Air Group
30 was commissioned April 1, 1943 at Rio Grande, New Jersey. On August 1 they
reported aboard the USS MONTEREY (CVL-26). Their first action against the enemy came
on November 19 with strikes against Makin Island. May 11, 1944 terminated this first
tour of duty when the group was detached from the MONTEREY at Pearl Harbor.
The second edition of Air Group 30 was organized under Lt. Cdr. Robert Lindner in
June, 1944 at N.A.S. Seattle. Lt. Frederick C. Tothill skippered the torpedo
squadron. The air group was then transferred to N.A.S., Pasco, Washington for
training in gunnery, strafing, bombing, and combat hops. From Pasco the air group
flew to San Diego and boarded the CVE, USS TAKANIS BAY for carrier qualifications.
After a few weeks of "field carrier" landings at Brown Field, San Diego,
Air Group 30 reported to the BELLEAU WOOD in Alameda on January 18, 1945 shortly before
her departure for the combat area.
Initial contact with the enemy came on February 16, 1945 - the first at Hachijo
Jima and Hamamatsu on the island of Honshu. Also this date Tokyo strikes were
conducted. Lt. (jg) Eric "Candy" Evenson shot down two Jap planes while on
a CAP to "break the ice". February 19, 1945, D-Day on Iwo Jima, the
airgroup supported the invasion by bombing and strafing gun emplacements.
Shortly after the Tokyo
operation, February 23, 1945, Lt.Cdr. Lindner was shot down over Chi-Chi Jima and declared
"missing in action." He was never recovered. Another black day came a few
days later when, on March 1, seven pilots and air crewmen were lost on a strike in the
Nansei Shoto.
March 1, 1945 we hit
Ishigaki, sunk one destroyer and damaged another. Lt Jake Reisert, torpedo squadron
executive officer's plane was hit and he was severely wounded. Under these adverse
conditions, with no regard for his own welfare and physical condition, he flew the plane
for two hours to the area where the rescue submarine was assigned for rescue
operations. Reisert ordered his crewmen McCall and Oshea to bail out. They
complied and then Reisert himself bailed out. The crewman were rescued in good
condition but Lt Reisert was dead when picked up out of the water.
On March 21 the combat air
patrol engaged an extremely large group of Jap bombers (Bettys) and fighters headed toward
the Task Force on what was evidently a suicide mission. Ens. Jim Ward was the first
to discover the Baka bomb, attached to the underside of each Betty. In the ensuing
engagement 47 Japs were splashed, Air Group 30 fighters accounting for 11 Bettys, 12
Zekes, and 1 Tony. Ens. Johnny Miller personally destroyed five. Ens. Jim
Reber got four.
Two weeks later a striking force of fighters and torpedo planes from the air group
played a prominent part in the sinking of the super battleship, the YAMATO, along with
most of its supporting ships. Torpedo pilot Lt. Ernie Delaney had a memorable
experience in this operation when he was shot down in flames and in the middle of the Jap
task force and rescued a few hours later by a PBM. His crewmen, Edward Mawhinney and
William Tilley were never found.
On April 6 fourteen Hellcats of VF-30 ran into a large mass of Jap aircraft over
Okinawa. They shot down 26 Vals, 14 Zekes, 5 Tojos, and 2 Oscars - a total of 47 Nip
planes. Ens. Carl Foster took scoring honors this time with six planes to his
credit.
The group left the ship in Leyte Gulf in June, 1945. In their four months of
combat they had capitalized on golden opportunities to destroy 110 Jap planes in the air -
a record for BELLEAU WOOD air groups.
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