Fabled Fifteen

The Pacific War Saga of Carrier Air Group 15. The record of Carrier Air Group 15 in World War II is astonishing by any measure it scored 312 enemy aircraft destroyed, 33 probably destroyed, and 65 damaged in aerial combat, plus 348 destroyed, 161 probably destroyed, and 129 damaged in ground attacks. Twenty-six Fighting 15 pilots became aces, including their leader, Commander David McCampbell, who became the U.S. Navys Ace of Aces. Twenty-one squadron pilots were killed in action and one in an operational accident aboard the carrier Essex. The fighter squadrons partners, Bombing Squadron 15 and Torpedo Squadron 15, scored 174,300