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.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

He's table,note that Hughes consumed 160 .45in bullets, what was that? M1911 gun?

 

[Greg Boeser]

He's table,note that Hughes consumed 160 .45in bullets, what was that? M1911 gun?
View attachment 900467

Thommy gun, probably. Thompson submachine gun.

 

[R Leonard]

Here's some VF-10 documents in my possession -

 

[Skywalker Jin]

Here's some VF-10 documents in my possession -

Thank you. Those documents had been applied in my previous works and they really helps.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

The letter from Leppla really moves me. As a pilot, as a part of the force fighting for freedom, his strong will of ending this war and bring peace gives me deep impression. It was men with his noble sacrifice that led our final victory over Japan.

In my country, just several days after battle of Midway,at Songzhuang village, 300 Chinese soldiers — with 4 machine guns, a few grenade launchers, rifles and 2,000 grenades — held off 2,500 Japanese troops for 16 hours.The result was over 800 Japanese casualties including a brigade commander, ~40 repelled assaults, and the Chinese force slipped out at midnight having lost only 73 men.
No matter where we were, we fought the same enemy and with the same will——end the war and bring back peace to this world.
Earlier,in 1933,on the night of March 12, General Zhao Dengyu led 500 volunteers on a silent march behind enemy lines. They stormed the Japanese camp with grenades and blades. Over a thousand enemy soldiers were cut down; 18 cannons destroyed.The picture below is one of them.

The Japanese feared the Chinese broadsword so much they issued steel neck guards — just like they feared US naval gunfire and naval aircraft attack so much they dug 30-meter-deep tunnels on Iwo Jima.

 

[Skywalker Jin]

The writer named YorktownCV-5 had her own way to memorize Battle of Santa Cruz:
Based on the story of the USS Northampton struggled to save the USS Hornet,she treated ships as human.

Original song: Hush little baby don't you cry
Lyrics adaptation / Cover / Illustration: YorktownCV-5
Post-production / PV: AnnyJulyP

80th anniversary memorial song for the Battle of Santa Cruz.

Description: A lullaby cover with re-written lyrics based on "Hush little baby don't you cry," it is also the final song from the USS Northampton to the USS Hornet. The elder ship who accompanied this young one like a mother made one last attempt to save her, but it was about to fail. Before severing the rope that sustained Hornet's last breath, Nora sang this song—hoping she could meet her end peacefully. "Go to sleep soon," so there would be no more pain. —Yet, she still wept, wept, and did not stop until the very last moment. In her small heart, there were still so many things left undone.

Hush little Hornet don't you cry,
Nora's gonna catch you a butterfly.
If the butterfly won't come back,
Nora's gonna buy you a pennant flag.
If that pennant tangles up,
Nora's gonna buy you a dixie cup.
If that dixie cup is crooked,
Nora's gonna buy you a pirate hook.
If that pirate hook would bend,
Nora's gonna buy you some gingerbread.
When that gingerbread is done,
Nora's gonna buy you another one.
If that gingerbread's the last,
Nora's gonna buy you a real wildcat.
If that real wildcat gets lost,
Nora's gonna tie you a bowline knot.
...If that bowline knot would crack,
You' ll still be the proudest girl in Yorktown Class.