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 , joining the ship 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 Due to heavy cumulative losses on Guadalcanal, VT-8 was then withdrawn and disbanded.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 until the end of the war.

Midway

thumb|upright=1.2|thumbtime=2:47|[[Torpedo Squadron 8 (film)|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

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. Hornets 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. 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. Here, VT-8 was assigned to , 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. 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. 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 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

Bibliography

  • Torpedo Squadron 8 photograph, US Navy Historical Center
  • History of Torpedo Squadron 8, US Navy