Zuikaku was the second and last Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before the beginning of the Pacific War. Her aircraft took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor that formally brought the United States into the war, and she fought in several of the most important naval battles of the war, before being sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
USS Enterprise (CV-6) was a Yorktown-class carrier built for the United States Navy during the 1930s. She was the seventh U.S. Navy vessel of that name. Colloquially called "The Big E", she was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. Launched in 1936, she was one of only three American carriers commissioned before World War II to survive the war. She participated in more major actions of the war against Japan than any other United States ship. These actions included the attack on Pearl Harbor — 18 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers of her air group arrived over the harbor during the attack; seven were shot down with eight airmen killed and two wounded, making her the only American aircraft carrier with men at Pearl Harbor during the attack and the first to sustain casualties during the Pacific War — the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, various other air-sea engagements during the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Enterprise earned 20 battle stars, the most for any U.S. warship in World War II, and was the most decorated U.S. ship of World War II. She was also the first American ship to sink a full-sized enemy warship after the Pacific War had been declared when her aircraft sank the Japanese submarine I-70 on 10 December 1941. On three occasions during the war, the Japanese announced that she had been sunk in battle, inspiring her nickname "The Grey Ghost". By the end of the war, her planes and guns had downed 911 enemy planes, sunk 71 ships, and damaged or destroyed 192 more.
USS Yorktown (CV/CVA/CVS-10) is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. Initially to have been named Bonhomme Richard, she was renamed Yorktown while still under construction, after the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5), which was sunk at the Battle of Midway. She is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name, though the previous ships were named for 1781 Battle of Yorktown. Yorktown was commissioned in April 1943, and participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.
USS Bunker Hill was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War. Commissioned in May 1943 and sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations, the ship participated in battles in the Southwest Pacific, Central Pacific and the drive toward Japan through Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and air raids on the Japanese homeland.
The Yorktown class was a class of three aircraft carriers built for the United States Navy and completed shortly before World War II, the Yorktown (CV-5), Enterprise (CV-6), and Hornet (CV-8). They immediately followed Ranger, the first U.S. aircraft carrier built as such, and benefited in design from experience with Ranger and the earlier Lexington class, which were conversions into carriers of two battlecruisers that were to be scrapped to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty, an arms limitation accord.
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with the Pacific fleet in 1941, Boyington joined the "Flying Tigers" of the Republic of China Air Force and saw combat in Burma in late 1941 and 1942 during the military conflict between China and Japan.
Operation Cartwheel (1943–1944) was a major military operation for the Allies in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Cartwheel was an operation aimed at neutralising the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation was directed by the Supreme Allied Commander in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), General Douglas MacArthur, whose forces had advanced along the northeast coast of New Guinea and occupied nearby islands. Allied forces from the South Pacific Area, under Admiral William Halsey, advanced through the Solomon Islands toward Bougainville. The Allied forces involved were from Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the US and various Pacific Islands.
The second USS San Juan (CL-54), and the first to be named for the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was an Atlanta-class light cruiser of the United States Navy. She was laid down on 15 May 1940 by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Massachusetts; launched on 6 September 1941; sponsored by Mrs. Margarita Coll de Santori; and commissioned on 28 February 1942.
Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark, USN was an admiral in the United States Navy, who commanded aircraft carriers during World War II. Born and raised in Indian Territory and a member of the Cherokee Nation, in 1917 he became the first Native American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy. Clark preferred to be called "J. J." or by the nickname "Jocko" instead of his full name.
USS Cowell (DD-547), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for John G. Cowell (1785–1814).
USS Hull (DD-350) was a Farragut-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Isaac Hull.
USS Cogswell (DD-651) was a Fletcher-class destroyer in the United States Navy, serving in World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. The ship was named in honor of Rear Admiral James Kelsey Cogswell, who served during the Spanish–American War, and Captain Francis Cogswell, who served during World War I.
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 (VMFA-214) is a United States Marine Corps attack squadron consisting of Lockheed Martin F-35B STOVL jets and before that AV-8B Harrier (V/STOL) jets. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, and is under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 13 (MAG-13) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
USS Conner (DD-582) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, the second Navy ship to be named in honor of Commodore David Conner (1792–1856), who led U.S. Naval forces during the first part of the Mexican–American War.
USS Healy (DD-672) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy.
The second USS McCall (DD-400) was a Gridley-class destroyer in the United States Navy named after Captain Edward McCall, an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. Launched in 1937, she saw service throughout World War II, including in the Guadalcanal Campaign, Battle of the Philippine Sea, and other battles, earning 9 battle stars for her service. She was struck from the rolls in 1947 scrapped the following year.
The second USS Maury (DD-401) was a Gridley-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Matthew Maury, and was one of the most decorated US Naval vessels of World War II.
Baa Baa Black Sheep is an American television series that aired on NBC from September 23, 1976, until April 6, 1978. It was part period military drama, part comedy. In the final seven episodes, the character list was revamped, dropping some squadron pilots, adding a 16-year-old pilot and four nurses.
A series of operations by American aircraft carriers were undertaken in the first half of 1942 in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Six American air-naval operations conducted from January to the end of April 1942 were aimed at harassing Japan during the height of the Japanese offensive in Southeast Asia, improving the morale of the American forces, which had deteriorated after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and also showing Japan that despite all the defeats of the Allies during this time, United States Navy can carry out effective strikes. The last of these raids directly accelerated the Japanese attack on Midway, which had strategic consequences for the Pacific War.
