About the Grim Reapers

[Skywalker Jin]

Hello there.
When it comes to October, we met the Battle of Santa Cruz, a battle which was the most intense fight in 1942.
US lost the Hornet and the Enterprise was the only carrier they could use in the Pacific for a period of time.
Japs lost more elite pilots and the rest of them would be cleared by the Cactus Air Force and the corsairs on the island

I will share my thoughts of those books(maybe more):
The Grim Reapers by Stanley Johnston
The Grim Reapers by Peter B. Mersky
Battle in the South Pacific: Carrier duel in the Santa Cruz Islands by Guozhi He（A friend of mine）

 

[Skywalker Jin]

Following my previous research on VF-42, their former XO Jimmy Flatley became the CO of VF-10, which was known as The Grim Reapers.
I regard VF-10 as "The spirit of the Lady Lex and the Mighty Y" for many of this squadron's pilot was from VS-2,VF-2,VS-5 and VF-42.
VF-2 was known as The Flying Chief and VF-42 was known as one of the most experienced fighter squadron in early stage of the war.
Now I'm reading Stanley's book and I found even in the battle of Coral Sea, many experienced US pilots(like "Swede",Flatley) can shot down the "terrible" Zero.
This fact indicates that the Zero had its weakness and it was so obvious that US pilots can find it out in the first clash of the carriers.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

Flatley really did a great job in developing fighter doctrine. As a pilot who had 3019 flying hours till 1942.4, he had more experience on fighter squadron.
VF-10 is the squadron that inherited the spirit of the Yorktown and the Lexington and without doubt, men from the Yorktown formed the main body: Flatley,"Swede" and Fritz,not to mention the CO was the Yorktown's VF-42's former XO.

Speaking of the Battle of the Santa Cruz, the attack of the submarine was the most serious blow: it made the loss of the Wasp and sent the North Carolina out of the front line. The absence of the North Carolina resulted a big gap of US fleet's AA firepower.

In 2023 I met a talented writer named YorktownCV-5,
She is a writer, illustrator, and also works as a box-art painter for scale model kits.What makes her work distinctive is that her illustrations are deeply influenced by her emotional responses to crew memoirs and historical accounts. She does not simply depict ships as objects; rather, she attempts to capture the human experiences and emotions behind them, drawing inspiration from the firsthand memories of those who served aboard them. Her long-standing connection with the name YorktownCV-5 reflects a sincere emotional attachment to the ship and her history.

Below is her words related to the torpedo attack of the North Carolina

Another submarine. North Carolina cursed countless times in her heart. Yorktown... Sarah... Now it's Wasp again. North Carolina treated her wounds in an emergency and resumed her voyage without any serious injuries (even so, this allowed her to go home and rest for two months), but she knew that once her carrier partners were hit by torpedoes, it would be very difficult for them to survive. The battles she experienced here made her have no doubt at all about how indispensable aircraft carriers are here. Since the Japanese Navy has kept their battleships far away and refused to show them, at least they can still serve as a strong shield for the aircraft carrier task force. Having defended the sky for them for so long, she was unable to protect the water beneath, which made her extremely reluctant. In conclusion, after coming to the Pacific, North Carolina did not leave the repair shop. She returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs and made minor modifications.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

Based on He's book I make pictures below:

According to The Grim Reapers:

The American force now split into two units and steamed approximately ten miles apart. The Hornet was escorted by cruisers and some destroyers,
and the Enterprise by the new battleship, destroyers and some cruisers. The elementary principle in sea-air naval war is to deliver the main attack against carriers; therefore Captain Thomas L. Gatch, of Annapolis, Maryland, commander of the battleship, formed detailed plans to hug the carrier and use his craft's enormous fire power to cover the Enterprise with an umbrella of steel. The cruisers and destroyers were disposed near the carrier and battleship.

It should be admitted that the AA power of a battleship is obviously better than cruisers and destroyers. Thus the absence of the North Carolina was a pity,if she was present, the Hornet may sustain minor damage.