Intrepid's Fighting Squadron 18: Flying High with Harris' Hellcats

About the Book

USS Intrepid's Fighting Squadron 18 (VF-18) was one of the U.S. Navy's highest-scoring carrier units of World War II. Despite having only one combat veteran in its roster, its aviators-including Cecil "Speedball" Harris, the Navy's second-ranking ace-were credited with shooting down more than 170 planes during their 81-day tour of duty, earning the squadron the nickname "Two-a-Day 18" in newspapers nationwide. How did a novice unit with a comparatively short time in theater accomplish such a feat?

To answer this question, Intrepid's Fighting Squadron 18 follows squadron members through training, into combat, and finally to the end of their harrowing stories-whether they took the return trip home or made the ultimate sacrifice. Drawing extensively on archival and family collections, author Mike Fink reveals the personalities of these men and the binding friendships they built. "Moe" Mollenhauer, Fighting 18's youngest pilot, had a score to settle with the Japanese. Outspoken "Punchy" Mallory incredibly was reprimanded for shooting down enemy planes. Andthe squadron's best-known figure, Cecil "Speedball" Harris, took the lead in preparing his peers for war before they took their place at the tip of the Navy's spear. Intrepid's Fighting Squadron 18 is as much about the bonds these young men formed as it is about Pacific War history.

The men of Fighting 18 joined the Navy's massive fast-carrier force in August 1944-just in time to participate in the last great air and sea battles in the Pacific. They were one of the first squadrons to engage Japan's massive battleship force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, racked up incredible scores and suffered devastating losses during the Formosa Air Battle, and bore witness to an unthinkable new weapon-the kamikaze suicide attack-as the war entered its desperate endgame. Ultimately, Intrepid's Fighting Squadron 18 showcases the powerful impact of war on those who fight it and sheds light on the impact of those men on the war itself.

About the Author :

Mike Fink is Manager of Development Content at the Intrepid Museum.An avid researcher/historian, he spent six years combing through archives and interviewing pilots and their families to uncover the incredible true story of "Two-a-Day 18," Intrepid's highest-scoring fighting squadron. Fink lives in Wilmington, Delaware.

Review :
"Michael Fink's insightful account of Fighting Squadron 18 provides insiders' perspective of one of the U.S. Navy's most successful units of World War II.  It's a last-minute grab at history quickly fading from living memory, and as such deserves to be read. absorbed, and emulated by other historians."—Barrett Tillman. author of On Wave and Wing: The 100-Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier.

"Mike Fink's meticulously researched book about USS Intrepid's Fighting Squadron 18 brings the pilots and sailors vividly to life, learning the ropes, in combat with victory and defeat, and the final triumph. After I read it, I took renewed pride in my own US Naval service. Our WWII predecessors were truly great Americans. We stand on the shoulders of giants. It needs to be read by every descendant and friend of WWII Navy veterans."—Stephen Coonts, author of Flight of the Intruder and 15 other NYT bestsellers

"Intrepid's Fighting Squadron 18 places the reader in the cockpit during aerial combat with enemy fighters and on harrowing strafing and bombing runs against enemy warships and airfields. But what distinguishes this work is the author's extensive research into who these young men were and what they thought as they endured the relentless stress of carrier operations—and the all-too-frequent loss of their comrades. This book is a welcome, insightful addition to the literature of the Pacific Carrier War."—Gregory G. Fletcher, author of Intrepid Aviators: The American Flyers Who Sank Japan's Greatest Battleship

"In this meticulously researched tribute to Fighting Squadron 18, Mike Fink tells the story of an illustrious Navy squadron.  This sweeping account takes us beyond the requisite numbers and names, victories and losses of a squadron at war.  We are taken inside squadron ready rooms, fly in tension-filled Hellcat cockpits, feel the rattle of .50-caliber machine guns.  We sense the exhilaration and terror and high drama in the lives of these intrepid young Americans."—Robert Gandt, author of Intrepid and China Clipper

"This highly readable book brings the reader into the world of naval aviation aboard an aircraft carrier in a way that not only vividly depicts the action, but also conveys the personal experiences of those involved in a way that is most compelling, For me. it evoked my memories of being a squadron intelligence officer aboard a carrier."—Cdr. Andrew Faltum, USN (Ret.) author of Aircraft Carrier Intrepid

"Author Mike Fink has drawn upon a deep reservoir of knowledge and research to produce the definitive account of Fighting Squadron 18’s contribution to U.S. victory in World War II. His evident care for the personalities and accomplishments of the individuals who flew in the squadron is obvious. The descriptive, evocative writing style puts the reader on board the carrier Intrepid and in Hellcat cockpits on every page."—Paul Stillwell, author of Battleship Commander: the Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr.

"Breathing life into his account by adroitly blending human experiences with operational facts, Mike Fink takes the reader into the ready rooms and cockpits of a World War II Navy fighting squadron to tell an engaging and important story that both edifies and entertains. This is history at its best."—Thomas J. Cutler, author of the Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23-26 October 1944

"An excellent and very readable book that takes us back into VF-18 Squadron during 1944 and describes its outstanding period of operations in the Pacific as part of Intrepid’s Air Group 18.  The descriptions of individuals are written with care and clarity and on finishing the book I almost felt that I knew some of them personally. As the achievements of the USN Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during 1944/45 pass beyond living memory it is important to capture the stories of individuals so that their achievements can be known in their proper context to later generations.  Mike Fink has done a particularly good job of doing so and is to be congratulated for the empathy he has shown.  He takes us beyond the dates and statistics of the largest scale of naval operations the world had ever known, allowing readers to understand how the tension of continuous flying in the most dangerous circumstances affected the squadron’s pilots in different ways.  He manages to stimulate our imagination by absorbing us into the squadron’s activities with a vivid portrayal of life in an Essex class aircraft carrier in action.  His description of the casualties caused by Kamikaze hits are moving."—Australian Naval Institute

" A fascinating tale of teamwork and camaraderie in the crucible of combat, the book is a strong work of history that moves along at an enjoyable pace. Mixed with the thrill of Harris’ victories, and those of his comrades who helped earn the squadron’s honors, is the pain of losing shipmates in combat. Fink’s book highlights not only the facts, but also the feelings of those left behind. The book is more than just a by-the-numbers chronology of battles and dogfights; it includes glimpses of the day-to-day lives of the personnel fighting those battles. Fink’s focus on the individuals allows him to break the battles into the smaller engagements and personal experiences that form the wider war. The sprawling cast of characters that comes to inhabit VF-18 includes some names that history buffs will find familiar, and Fink does a commendable job keeping readers reminded of who is who. By highlighting VF-18’s role individually, Fink helps distill the global conflict of World War II into an understandable story of one unit’s combat effectiveness and tells the story of how one squadron and the people who make it can have an outsized impact in the midst of fierce combat."—Naval History