The Death Rattlers, VMF-323, was destined to become one of the best-known U.S. Marine Corps fighter units of World War II, and the pilots who flew Corsairs for it are justifiably proud of their time. Albert Wells remembers his time with the Rattlers.
Death Rattler indoctrination
In 1943, I was a 21-year-old green Second Lieutenant when I joined VMF-323 at El Toro as a replacement. The original squadron had gathered earlier at Cherry Point where they began forming a Marine Fighter squadron called the Death Rattlers VMF-323. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any fighters: the early pilots had to learn fighter tactics in SNJ trainers before F4U Corsairs began to trickle in. The Squadron CO was a 23-year-old “boy” Major named George Axtell Jr. Although he was the same age as most of us—and the youngest CO of a fighter squadron in the Marine Corps—he was a no-nonsense commander who instilled discipline in all of us and made us the best damn Marine Fighter Squadron of the war! Although most of us feared him, and endured his wrath, he was a damn fine CO even though he placed me under arrest twice.
The first time was when we were training at Camp Pendleton and I came back with a bunch of wires hanging from the belly of my Corsair. By the time I landed, Major Axtell had received a phone call from a local farmer that one of his Corsairs was “flat-hatting” and snipped some wires. He asked what I did and I told him I must have flown between two mountaintops and sliced a wire—of course, he didn’t believe my bold-faced lie as I was confined to my bunk for 10 days.
Behind his back we called him the “Big Ax”—and boy, could he wield it when he was angry!
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November - December 2023 من Flight Journal.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November - December 2023 من Flight Journal.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Scourge of the Allied Fighters
IT HAD TO BE THE MOST HELPLESS FEELING in the world: you're at 25,000 feet over Europe knowing that your primary function is to drop bombs-or flying escort for the bombers while being a slow-moving target for some of the world's finest shooters. However, you have John Browning's marvelous .50 caliber invention to give some degree of protection. Unfortunately, you're absolutely helpless against flak. Piloting and gunnery skills play no role in a game where sheer chance makes life and death decisions. For that reason, the Krupp 88 mm Flak 18/36/37 AA cannon could be considered WW II's ultimate stealth fighter. You never saw it coming.
ZERO MYTH, MYSTERY, AND FACT
A test pilot compares the A6M5 Zero to U.S. fighters
Fw 190 STURMBÖCKE
The Luftwaffe's \"Battering Rams\" against the USAAF heavy bombers
American BEAUTY
\"Forgotten Fifteenth\" top-scoring Mustang ace John J. Voll
BANSHEE WAIL!
Flying Skulls over Burma
KILLER CORSAIR
Albert Wells, Death Rattlers Ace
BACKSTREET BRAWLER
A young man, his Hurricane and the Battle of Britain
Still Flying After All These Years
One of the oldest airworthy J-3 Cubs
NOORDUYN NORSEMAN
Canada's rugged, fabric-covered workhorse
A good landing is one you can walk away from
NO, THIS IS NOT A SCENE FROM A MOVIE where the hero staggers away from a \"good landing\" on Mindoro, Philippine Islands, after being shot down by a Japanese Zero.