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Author Topic: USN training squadrons?  (Read 702 times)

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milvipes

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USN training squadrons?
« on: September 09, 2020, 12:22:19 AM »

I'm in the process of creating skins for F8F in a winter 1945 WWII scenario for the stock CVE (USS Casablanca, Kitkun Bay, Shamrock Bay) and Ship Pack 3 CVL (USS Belleau Wood, San Jacinto: Princeton was sunk before F8F became available). Now we know that USS Casablanca (CVE-55) was used primarily as a training carrier.

She had no Air Wings nominally assigned to her; nevertheless, I would like to figure out what are some of the West Coast conversion and replacement training units that may have operated regularly off CVE-55, and how they looked like.
Here is one very interesting scheme that belonged to a Marine training unit (from Asisbiz's website).
But it was a East Coast unit stationed in Florida. I'm not sure anything remotely resembling that has ever flown off Casablanca.
I've already spent hours researching to no avail.
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Subpar

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Re: USN training squadrons?
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2020, 03:56:26 PM »

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Subpar

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Re: USN training squadrons?
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2020, 04:31:40 PM »

I found this in an article. I'm thinking it was one of the carriers used to qualify Marine pilots before Iwo Jima. I'll do some more research and get back to you. Here's the link as well.

"Training of Marine pilots for carrier qualification had already started during the summer of 1944. Even though about 15 percent of the aviators assigned to Marine Carrier Groups, FMFPac, had seen combat action, few had ever landed on a carrier. On 3 February 1945 the first carrier, the Block Island, was assigned to MASG-48. Three other carriers were furnished at one-month intervals. It was hoped that by late 1945, when the invasion of Japan itself was to get under way, eight carriers would be available to the Marines."

http://tothosewhoserved.org/usa/marines/usmc04/part5ch02.html
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milvipes

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Re: USN training squadrons?
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2020, 10:46:09 PM »

I found this in an article. I'm thinking it was one of the carriers used to qualify Marine pilots before Iwo Jima. I'll do some more research and get back to you. Here's the link as well.
http://tothosewhoserved.org/usa/marines/usmc04/part5ch02.html
Thank you for the info, the Marines were being carrier qualified in the later stages of the war to fend off Kamikaze, so they're just in time to convert to F8F for that taks.
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milvipes

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Re: USN training squadrons?
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2020, 11:38:29 AM »

The official navy history command website provides lists of naval squadrons during WWII, including training ones.
Unfortunately, these wore some of the drabbest, most "generic" schemes imaginable: almost not worth the effort to create skins for them. Might as well go full retard and paint it like a trainer.
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