VF-13

Fighter Squadron 13 or VF-13 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Established on 2 November 1943, it was disestablished on 20 October 1945. It was the first US Navy squadron to be designated as VF-13.

Operational history

VF-13 equipped with the F6F-5 Hellcat formed part of Carrier Air Group 13 which was assigned to. In June 1944 the Franklin deployed to Pearl Harbor. On 24 October during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, CVG-13 participated in the sinking of the Japanese battleship Musashi. In early November 1944 following damage to Franklin in a Kamikaze attack, CVG-13 was temporarily landbased on Manus Island before re-embarking on Franklin as it proceeded to Puget Sound for repairs. In December 1944 CVG-13 was reforming at Naval Air Station Alameda, and then subsequently underwent training at Naval Air Station Fallon and Naval Air Station Livermore. In early August 1945 CVG-13 was assigned to, but the war in the Pacific ended before they could deploy.