120

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1942-Contin ued

Squadron 223 and Scout Bombing Squadron 232,

delivered by the escort carrier Long Island, initiated

operations from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal (20

Aug) and were joined within a week by AAF fighter

elements and dive bombers from Enterprise, and by

other elements as the campaign progressed. Until the

island was secure (9 Feb), these forces flew intercep-

tor patrols, offensive missions against shipping, and

close air support for the Marines and for Army troops

relieving them (13 Oct). Marine air units carrying the

major air support burden accounted for 427 enemy

aircraft during the campaign.

10 August The headquarters of Patrol Wing 3 shift-

ed within the Canal Zone from NAS Coco Solo to

Albrook Field for closer coordination with the Army

Air Force Command in the defense of the Panama

Canal.

12 August Cleveland (CL 55), operating in the

Chesapeake Bay, demonstrated effectiveness of the

radio-proximity fuze against aircraft by destroying

three radio-controlled drones with four proximity

bursts fired from her five inch guns. This successful

demonstration led to mass production of the fuze.

12 August Wolverine (IX 64) was commissioned at

Buffalo, N.Y, Commander George R. Fairlamb com-

manding. This ship and Sable (IX 81), commissioned

the following May, were Great Lakes excursion ships

converted for aviation training and as such they oper-

ated for the remainder of the war on the inland waters

of Lake Michigan. They provided flight decks upon

which hundreds of Student Naval Aviators qualified for

carrier landings and many flight deck crews received

their first practical experience in handling aircraft

aboard ship.

13 August Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet directed

that an Aircraft Experimental and Developmental

Squadron be established about 30 September 1942 at

NAS Anacostia, D.C. This squadron, which replaced

the Fleet Air Tactical Unit, was to conduct experiments

with new aircraft and equipment in order to determine

their practical application and tactical employment.

15 August Patrol Wing 11 was established at

Norfolk, Va., Commander Stanley 1. Michael com-

manding. Five days later the Wing moved to San Juan,

P.R., for operations under the Caribbean Sea Frontier.

20 August The designation of escort carriers was

changed from AVG to ACV.

24 August Santee, Captain William D. Sample com-

manding, was placed in commission at the Norfolk

Navy Yard, Va.; the first of four escort carriers of the

Sangamon Class converted from Cimarron Class fleet

oilers.

30 August The occupation of Adak, Alaska, by

Army forces and the establishment of an advanced

seaplane base there by the tender Teal, put North

Pacific forces within 250 miles of occupied Kiska and

in a position to maintain a close watch over enemy

A PBY Catalina f7ying over the Aleutians near Adak 405443

shipping lanes to that island and to Attu, Aleutian

Islands. The tender Casco, conducting support opera-

tions from Nazan Bay, was damaged by a submarine

torpedo and temporarily beached.

1 September U.S. Naval Air Forces, Pacific, Rear

Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch commanding, was estab-

lished for the administrative control of all air and air

service units under the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific

(CINCPAC), replacing the offices of Commander,

Carriers Pacific, and Commander, Patrol Wings Pacific.

The subordinate commands Fleet Air West Coast, Fleet

Air Seattle, and Fleet Air Alameda were established at

the same time.

6 September The first Naval Air Transport Service

flight to Argentia, Newfoundland, marked the begin-

ning of air transport expansion along the eastern

seaboard that during the month extended briefly to

Iceland and reached southward to the Canal Zone and

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

7 September Air Transport Squadron 2, based at

Alameda, Calif., established a detachment at Pearl

Harbor, Hawaii, and began a survey flight to the South

Pacific as a preliminary to establishing routes between

San Francisco, Calif., and Brisbane, Australia.