VF-2 crash-lands aboard, 10 November 1943 VF-2 was established on 1 June 1943,. VF-2, known now as the 'Rippers,' became the first fighting squadron to bear the same designation as a previous unit in the war. Several pilots came from and. The squadron initially deployed 8 but soon received the. VF-2 trained on the east-coast until October 1943 when the squadron headed west to San Francisco and then Hawaii. In Hawaii, VF-2 participated in a Marine landing exercise and so impressed the influential that he requested that VF-2 replace VF-6 in his Air Group aboard.

From November 1943 to January 1944, VF-2 saw action during the. VF-2 participated in O'Hare-designed 'bat teams' of 1 and 2 Hellcats for night interceptions. In March 1944, VF-2 deployed aboard. From the Hornet, VF-2 participated in strikes against the on the afternoon of 11 June 1944. Over 200 F6Fs were launched from American carriers 200 miles (320 km) from their targets of and. VF-2 claimed 23 victories during the attack over the Guam airfield, while squadron aircraft closer to Hornet destroyed 3 'Betty' medium bombers.

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A second strike on Guam claimed another 10 Japanese aircraft. VF-2 scored 37 victories and only lost 1 plane. The next day, VF-2 attacked the and, only pilots which had not previously scored aerial kills were sent on this mission, claiming 17 kills. Between 19 and 20 June 1944, VF-2 was credited with 47 victories with only 1 airplane damaged beyond repair. On the afternoon of 20 June, Japanese carriers were located approximately 200 miles (320 km) to the west.

A strike was ordered with bombs and torpedoes. After the strike, only 6 VF-2 aircraft returned to Hornet, the remaining having landed on other carriers. 5 aircraft were lost at sea. 5 days later, VF-2 claimed 67 kills in 1 day during a sweep of Iwo Jima, losing only 1 F6F Hellcat (an additional one was damaged beyond repair).

During the 1943-44 period, VF-2 had conducted 184 strikes and 2050 sorties, destroying 50,000 tons of ships and 216 airborne airplanes and 245 airplanes on the ground. Losses totaled 3 airplanes in aerial combat and 4 to anti-aircraft fire.

Ecoflam Bluette 107 Manually. The lead article in the 23 October 1944 edition of highlighted VF-2 in a seven-page spread, featuring pictures of 27 of the unit's Aces including, later to become Blue Angel 1 in the original flight demonstration team, and Connie Hargreaves and Wilbur 'Spider' Webb who each became an. See also [ ].