VPNAVY Operation Poppy by Captain Edward M. Brittingham
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Books VP-74 MiscellaneousBooks

BooksBOOKs: VPNAVY BookTitle: "VPNavy! USN, USMC, USCG and NATS Patrol Aircraft Lost or Damaged During World War II" by LCDR Douglas E. Campbell, USNR (Retired) dcamp@aol.com "VPNavy! USN, USMC, USCG and NATS Patrol Aircraft Lost or Damaged During World War II" Thousands of hours of research have culminated in this First Edition of U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard and Naval Air Transport Service patrol aircraft lost or damaged during World War II. Within these 600+ pages can be found more than 2,200 patrol aircraft across nearly 300 squadron designations; the majority of the aircraft complete with their stories of how they were lost or damaged or simply Struck Off Charge (SOC) and removed from the Navy’s inventory. Of interest to the reader may be the alphabetical Index to the 7,600+ names of Officers, aircrewmen and others mentioned in the book. Squadrons, etc. mentioned include: VB/VP/VPB, FAW, VD, VH, VJ, VMD, VR, NATS, NAS, etc. You may purchase as copy through: Lulu Press, Inc.. Contributed by LCDR Douglas E. Campbell, USNR (Retired) dcamp@aol.com [26FEB2018]


BooksBOOKs: Eyes On The Fleet Title: Eyes of the Fleet: Cloaked by jungle foliage, the unheralded seaplane tenders operated ahead of the Fleet, like the Navy's famed PT boats. As Halsey's South Pacific, MacArthur's Southwest Pacific, and Spruance's Central Pacific forces advanced toward Japan, these ships served as afloat-bases for patrol planes referred to as the "eyes of the fleet." The large fabric-clad PBY "Catalinas" and later PBM "Mariners" combed the seaways for Japanese forces and carried out bombing, depth charge, and torpedo attacks on enemy ships and submarines. Nighttime anti-shipping operations-"Black Cat" or "Nightmare" missions-were dangerous and daytime combat operations even more so, when encounters with more maneuverable and heavily-armed fighters necessitated hiding in clouds to survive. The Japanese were keen to destroy the scouts and their floating bases, and seaplane tenders often lived a furtive existence, particularly early in the war. Pilots, plane crews and shipboard personnel received scores of awards for valor, including the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Silver and Bronze Star Medals. A few VP Squadrons mentioned include: VP-1, VP-11/VPB-11, VP-12, VP-13/VPB-13, VP-14, VP-16/VPB-16, VP-18/VPB-18, VPB-19, VPB-20, VP-21/VPB-21, VP-22, VP-23/VPB-23, VP-24, VPB-25, VPB-26, VPB-27, VPB-28, VP-32, VP-33/VPB-33, VP-34/VPB-34, VP-41, VP-42, VP-43, VP-44, VP-45, VP-51, VP-52, VP-53, VPB-54, VP-61, VP-62, VP-63/VPB-63, VP-71/VPB-71, VP-72, VP-73, VPB-74, VP-81, VP-82, VP-83, VP-84, VP-91, VP-92, VP-94, VP-101/VPB-101, VP-102/VPB-102, VPB-103, VPB-104, VPB-105, VPB-106, VB-106, VB-108, VPB-109, VPB-110, VPB-111, VPB-112, VPB-114, VP-115, VPB-116, VPB-117, VPB-118, VPB-123, VPB-130, VB/VPB-137, VPB-142, VB-143, VPB-146, VPB-151, VP-202/VPB-202, VP-204, VP-205, VPB-208, VP-216/VPB-216, VD-3, VH-1, VH-2, VH-3, VH-4, VH-6, VS-1D-11, VS-1D-13, VS-1D-14 and VT-3. A few Seaplane Tenders mentioned include: USS Absecon, USS Albemarle, USS Avocet, USS Ballard, USS Barataria, USS Barnegat, USS Belknap, USS Clemson, USS George E. Badger, USS Goldsborough, USS Osmond, USS Ingram, USS Bering Strait, USS Biscayne, USS Casco, USS Castle Rock, USS Chandeleur, USS Childs, USS Chincoteague, USS Cook Inlet, USS Coos Bay, USS Corson, USS Cumberland Sound, USS Currituck, USS Curtiss, USS Duxbury Bay, USS Floyds Bay, USS Gannet, USS Gardiners Bay, USS Gillis, USS Greene, USS Greenwich Bay, USS Half Moon, USS Hamlin, USS Heron, USS Hulbert, USS Humboldt, USS Kenneth Whiting, USS Langley, USS Lapwing, USS Mackinac, USS Matagorda, USS McFarland, USS Norton Sound, USS Onslow, USS Orca, USS Pelican, USS Pine Island, USS Pocomoke, USS Rehoboth, USS Rockaway, USS Salisbury Sound, USS San Carlos, USS San Pablo, USS Shelikof, USS St. George, USS Suisun, USS Swan, USS Tangier, USS Thornton, USS Thrush, USS Timbalier, USS Unimak, USS Valcour, USS William B. Preston, USS Williamson, USS Wright and USS Yakutat. The U.S. Navy's Seaplane Tenders and Patrol Aircraft in World War II is now available from Heritage Books: http://www.heritagebooks.com/. Contributed by CDR David D. Bruhn commanderbruhn@gmail.com [30APR2016]


BooksBOOKs: VPNAVY Book Title: "Wings over Bermuda - 100 years of aviation in the West Atlantic" by Ewan Partridge and Tom Singfield. Contributed by Tom Singfield tomsingfield@gmail.com [09JUL2015]

The first fixed wing aircraft in Bermuda in 1919 was a USN Curtiss Jenny from the ship SS Elinor. In 1924 the USN sent the first "operational" aircraft to Bermuda in the shape of a Vought UO-1 seaplane from the USS Cincinnati. Visits by the airship Los Angeles commencing in 1925 are detailed as are the much later operations by a variety of US Navy blimps from the airport.

Other pieces in the book that will interest VP Navy readers include the US Navy Naval Operating Base (always known as the NOB) (1939-1965). This massive base (no runway) was built from re-claimed land and housed warships and submarines as well as flying boats and seaplanes. After WW2 the flying boats became the front line force in the Cold War anti submarine "battle". Types operated there included Kingfisher, Goose, PBM Mariner, P5M Marlin and Albatross.

The US Navy was very active in Bermuda during WW2. The book has details of the early neutrality patrols of late 1940 and has extensive coverage of the Battle of the Atlantic and the specialist fleet training operations. The exploits of the Patrol, Scouting and Utility squadrons that were based at Darrell's Island and the NOB are also told.

Post war, the stories continue of the Patrol Squadrons through the cold war and details of support units, accidents, incidents at both the NOB (flying boats and amphibians) and Kindley Field are revealed. The book also includes the never before told story of the Navy Bermuda Flying Club. It also includes details of the many US Navy aircraft carriers that visited Bermuda and the surrounding seas to carry out operations and exercises.

The following US Navy Squadrons are all mentioned in "Wings over Bermuda".

FAW-9, VAQ-141, VB-105,VC-1, VC-13, VC-19, VC-42, VC-58, VC-69, VCS-8, VF-15, VF-41, VF-72, VGF-27, VGF-28, VGS-27, VGS-29, VGS-30, VJ-4, VJ-15, VP-8, VP-10, VP-11, VP-15, VP-16, VP-23, VP-44, VP-45, VP-49, VP-51, VP-52, VP-54, VP-63, VP-74, VP-92, VP-201, VP-204, VP-207, VP-215, VP-661, VP-MS-5, VP-MS-9, VQ-4, VR-1, VR-6, VR-8, VR-44, VRC-40, VS-2D1, VS-32, VS-35, VS-36, VS-41, VS-71, VS-72, VS-201, VS-5D4, VX-1, VX-4. In addition there are stories from FASRON 104, FASRON 111, FASRON 795 and the Naval Air Transport Service (NATS).

US Navy ships mentioned include USS Akron (airship), Bogue, Charger, Chenango, Cincinnati, Cobbler, Core, Croatan, Currituck, Effective, Elinor, Gannet, George E. Badger, Guadalcanal, Hamilton, Hornet, Intrepid, Laffey, Long Island, Mission Bay, Odum, Owl, Patoka (airship), Ray, St. Louis, Sicily, Philadelphia, Ranger, Santee, Savannah, Stansbury, Theodore Roosevelt, Thrush, Timbalier, Valley Forge, Wainwright, Wake Island, Wasp, Yorktown.

Many military bases with US Navy connections are mentioned including Patuxent River, Norfolk VA, Elizabeth City, Keflavik, Azores, Argentia, Charleston, Miami, Newfoundland and San Juan.

The book can be obtained direct from the National Museum of Bermuda for $60 plus P&P. Contact info@nmb.bm for details. The authors (both British) have some signed copies in the UK, contact tomsingfield@gmail.com for details of costs etc.

This book was published in 2014 by the National Museum of Bermuda and for the first time ever tells the intriguing story of aviation in and around the British Colony islands of Bermuda. Historians, former Bermuda US Navy servicemen and women, and relatives of USN personnel based there will be delighted to see such a good coverage of all types of US Navy operations


BooksBOOKs: VPNAVY Book PBM ThumbnailCamera Title: The Fighting Flying Boat: A History of the Martin PBM Mariner by Richard Alden Hoffman dickdot@san.rr.com.

Squadrons, Tenders, etc. include: VP-13, VP-16, VP-17, VP-19, VP-20, VP-21, VP-22, VP-25, VP-26, VP-27, VP-28, VP-32, VP-55, VP-56, VP-73, VP-74, VP-98, VP-100, VP-104, VP-111, VP-117, VP-119, VP-120, VP-201, VP-202, VP-203, VP-204, VP-205, VP-207, VP-208, VP-209, VP-210, VP-211, VP-212, VP-213, VP-216, VH-1, VH-3, VH-4, FAW-3, FAW-5, FAW-9, FAW-11, FAW-12, FAW-16, USS Albemarle (AV-5), USS Pocomoke (AV-9), USS Casco (AVP-12), USS Chincoteague (AVP-24), USS Pocomoke (AV-9), and USS Chandeleur (AV-10).

The Fighting Flying Boat mentions each and every PBM squadron in both WW2 and Korea as well as details of the RAF, RAAF, Dutch, Argentine and Uruguayan service. Also USCG and commercial activities in US, Colombia and Portugal. Also includes every PBM casualty by name, details of every PBM vs Uboat engagement and every PBM vs Japanese fighter and Korean era vs MIG engagements. [22OCT2004]


BooksBOOKs: Title: "Galloping Ghosts of the Brazilian Coast" - I've got another book out. This time, I explore United States Naval Air Operations in the South Atlantic against U-boats and Italian submarines. The title, Galloping Ghosts of the Brazilian Coast: United States Naval Air Operations in the South Atlantic during World War II, covers operations by FAW-16. Squadrons include: VC-9, VP-45, VP-52, VP-74, VP-83, VP-94, VB-107, VB-127, VB-129, VB-130, VB-134, VB-143, and VB-211. Thanks. Alan C. Carey acarey@austin.rr.com [08JUN2004]


BooksBOOKs: Title: "Eagle Wings and Mustang Tales" by CAPTAIN William J. Barnard, Retired. My Father served with VP-74 (of which is talked about a lot in the book) and the other squadron's were VJ-7 and OTU-4. Paperback: 354 Pages - Publisher: Business Advisors Press; (September 5, 2002) - ISBN: 0972248137 - Contributed by Julie (Barnard) Nelms julnelms@cfl.rr.com [10SEP2003]


BooksBOOKs: Title: "PBY: The Catalina Flying Boat" by Creed, Roscoe. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1986. 351 pp. This definitive study, first published in 1985, pulls together in a single volume all of the aircraft's fascinating facts. The author carefully analyzes the PBY's dual use in the war as a plane of mercy and as a bomber, and he chronicles the flying boat's contributions in peacetime. Squadrons mentioned include: VP-2, VP-5, VP-6, VP-7, VP-9, VP-10, VP-11, VP-12, VP-14, VP-21, VP-22, VP-23, VP-24, VP-31, VP-32, VP-33, VP-34, VP-41, VP-42, VP-43, VP-44, VP-45, VP-51, VP-52, VP-54, VP-61, VP-62, VP-63, VP-71, VP-72, VP-73, VP-74, VP-81, VP-83, VP-84, VP-101, VP-102, FAW-3, FAW-4, FAW-5, FAW-7, FAW-9, FAW-15, FAW-16, FAW-17, CPW-1, CPW-2, CPW-3, CPW-4, CPW-5, CPW-7, CPW-8, and CPW-10. [29MAR2001]


BooksBOOKs: Title: "The Flying Boats of Bermuda" I am just coming to the end of writing a book recording the marine aviation of Bermuda: 1909 to 1987, and including the whole story of US Naval operations (1941 to 1964) from, initially, Darrel's Island and, later, the Naval Annex on the former Morgan's and Tucker's Islands. I have a really good amount of material on the USN marine aviation activities in Bermuda during the war years (VPs and the VSs) - attacks on submarines, air sea rescue missions, aircraft losses, operating procedures, etc - but so very little in the way of photographs. If any of your colleagues could help in any way, you can imagine just how grateful I would be (and, of course, will meet any costs). If the photographs were not specifically NAS Bermuda associated, anything would be a lot better than the virtual blank I have at the moment! VP Squadrons includ: VP-15 Coronado aircraft. May 1943 to May 1944; VP-51 Catalina aircraft. October to December 41; VP-52 Catalina aircraft. June 1942 to May 1943; VP-63 Catalina aircraft. Known to have been at Bermuda in March 1943; VP-74 Mariner aircraft. March to August 1942; VP-105 Catalina aircraft. "Sometime during 1943; VP-201 Mariner aircraft. May 1943 to June 1944; VP-207 Mariner aircraft. June 1944 to June 1945; and VP-215 Mariner aircraft. April 1944 to April 1945. Please contact Colin Pom CPomeroy@aol.com for further information.[29DEC98]

UPDATE "...The main chapters are: "The Early Years", "Darrell's Island - The Civil Story", "Darrell's Island - The RAF Story", "HMS Malabar - The Fleet Air Arm Base", "The United States Navy Operating Base", "The Final Years" and "Today in Bermuda". (VP-15,VP-45, VP-49, VP-51, VP-52, VP-63, VP-74, VP-105, VP-201, VP-207, VP-215, VS-32, and VS-35 all get referred to). There are 12 detailed annexes, including the only list that I have ever come across of Bermuda-Associated Flying Boat and Seaplane Losses. Perhaps of the most (but not only) interest to the VP Community will be the USNOB Chapter. It covers the years from 1940 to 1964 - the Second World War and the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis and includes the early days out on Darrell's Island before the NOB was completed. Incidentally, the first ever flight above Bermuda (1919) was flown by an ensign in the USN!..." Please contact Colin Pom CPomeroy@aol.com for further information. [30MAR2000]

UPDATE "...It has now been published! "The Flying Boats of Bermuda" tells the story of marine aviation in Bermuda from 1919 to 1987 - at war and in peace; military and civil; American, British and other nationalities - and runs to 254 pages with over 200 photographs, diagrams and charts (the vast majority of which have never been published before), and is complemented by a host of annexes on such topics as Bermuda-associated aircraft losses, communications and navigation, destination airports, the loss of "Cavalier", aircraft types and much more. The section on the USN at Darrell's Island and then at The Annex goes into great detail, with references to VP-15, VP-51, VP-52, VP-63, VP-74, VP-105, VP-201, VP-207, VP-215, VS-32, and VS-35 - plus, of course the post war squadrons VP-45 and VP-49. Reviewers have been very generous with their comments on the book. Full details of where to obtain the book ($27.50) from the author, Sqn Ldr Colin Pomeroy, RAF (Retd) at CPomeroy@aol.com..." [21JUN2002]


BooksBOOKs: Title: "Flying Cats: The Catalina Aircraft in World War II" by Andrew Hendrie [Squadrons mentioned include VP-6, VP-11, VP-13, VP-14, VP-22, VP-23, VP-24, VP-33, VP-34, VP-41, VP-42, VP-43, VP-44, VP-51, VP-52, VP-53, VP-62, VP-63, VP-71, VP-72, VP-73, VP-74, VP-83, VP-84, VP-91, VP-92, VP-94, VP-101, VP-102, FAW-4, FAW-5, FAW-7, and FAW-17, etc.]


BooksBOOKs: Title: "PBM Mariner in Action Including the Martin P5M Marlin, JRM MARS and P6M Seamaster Number 74" [VP-7, VP-14, VP-16, VP-17, VP-18, VP-19, VP-21, VP-26, VP-31, VP-32, VP-45, VP-47, VP-48, VP-50, VP-55, VP-74, VP-202, VP-206, VP-211, VP-216, etc.] [23DEC99]


Squadron Ball Cap Thumbnail VP-74 Squadron Insignia Cap - White/Navy Blue - One Size Fits All "...My dad served with VP-74 as an Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class. Dad was the flight engineer/turret gunner on the PBM Mariner. (His name was Ray Carson Martin from Hamilton, North Dakota.)...My aviation artist friend Jim Stovall created a new rendering of the old VP-74 logo using Corel Draw. We took the design from the original key fob dad brought back from the war...I have the ability to produce caps with the VP-74 logo on them and will be selling them if anyone is interested..." Contributed by Neal L. Martin martin@gra.midco.net [E-Mail Updated 02MAY2004 | E-Mail Updated 10JUL2000 | 31MAY99]


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