18 FlightJournal.com
sharp-shooting hellcat
WequalifiedaboardthenewUSSEssex(CV
9)inFebruary1943,werereadytogoinMay
andtraversedthePanamaCanal.Iwasmore
experiencedthansomeofmybuddiesinVF-9,
butmostofushadjust 50 to 80 hoursinthe
F6F.Laterinthewar,pilotsstartedwith300.
WeraidedWakeIslandonOctober5,1943.
Thatwasmyfirstrealfight.
Thatday,mysquadroncommanderCdr.
PhilTorreywasfirsttoshootdownaZero.He
saidnoonewouldeveragaintalkaboutthe
Zerobeingsuperior.Idivedintoaformationof
Zeros,lineduponeinmygunsightandfired
ashortburst.Althoughtheywouldlaterlabel
me“OneSlug”McWhorterbecausetheysaidI
wasveryfrugalwiththetaxpayers’.50-caliber
bullets,therealreasonIdidn’tfireasecond
burstwasthattheZeroblewupinfrontofme.
Ihadscoredmyfirstair-to-airkill.Iwastold
thatatWakeweshotdown 22 Japaneseaircraft
whilelosingsixinair-to-airbattle.
Iflew 89 combatmissions.Themost
memorablewasagainstRabaul—theoneI
beganthisaccountwith—onNovember11,
1943.TheJapaneseweremassingwarshipsat
RabaultothreatenourguysonBougainville,
sotheysentusdown.
Wewereapprehensive.Wewerelaunched
from 150 milessoutheastofRabaul,escorting
ourtaskforce’sSBDDauntlessdivebombers
The TBM Avenger/F6F Hellcat mix was common, as
seen here during flight deck operations aboard the USS
Monterey, CVL-26 operating in the Marshall/Gilberts
Campaign of late 1943. (Photo courtesy of Stan Piet)
The Hellcat’s unique double wing-fold design is evident as deck hands prepare for an April 9,
1943 flight from the USS Essex (CV 9) by a Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat of Fighter Squadron Nine,
or VF-9. (Photos courtesy of the U.S. Navy, via Robert F. Dorr)
Typical of Hellcat operations like those in which McWhorter
participated, a Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat of Fighter Squadron
One, or VF-1 “Top Hatters,” prepares for launch from USS
Yorktown (CV 5) during fighting in the Marianas Islands on
June 19, 1944.