Adams Planes
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ABOUT
I was born during WW2 and grew up in an era when the politicians and many of the neighborhood dads were war heroes. My Dad’s name was Adam Lewis and he knew Col. Devereux, the Marine Corps commander during the defense of Wake Island in December 1941…
THE SHIP
The Marine Corps brass believed strongly that Marine air should support Marine ground units. They argued successfully to have their own carriers with specially trained close air support units. There were four such escort carriers of the Commencement Class tasked to begin this new approach…
AIR GROUP TWO
MCAG-2 is shorthand for Marine Carrier Air Group Two, the leading aviation unit aboard the USS Gilbert Islands (CVE-107)…
VMF-512
VMF-512 was one of two USMC squadrons assigned to the USS Gilbert Islands, CVE-107. However before sailing off to the Pacific Theater the squadron had another assignment and at one point was on its way to Europe. Eventually VMF-512 was selected for deployment on the USS Gilbert Islands and VMF-512 was sent to Santa Barbara…
VMTB-143
VMTB-143 has its own place in history as one of the first to be specifically trained for close air support from carriers. The veteran officers and enlisted men came from a variety of units including VMTB-134, VMTB-143, VMTB-232 and VMS-3 while some were newly minted pilots, turret gunners and radio-gunners…
The Planes
Major Alex Raymond made a famous mark for himself when he created the Flash Gordon comic book character in 1934. His groundbreaking use of color and attention to detail are widely recognized as setting new standards in the comic art form…
Operations
It became apparent to the Marine brass that once the battle zone shifted to the mid-Pacific, and then nearer to Japan, that there would be no land-based Marine air squadrons within reach of the ground Marines until an airbase could be captured. The Marine Corps brass believed strongly that Marine air should support Marine ground units. The USS Gilbert Islands was one of only four carriers with all-Marine flight crews in WW2 (the ship’s complement was still Navy). This page summarizes their 1945 journey…
ALEX RAYMOND
Major Alex Raymond made a famous mark for himself when he created the Flash Gordon comic book character in 1934. His groundbreaking use of color and attention to detail are widely recognized as setting new standards in the comic art form..
MODELS
My early model work was perhaps like most airplane modelers…find a nice kit, a nice set of decals and an interesting historical subject and have it. Then, as fate would have it, I befriended a veteran, and this set me off in an entirely new direction…
Other
During all my research, including meeting some of the veterans and their families, I came across many fascinating items from their time in history…