Eagle Biography
David McCampbell
Captain David McCampbell is the US Navy's highest scoring ace. Born in 1910, the Alabama
native received an appointment to Annapolis. Graduating in the midst of Navy manpower
cutbacks during the Depression, his first "assignment" was as a civilian
following an honorable discharge in 1933. Called back to active duty after 1 year, he
eventually went to naval flight training and served his first carrier tour as a fighter
pilot on the USS Ranger. In 1940, he became a landing signal officer (LSO) and
served aboard the aircraft carrier Wasp until his tour came to an abrupt halt on
15 September 1942 when the ship was sunk by three Japanese torpedoes.
For the next year,
McCampbell served as an instructor in Florida, after which he became a fighter squadron
commander with Air Group 15. In February 1944, he assumed command of the entire Air
Group, which was then assigned to the USS Essex as part of Task Force 38 under
the command of Admiral Marc Mitscher. During the next 6 months, Air Group 15 participated
in attacks on Marcus and Wake Islands, the Marianas, the Philippines, Iwo Jima,
Formosa, and Okinawa, as well as the two major air/sea battles in the Pacific
Campaign--the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf.
It was during this period
that McCampbell achieved 34 aerial victories and destroyed 21 enemy aircraft on the
ground. Under his leadership, Air Group 15 became known as "The Fabled Fifteen"
and established records for the most airborne planes shot down (318), the most aircraft
destroyed on the ground (348), and the most aircraft destroyed in one day
(68)--McCampbell himself accounting for nine of the latter total. For this achievement,
and his seven victories during the Marianas "Turkey Shoot" 5 months earlier,
McCampbell was awarded the Medal of Honor. Following the war, he served tours as commander
of the USS Bonhomme Richard, on the Joint Staff, and finally as a Deputy Chief of
Staff at NORAD headquarters. An inductee into the Carrier Aviation Hall of Fame, David
McCampbell retired from the Navy in 1964.
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| Honored as an Eagle In: |
| 1984
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1985
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During the first day of the Battle for Leyte Gulf (24 October 1944),
Commander David McCampbell's Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat, named MINSI III,
was only partially fueled when a large formation of Japanese aircraft was
spotted on radar. Scrambling with six other fighters, he and his wingman took
on about 40 enemy fighters while the remaining five aircraft attacked the
Japanese bomber element. During the next 90 minutes, McCampbell achieved nine
victories while his wingman shot down an additional six. McCampbell was
forced to land on another carrier nearby--his engine sputtered out of fuel as
soon as he hit the deck. His nine aerial victories during this flight
established the American record for the most aircraft shot down by one pilot
in a single mission.
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