(Subject to Confirmation) CHAPTER 1 In Battle This chapter will begin with a description of a combat from a strike on the island of Negros on 13 September 1944, when eight F6F Hellcats from VF-18 escorted SB2C Helldivers and TBM Avengers on a strike against Japanese airfields. The division led by Lt. Cecil Harris, included three young pilots on their first combat mission, Lt. (jg) Burley, Ziemer and Di Batista. CHAPTER 2 Setting the Scene This chapter will outline the strategic situation at the end of the summer of 1944, as American forces continued their march across the Pacific with the goal of capturing the Philippines or Formosa as a stepping-stone to Japan. The weak Japanese response to the September carrier strikes encouraged General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz to advance the date for the first phase of the invasion of the Philippines, the invasion of Leyte. CHAPTER 3 Path to Combat This chapter will cover wartime training of US Navy pilots, who did not have the luxury of the extended, pre-war training syllabus. The focus will be on gunnery training and training in tactics, and the US Navy's emphasis on teamwork in attacking enemy aircraft.

These younger wartime-trained pilots benefited from the experience of the survivors of the US Navy's earlier battles with the Japanese during the pivotal carrier clashes of 1942-43. The lessons these experienced pilots passed on were vital to the success of the newer fighter pilots who came after them. CHAPTER 4 Weapon of War This chapter will cover a technical description of the F6F-5 model of the Hellcat, the latest version employed in combat over the Philippines, as well as potted history on the Hellcat's development. The chapter will consider the features that made the F6F an outstanding carrier fighter. CHAPTER 5 Art of War This chapter will cover the fighter tactics against Japanese aircraft that, by 1944, the US Navy had perfected in combat. The chapter will stress the intensive training in gunnery and deflection shooting that all US Navy fighter pilots received prior to entering combat - a key to their success in the Pacific. This discussion will tie in with descriptions of combat in which 'nugget' Hellcat pilots often managed to score victories in their first experience of aerial combat against the Japanese. CHAPTER 6 Combat The emphasis in this chapter will be on descriptions of combat, taken from the squadron After Action Reports, focusing on the experiences of pilots who were not well-known high scoring aces, but who nonetheless contributed to ultimate victory.

Typical of these missions was a fighter sweep undertaken by 14 F6F-5 Hellcats of VF-7, flying off USS Hancock , made over Nichols and Clark Fields on Luzon on 29 October 1944. All four pilots involved were subsequently credited with their first victories following this one-sided action against Imperial Japanese Air Force fighters. APPENDICES Roster of aerial victories, performance data for the F6F-5. INDEX.