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Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) was a United States Navy squadron of World War II torpedo bombers. VT-8 was assigned initially to the air group of the aircraft carrier ''USS Hornet'', joining ''Hornet'' shortly after her commissioning in October 1941. After heavy losses in the Battle of Midway, VT-8 was assigned to . When ''Saratoga'' was disabled on 31 August, VT-8 was transferred to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, operating there until November 1942. Due to heavy cumulative losses on Guadalcanal, VT-8 was then withdrawn and disbanded. A second VT-8 was established in 1943, and served on USS ''Bunker Hill'' until the end of the war. ==Midway== VT-8's first and best-known combat mission came during the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. Flying the obsolete Douglas TBD Devastators, Commander John C. Waldron's 15 planes were all shot down during their unescorted torpedo attack on Japanese aircraft carriers. The squadron did not destroy any enemy aircraft with their defensive rear .30-caliber machine guns, nor did they damage any of the Japanese carriers. Only one member of VT-8 who flew from ''Hornet'' on that day survived in the action, Ensign George Gay. Ensign Gay was rescued the day following the battle. Torpedo 8 was afterwards awarded the American Presidential Unit Citation. Torpedo 8 was the first squadron equipped with Grumman's new TBF-1 Avenger, a bigger, faster, longer-ranged replacement for the TBD. When ''Hornet'' sailed to the Pacific, a detachment of the squadron under the command of Lt. Harold "Swede" Larson remained in Norfolk, Virginia to receive the first shipment of the new aircraft. Larson's detachment arrived at Pearl Harbor the day after ''Hornet'' sailed for Midway. Six of the squadron's Avengers were flown to Midway under the command of Lt. Langdon K. Fieberling to participate in the battle. These planes were the first Navy aircraft to attack the Japanese fleet that day. They attacked without fighter cover, and five of the Avengers were shot down, with only Ensign Albert K. Earnest and CDR (then Radioman 2/c) Harry Ferrier's surviving, on a badly shot-up plane with damaged controls and landing gear, and a dead rear-gunner. A list of the fallen: *Lt. Commander John C. Waldron *Lt. Raymond A. Moore *Lt. James C. Owens, Jr. *Lt.(jg) George M. Campbell *Lt.(jg) John P. Gray *Lt.(jg) Jeff D. Woodson *Ens. William W. Abercrombie *Ens. William W. Creamer *Ens. Harold J. Ellison *Ens. William R. Evans *Ens. Henry R. Kenyon *Ens. Ulvert M. Moore *Ens. Grant W. Teats *Robert B. Miles, Aviation Pilot 1c *Horace F. Dobbs, Chief Radioman *Amelio Maffei, Radioman 1 *Tom H. Pettry, Radioman 1 *Otway D. Creasy, Jr. Radioman 2 *Ross H. Bibb, Jr., Radioman 2 *Darwin L. Clark, Radioman 2 *Ronald J. Fisher, Radioman 2 *Hollis Martin, Radioman 2 *Bernerd P. Phelps Radioman 2 *Aswell L. Picou, Seaman 2 *Francis S. Polston, Seaman 2 *Max A. Calkins, Radioman 3 *George A. Field, Radioman 3 *Robert K. Huntington, Radioman 3 *William F. Sawhill, Radioman 3 Pilots of VT-8's Avenger detachment lost: *Lt. Langdon K. Fieberling, Commanding *Ensign O.J. Gaynier *Ensign V.A. Lewis *Ensign C. E. Brannon *William C. Lawe, (AM3c) - volunteer gunner on C.E. Brannon's TBF-1 Avenger *AMM1c D. D. Woodside VT-8's losses have been attributed to several causes. ''Hornets CAG, Stanhope C. Ring, kept the group's fighter escort at high altitude in order to cover the dive bombers and to give the Wildcats an altitude advantage. This decision was supported by Admiral Marc Mitscher, then commanding officer of '' Hornet''.〔Mrazek, R, ''A Dawn Like Thunder''〕 Ring also led the group on an incorrect heading, so the dive bombers never made contact with the Japanese fleet. Commander Waldron made repeated attempts to take over the formation by radio before leading VT-8 off on his own.〔 Waldron's initiative coupled with Ring's faulty tactics led to VT-8 attacking the Japanese force without fighter or dive bomber support. It is important to note, however, that all of the carrier-based torpedo squadrons suffered heavily in the battle, including VT-3, which attacked with fighter escort. Larson's detachment of VT-8 that remained at Pearl Harbor was loaded aboard when she was sent to reinforce the forces at Midway. They were later transferred to ''Hornet'' where they learned of the loss of their comrades. VT-8 was reconstituted with this detachment as nucleus, and was reassigned to ''Saratoga''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「VT-8」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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