David Mc Campbell
Top American Navy Ace
By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Aviation Art Store.com
Navy Ace, David Mc Campbell and artist Ernie Boyette.
David Mc Campbell graduated from Annapolis in 1933. David served as a signal officer aboard the aircraft carrier, Wasp. He first war cruse was in the Atlantic when the carrier helped transport Spitfires from England to Malta.
The USS Wasp then was ordered to the Pacific
where Mc Campbell served in the battle for Guadalcanal. During this battle a
submerged Japanese submarine was able to torpedo the carrier. In his past, David
had been a champion diver on his collage swimming team. While his carrier was
sinking, David entertained his
fellow shipmates as they witnessed him perform a flawless swan dive off the
ships fan tail. After several hours in the water David and his fellow shipmates
were brought abroad destroyers and taken back to Pearl Harbor.
After
returning to the States, David was sent to Florida to train new signal officers.
After being in the thick of battle, David desired to get back into the fight,
but this time he wanted to be the fighter pilot! After
finishing his training tour David transferred to flight training. He was
assigned to be commander of Air Group 15 in September 1943. In February while
training aboard the new Hornet, David was promoted to air group commander.
Assigned to the carrier Essex,
David saw his first aerial combat during a raid on Marcus Island on May 19th 1944. During this combat, David’s
Hellcat
was shot up so badly that upon landing, the plane handlers pushed his aircraft
over board.
On
June 11th Commander Mc Campbell scored his first aerial victory.
David coolly planned his attack and he told me that he mentally called on all the training he had received for a textbook
kill. Commander Mc Campbell led
Fighting 15 through the toughest fighting of the Pacific Campaign.
As
air group commander, David flew above the battle and coordinated the attack using
dive-bombers, torpedo squadrons, and fighters from the American carriers. Well-executed attacks from seasoned aggressive
American pilots slowly led to the destruction of the Japanese Imperial Navy and
its merchant marine.
Though
David was busy with his duties of directing attacks on Japanese shipping and
airfields, he also started scoring constantly. His commanding officers scolded
David for his combat aggressiveness. His mission was to coordinate the battle
from above, out of the way of the battle. However as David was circling above
the battle, seemingly alone, if he caught sight a Japanese aircraft or two
before they saw him, he "got'em" he told me.
Out of desperation at this point in time the Japanese High Command ordered an all out attack with the remaining Japanese Navy, which was formidable on paper but not altogether in real life. The Japanese had the numbers but many of the pilots manning the attacking aircraft were in-fact newly trained and unseasoned. On June 19th the Japanese launched an attack against the American carrier force that was to be called the "Marianna Turkey Shoot". The Japanese lost 70 percent of their air force totaling 325 aircraft. The U.S. Navy lost 16 fighters and 13 of the pilots. David scored seven aerial victories during two sorties during that battle. David shot down five Judy dive-bombers and two Zeros. David told me that all he had to do was just casually pull up behind the enemy bombers and shoot them down. The two Zeros were a more exciting chase but inexperience doomed the Japanese fighter pilots as well.
In
the Battle of Layette Gulf, Mc Campbell was flying cover over the fleet when he
was vectored to defend the fleet from
60 Japanese planes that broke through the fighter defense screen. With his
wingman, Roy Rushing and five other squadron members they intercepted the
raiders twenty miles from the carrier force. Mc Campbell and his fellow pilots
broke up the Japanese attack and shot down fifteen enemy aircraft with David
claiming nine. Not one enemy aircraft reached the fleet. This was a savage and effective
defense by David and his wing.
During
attacks on enemy shipping and land targets the air-to-ground rockets were
proving effectively successful. On
October 21, 1944 while on route to attack an enemy airfield David and his
wingman came upon and Japanese twin engine observation aircraft. Out of pure curiosity
David decided to try to shoot down the enemy aircraft with one of his rockets.
The enemy aircraft had a rear gunner that was forced to watch David and his
wingman slowly approach for an attack. As David came into firing range, he fired a rocket
that struck the tail of the aircraft. The rear gunner on the Japanese aircraft
leaped from the stricken plane as David finished downing it with his machine
guns.
In
six and one half months of combat, Commander Mc Campbell led Fighting Fifteen to
be one of the deadliest squadrons against the Japanese over all other fighter groups.
Fighting 15 produced 26 aces and lost only 21 pilots to aerial combat, anti
aircraft fire and operational accidents.
Mc Campbell was credited with 34 aerial victories giving him the distinction of the highest scoring American ace in one tour and the highest scoring Navy Ace of WWII. He was also credited with 7 probable in the air and 21 kills on the ground. David Mc Campbell is the highest scoring American Ace of all time in one tour with destroying and damaging sixty enemy aircraft. I know I am stretching what is in the text books, but, the numbers speak for themselves, don't they?
I am sad because I was only able to meet with David one time. I did talk to him several times on the phone before I finally meet him. His health was poor. David agreed to work with me on my series of Famous American Aviators. David would have been my fifth print in the series as well as the first Navy Ace. One week after I met with David finalizing all our arrangement of the print he went into the hospital and died a week later.
I was pleased to know that after the war he was temporally stationed at the Naval Station located in Green Cove Springs, Florida. This is special to me because I was born in Green Cove Springs. As a matter of fact, I still live there, but as a kid I could have met David on the street and not know that he was the top Navy Ace of World War II. And also at that same time just a few miles north on Highway 17 from Green Cove, Roy "Butch" Voris was forming the Blue Angels at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. Butch was to be the fifth print in my series of Famous American Aviators. I am so lucky to be an American and be able to meet and work with such great men in military history.
All research, writings and artwork are by Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette.
No one is permitted to republish any part of this story with out my personal permission.
Please call or e-mail me for any use of this story.
I do not mind sharing, just call or e-mail and ask for permission.
Sir. Ernie Hamilton Boyette
904-282-4198
e-mail: aviationartstore@peoplepc.com
Started 2-10-07