VT-8

{{Use American English|date=February 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = Torpedo Squadron 8 | image = Torpedo Squadron 8 pilots May 1942.jpg | image_size = 300px | caption = Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron's Douglas TBD Devastator pilots on USS ''Hornet'' in May 1942.<br>Standing (L-R): Owens, Fayle (transferred), Waldron, R. A. Moore, U. M. Moore, Evans, Teats, Campbell.<br /> Kneeling (L-R): Ellison, Kenyon, Gray, Gay, Woodson, Creamer, Miles. | dates = 1942–1945 | country = United States | allegiance = | branch = United States Navy | type = Attack | role = Close air support<br />Air interdiction | size = | command_structure = Hornet Air Group, later Carrier Air Group 8 | current_commander = | garrison = | ceremonial_chief = | colonel_of_the_regiment = | nickname = | patron = | motto = | colors = | colors_label = | march = | mascot = | battles = World War II * Battle of Midway * Battle of Guadalcanal | aircraft_attack = Douglas TBD Devastator<br />Grumman TBM Avenger | anniversaries = | decorations = Presidential Unit Citation <!-- Commanders -->| notable_commanders = John C. Waldron<br /> Harold H. Larsen }}

'''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|CV-8|6}}, joining the ship shortly after her commissioning in October 1941.

After heavy losses in the Battle of Midway, VT-8 was assigned to {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}}. 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 Due to heavy cumulative losses on Guadalcanal, VT-8 was then withdrawn and disbanded.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|CV-17|6}} until the end of the war.

==Midway== [[File:Torpedo Squadron 8 (1942).ogv|thumb|upright=1.2|thumbtime=2:47|''Torpedo Squadron 8'', a 1942 film by John Ford]] thumb|The damaged Grumman TBF Avenger piloted by Bert Earnest, photographed at Midway on June 24, 1942 [[File:Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Harry Ferrier, left, who flew into battle June 4, 1942, as a 17-year-old radioman-gunner with Torpedo Squadron 8 in a TBF-1 Avenger, talks with an audience member during the Centennial of 110730-N-ZK021-005.jpg|thumb|Radioman 2nd Class Harry Ferrier (1925–2016), one of the three VT-8 survivors of the Battle of Midway, talks with an audience member during the Centennial of Naval Aviation celebration at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in 2011]]

VT-8's first and best-known combat mission came during the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. All 15 of Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron's obsolete Douglas TBD Devastators were shot down during their unescorted torpedo attack on Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers. The squadron failed to damage any Japanese carriers or destroy enemy aircraft. Only one member of VT-8 who flew from ''Hornet'' on that day survived in the action: Ensign George Gay, who was rescued the day following the battle.

Just prior to the Battle of Midway, the reconstituted VT-8 was the first squadron equipped with the new Grumman 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 Lieutenant Harold "Swede" Larsen remained in Norfolk, Virginia to receive the first shipment of the new aircraft. Larsen's detachment arrived at Pearl Harbor the day after ''Hornet'' sailed for Midway Island. Six of the squadron's Avengers were flown to Midway under the command of Lieutenant Langdon K. Fieberling to participate in the battle. Flying with LT Fieberling were his navigator, Ens Jack Wilke, and gunner, RM2 Ray Osborn. These planes were the first Navy aircraft to attack the Japanese fleet that day. They attacked without fighter cover, and five of six the Avengers were shot down. Only Ensign Albert K. Earnest and Radioman 2nd Class Harry Ferrier survived, on a badly shot-up plane with damaged controls and landing gear, and a dead rear-gunner.

VT-8's losses have been attributed to several causes. ''Hornet''{{'}}s CAG, Commander 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 future Admiral Marc Mitscher, then commanding officer of '' Hornet''.<ref name="Mrazek">Mrazek, R, ''A Dawn Like Thunder''</ref> The Wildcats' deployment was ultimately of no consequence, however, as Ring led the group on an incorrect heading, so the dive bombers never made contact with the Japanese fleet. Lieutenant Commander Waldron made repeated attempts to take over the formation by radio before leading VT-8 off on his own.<ref name="Mrazek"/> Waldron's initiative coupled with Ring's faulty tactics led to VT-8 attacking the Japanese force without fighter or dive bomber support. All of the US carrier-based torpedo squadrons suffered heavily in the battle, including VT-3, which attacked with fighter escort.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}} Although scoring no hits, VT-8 still played a pivotal role as their attack had forced the Japanese carriers to maneuver radically, delaying the launching of the planned strike against the American carriers. After further separate attacks by the remaining two torpedo squadrons over the next hour, Japanese fighter cover and air defense coordination had become focused on low-altitude defense. This left the Japanese carriers exposed to the late-arriving SBD Dauntless dive bombers from {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|2}} and {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2}}, which attacked from high altitude. The dive bombers fatally damaged three of the four Japanese carriers, changing the course of the battle.

Larsen's detachment of VT-8 that remained at Pearl Harbor was loaded aboard {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}} 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''.

==South Pacific== VT-8 flew from ''Saratoga'' during the initial stages of the Guadalcanal campaign. In the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, VT-8 assisted in sinking the light carrier {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Ryūjō||2}}. When ''Saratoga'' was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, the squadron was assigned to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, where it served as part of the Cactus Air Force. VTR-8 fought there to the point where all aircraft were disabled, and then operated as a single-aircraft unit, as one plane at a time was put back into service by salvaging parts (often themselves damaged) from other planes. VT-8 pilots and air crew also participated in the ground defense of Henderson Field, assisting to fend off Japanese infantry attacks on 24–26 October 1942. VT-8's last official mission was flown on 15 November 1942, against damaged transports from the last major Japanese convoy to the island. After leaving Guadalcanal and returning to the United States, the squadron was disbanded.<ref name="Mrazek"/>

==Central Pacific== A new Torpedo Squadron 8 was established in 1943 as part of the new Carrier Air Group 8 (CVG-8). It was assigned to the newly commissioned aircraft carrier {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|2}} at Norfolk in November 1943. After training in the Caribbean Sea, VT-8 left ''Intrepid'' at Pearl Harbor in January 1944.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wa3key.com/cv11data.html | title=History of the USS INTREPID CV-11 }}</ref> Here, VT-8 was assigned to {{USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|6}}, in March 1944. VT-8 attacked Palau, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai on 30 March and 1 April 1944. Truk, Satawan, Ponape, and Hollandia on New Guinea were attacked a month later. CVG-8 then took part in the Marianas Campaign between 12 June and 10 August 1944. VT-8 flew sorties in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Western Carolines were attacked in September, Okinawa, Luzon, and Formosa were attacked in October and November 1944.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv17-bunkerhill/cv17-bunkerhill.html |title=U.S. Navy - A Brief History of Aircraft Carriers - USS Bunker Hill (CV 17) |access-date=2011-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414181447/http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv17-bunkerhill/cv17-bunkerhill.html |archive-date=2009-04-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> For this deployment on ''Bunker Hill'', CVG-8 was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation.

In June 1945, VT-8 trained with USS ''Saratoga'', but they did not deploy.<ref>Terzibaschitsch, Stefan. ''Flugzeugträger der U.S. Navy, Band 1: Flottenflugzeugträger''. Bonn, Bernard & Graefe 1986, p. 344. {{ISBN|3-7637-5803-8}}</ref> CVG-8 (including VT-8) was disestablished after the end of the war.

==Awards== Torpedo Eight earned two Presidential Unit Citations: one for Midway and one for Guadalcanal. Its members also earned more than fifty medals for valor in combat.

==Gallery== <gallery class="center"> File:SBN-1 VT-8 in flight 1941.jpg|A VT-8 SBN-1 trainer, 1941 File:TBD VT-8 at NAS Norfolk 1942.jpeg|"8-T-7" at NAS Norfolk in March 1942 File:TBF-1 VT-8 at NAS Norfolk May 1942.jpeg|VT-8 was the first squadron equipped with the new TBF-1 File:Vt8tbd-t16-4june1942 waldron.jpg|VT-8 CO LCdr. Waldron taking off File:Torpedo Eight in flight 1942.jpg|VT-8 in flight File:Vt8-g-gay-may42.jpg|Ens. Gay (right), sole survivor of Devastator attack at Midway File:Grumman TBF-1 Avenger of VT-8 at Midway, 24 June 1942 (80-G-11637).jpg|8-T-1, the only VT-8 TBF to return to Midway File:TBF VT-8 landing on USS Saratoga (CV-8) off Solomons 1942.jpeg|A VT-8 TBF landing on USS ''Saratoga'' off Guadalcanal, August 1942 File:Wrecked TBF-1 VT-8 on Guadalcanal 1942.jpeg|The wrecked TBF of Ens. Earnest on Guadalcanal, November 1942 File:TBF VT-8 on USS Bunker Hill off Saipan 1944.jpeg|A VT-8 Avenger on USS ''Bunker Hill'' off Saipan, June 1944 </gallery>

==Literature== Herman Wouk's novel ''War and Remembrance'' pays tribute to Torpedo 8, whose pilots he called "the soul of America in action."

Robert J Mrazek's book "A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight" tells the story of VT-8 through interviews with surviving members, the official war record of the squadron and excerpts from letters written home by those who didn't make it.

==References== {{Reflist}}

===Bibliography=== * {{Cite book|last=Gay|first=George |title=Sole Survivor |publisher =Midway Publishers |date=1980|oclc= 7738297}} * {{cite book | last=Mrazek | first=Robert | year=2008 | title=A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xRwRGQFvdbQC| publisher=Hachette Digital, Inc | isbn=978-0-316-02139-5}}

==External links== {{Commonscat|Torpedo Squadron 8 (United States Navy)}} * {{YouTube|id=9CBTnCqkkwU|title=Torpedo Squadron 8}} * [https://archive.today/20121212230926/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h93000/h93595c.htm Torpedo Squadron 8 photograph, US Navy Historical Center] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080310135703/http://www.navy.mil/midway/midway_3_TORPEDO%20SQ%208.html History of Torpedo Squadron 8, US Navy]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:VT-8, U.S. Navy}} Category:Torpedo squadrons of the United States Navy 8th Torpedo Squadron (Navy) Category:Battle of Midway