F4F Wildcat - Shekara ta Farko a cikin Pacific: Satumba-Disamba 1942 p.2
F4F Wildcat - shekarar farko a cikin Pacific. Wildcats sun yi fakin a gefen titin jirgin Fighter 1 akan Guadalcanal.
Yunkurin mamayar Amurkawa na Guadalcanal a watan Agustan 1942 ya buɗe sabon gaba a Kudancin Pacific kuma ya kai ga yaƙin dako na uku a gabashin Solomons daga baya wannan watan. Duk da haka, nauyin fada na Guadalcanal ya fada kan jiragen da ke aiki daga sansanonin ƙasa.
A lokacin, wasu tawagogi biyu na Marine Wildcats (VMF-223 da -224) da kuma guda daya na Rundunar Sojan Ruwa ta Amurka (VF-5) sun jibge a tsibirin, inda suka dakile hare-haren da sojojin saman Japan suka kai a Rabaul, New Biritaniya. .
Zuwan mayakan VF-11 24, sun tashi daga jirgin na USS Saratoga bayan sun lalata jirgin a karshen watan Agusta, ya ninka karfin Wildcat a tsibirin a ranar 5 ga Satumba. A wancan lokacin, rukunin jiragen sama na sojojin ruwa na Imperial a Rabaul, da aka haɗa a cikin jirgin sama na 11 na Air Fleet, suna da makamai kusan 100 jiragen sama masu aiki, ciki har da 30 Riccos (masu tayar da bama-bamai) da 45 A6M Zero mayaka. Koyaya, kawai A6M2 Model 21 yana da isasshen kewayo don share Guadalcanal. Sabon samfurin A6M3 Model 32 an yi amfani da shi da farko don kare Rabaul daga hare-haren da sojojin saman Amurka suka kai daga New Guinea.
Da tsakar rana ranar 12 ga Satumba, balaguron rikko 25 (daga Misawa, Kisarazu da Chitose Kokutai) ya iso. Sun kasance tare da 15 Zeros daga Kokutai na 2 da 6. Bayan sun isa kusa da tsibirin, maharan sun canza zuwa wani jirgi mai nitsewa a hankali, inda suka gangaro zuwa tsayin mita 7500 don samun saurin gudu. Jafanawa sun kasance cikin babban abin mamaki. Kamar yadda 20 Wildcats VF-5s da 12 daga duka Marines squadrons suka tashi daga filin Henderson. Matukin jirgin na Zero sun yi kokarin hana su, amma sun kasa tantance mayakan 32. Sakamakon haka, Jafanan sun yi asarar Rikko shida da Zero daya da abokin bincikensa Torakiti Okazaki na 2. Kokutai ya tuka. Lieutenant (Junior) Howard Grimmell na VF-5 ya harbe Okazaki ya gudu zuwa tsibirin Savo, yana jan jet na man fetur a bayansa, amma ba a sake ganinsa ba.
Da wayewar gari a ranar 13 ga Satumba, masu jigilar jiragen sama Hornet da Wasp sun isar da Wildcats 18 zuwa Guadalcanal don 'yan wasan da ke tsibirin. A halin da ake ciki kuma, bayanai sun isa birnin Rabaul na cewa sojojin Japan sun kwace filin Henderson filin jirgin saman tsibirin. Don tabbatar da haka, Rikkos biyu, tare da rakiyar mayaka tara, suka tafi tsibirin. Sifili da yawa, suna ganin Cats na daji suna tashi zuwa gare su, sun bugi saman, suka buga ɗaya, suka kori sauran cikin gajimare. Duk da haka, a can, matukan jirgi masu kwarin gwiwa da kuma shirye-shiryen yaƙi na ƙwararrun ƙwararrun Tainan Kokutai sun yi wata doguwar wuta ta ƙasa, kuma lokacin da wasu ƴan daji suka haɗa su, an kashe su ɗaya bayan ɗaya. Hudu sun mutu, gami da aces uku: Mar. Toraichi Takatsuka, mataimakin Kazushi Uto da abokin Susumu Matsuki.
Rahotanni daga ma’aikatan jirgin biyu na Rikko sun yi karo da juna, don haka a safiyar ranar 14 ga Satumba, A6M2-N (Rufe) guda uku suka je filin Henderson don tantance wanda ke kula da filin jirgin. Jiragen ruwa ne da ke aiki daga sansanin Recata Bay da ke gabar tekun Santa Isabel, mai nisan mil 135 daga Guadalcanal. Sun yi wata barazana ta gaske - a yammacin ranar da ta gabata, sun harbe Marasa tsoro suna gab da sauka. A wannan karon wani A6M2-N ya fado kan filin jirgin sama kuma ya kai hari kan wani jigilar R4D da ya taso daga filin Henderson. Kafin Japanawa su yi wani lahani, matukin jirgin VF-5 ne suka harbe shi, da kuma wasu A6M2-N guda biyu. Laftanar (Laftanar na biyu) James Halford ya buge daya. Yayin da matukin jirgin na Japan ya yi belinsa, Halford ya harbe shi cikin iska.
Jafanawa ba su yi kasa a gwiwa ba. Da safe, 11 Zeros daga Kokutai na 2 an aika daga Rabaul don "amai" a cikin sararin sama a kan Guadalcanal, da kwata na sa'a bayan su, Nakajima J1N1-C Gekko jirgin sama mai sauri mai sauri. Daya daga cikin 5. Kokutai's aces, boatswain Koichi Magara, an kashe shi a wani artabu tare da sama da ashirin VF-223 da VMF-2 Wildcats. Jim kadan bayan haka, wani leken asiri Gekko ya bayyana ya fara shawagi a filin Henderson. Ma'aikatan jirgin ba su da lokaci don bayar da rahoton kafa - bayan dogon kora, Laftanar na biyu Kenneth Fraser da Willis Lees daga VMF-223 suka harbe shi.
