, an ...

. 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 Marianas Turkey Shoot and squadron pilot Lt

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, wit ...

shot down six Japanese Yokosuka D4Ys in eight minutes. In 1945 VF-16 was deployed on .

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Strike fighter squadrons of the United States Navy

Operational history

See also

References