The Pacific Theater in World War II was the site of brutal air combat between American and Japanese forces. Among those fighting was U.S. Navy Fighter Squadron Captain T. Hugh Winters. He wrote a book documenting some of his experiences during the war.
Winters commanded Air Group 19. The group included thirty-six Hellcat fighters. The Hellcats were armed with Browning fixed machine guns. On the deck of the aircraft carrier Lexington, squadron pilots in their planes were launched by catapult into the air. Missions included striking Japanese anti-aircraft installations and strafing grounded Japanese aircraft. Over a period of six weeks in the Philippines, Air Group 19 shot down 155 enemy aircraft.
The squadron had lighter moments, too – including raucous parties and the adoption of Cleopatra, a young African lioness as their mascot.
See the Edward J. McCarten papers at UW’s American Heritage Center to read Skipper – Confessions of a Fighter Squadron Commander.
