A wide range of really well-known aircraft types were used in World War II, by both sides. But for every Mustang, British Spitfire, Bf109, Zero, Flying Fortress, Corsair or Mitchell bomber, there were many other hard-working planes that received little to no attention. Quite often their operations provided ample opportunity for danger, but little chance for glory.
One of these lesser-known, lunch-bucket types was the U.S. Navy’s Vought OS2U Kingfisher — a catapult-launched observation floatplane. With a maximum speed of just 170 mph, the twin-place Kingfisher was among the slowest aircraft in any American squadron, on land or at sea.
Even so, during the pre-invasion bombardment of Iwo Jima, a Kingfisher found itself in combat with one of the best dogfighting aircraft of the entire war: the Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” (Allied reporting name: “Zeke”).
On February 16, 1945, three days before the Marines hit the beach on Iwo Jima, one of the four Kingfisher floatplanes from the cruiser USS Pensacola (CA-24) was spotting naval gunfire during the initial bombardment of the island. As the Pensacola pounded the island with its 8-inch guns, the Kingfisher circled above the target zone at about 1,600 feet. What ensued was one of the most lopsided aerial engagements of the war that ended up in a shocking upset victory.
From Kingfishers to Seahawks
Before we get to that amazing battle, let’s consider the floatplanes employed by the U.S. Navy, and specifically the USS Pensacola.
The Vought OS2U Kingfisher entered service in August 1940, and about 1,500 were built and used by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S.M.C. during WWII. Kingfishers were also provided to the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Soviet Navy. The floatplanes were used for reconnaissance, search and rescue, anti-submarine patrols, spotting for naval gunfire, and flight training. In the U.S. Navy, Kingfishers were catapult-launched from battleships along with heavy and light cruisers.
Two U.S. destroyers, the USS Halford (DD-480) and the USS Stevens (DD-479) were briefly equipped with a Kingfisher scout plane during 1943. While the OS2U offered little in the way of speed, firepower, or maneuverability, its sturdy construction, reliable performance, and two-seat pilot/observer combination gave the Navy what it needed from a scout plane. Even so, efforts were made to replace the Kingfisher with a more modern design, and this became the Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk.
The Seahawk was a single-seat floatplane, looking somewhat like a fighter. However, the SC-1’s performance offered little in the way of an upgrade over the Kingfisher. Top speed was improved, but only to 235 mph. Armament was upgraded to two Browning .50 caliber AN/M2 MGs mounted near the wing roots.
However, the operating range of the Seahawk was about 300 miles less than the Kingfisher, and without an observer to help him, the Seahawk pilot struggled to perform many of the scout plane tasks. A particularly long development process meant that the Seahawk did not see action until June 1945, during the invasion of Borneo. Ultimately, Seahawks were replaced by helicopters in the late 1940s.
Looking into the war history of the USS Pensacola, the story of its aviation component covers the use of the Kingfisher, the transition to the Seahawk, and an assessment of the capabilities of both aircraft.
War History of the Pensacola’s Aviation Unit
“The use of cruiser-based planes for long range search and reconnaissance, one of the original purposes, was a necessity in the early phases of the war. Radar was undeveloped and aircraft carriers were very few. Hence, this ship employed SOC aircraft for long range search and short-range anti-submarine patrols. The greatest difficulty encountered in this utility was in the recovery of aircraft. Even using the “Charlie” method of recovery it was necessary to have a smooth sea, and the usual operational losses were sustained in attempting to recover planes. Later, as aircraft carriers became more numerous, and the use of small escort carriers became prevalent cruiser planes were not used for this purpose as much as before.
The cruiser planes came into their own when it became necessary to spot ship’s gunfire in shore bombardment and in this function, they were of immense value. During the change of phase from scouting and search to spotting the type of plane changed also.
This ship was equipped in October 1943, with OS2U planes and these planes made all of the spotting missions. The low speeds, excellent maneuverability, good vision plus the fact that these planes could carry a radioman and/or gunner made it very useful for spotting assignments.
However, there were several difficulties encountered in the use of this type of plane. Firstly, it was necessary to interrupt bombardments rather frequently to service planes. Most of the time it was practicable to withdraw from a fire support area to service planes, but at other times, to withdraw created a considerable handicap on the troops ashore who were depending on naval gunfire to silence enemy positions or to neutralize an area prior to an advance. Secondly, this ship experienced several operational losses because again it was difficult to recover aircraft in rough water, also, although not to as great an extent, damage from enemy anti-aircraft fire was sustained. Thirdly, with the limited personnel and material available it was difficult to maintain all planes in operation. This was especially true during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations when many missions were flown, and planes were in nearly continual use. Fourthly, the slow speeds and lack of power of the SOC and OS2U planes made it difficult at times to avoid enemy anti-aircraft fire. This, however, was offset by good maneuverability which was extensively employed. At this point it is well worthwhile to mention that on 16 February 1945, while flying an OS2U on a spotting mission over Iwo Jima, Lt. (jg) Douglas W. Gandy, USNR, outmaneuvered and shot down a Zeke 52.
Early in 1945, the SC-1 plane was developed to combine the advantages of an observation plane with those of a fighter aircraft. After the Okinawa operation this ship was equipped with SC-1 aircraft as observation planes. Although this ship has no combat experience with this type of aircraft, it was found that the disadvantages of this type as a cruiser plane far outweighed the advantages.
The SC-1 plane is heavier and faster than the OS2U, hence, operational losses, especially in recovery, were found to increase. The pilots found that to fly and observe the fall of shot and handle the radio communications was a difficult job and quite fatiguing. Whether the advantages of increased speed and power over enemy anti-aircraft batteries would offset the disadvantages already determined is not known, but it is believed that the OS2U is the most satisfactory plane to be employed by cruisers.”
The Heroic Battle
“Our area of responsibility was the Northeast Section of the island, supplying gunfire support using airplane spotting when available, our mission being destruction of guns, pillboxes, block houses, and other installations of military value in our area.
At 1415 while observing gunfire of this ship, Lieut. (jg) D.W.Gandy, USNR, piloting OS2U, plane number 3, from this ship, shot down one Japanese fighter plane (ZEKE) which crashed and burned on the island. At 1840 we joined Task Unit 54.9.2 for night retirement.”
At about 2:13 pm, Lieutenant Gandy’s Kingfisher was jumped by a A6M5 Type 0 Model 52 (“Zeke 52”) that took off from one of the Iwo Jima airfields. The Zeke dived on the Kingfisher, fired a short burst, and then went into a tight turn. Lt. Gandy executed a shallow diving turn and found himself on the tail of the Japanese fighter, about 500 feet behind.
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The Kingfisher was lightly armed, but it did have a single Browning .30 caliber AN/M2 machine gun firing forward. The Browning’s receiver was mounted in the lower right front of the cockpit, firing between the engine cylinder heads. Gandy lined up the target and pressed the trigger — the .30 caliber Browning responded by pumping out 20 rounds per second with a mix of two ball, one tracer, and one incendiary.
Gandy reported firing several long bursts and observed hits on the Zeke’s engine, wing roots, and cockpit. He continued firing as the Zeke began to trail smoke, and then it burst into flames. The flaming Zeke began a half roll, and then suddenly dropped and crashed into a cliff and exploded. Japanese anti-aircraft gunners targeted the Kingfisher and Gandy escaped at low altitude to return to the Pensacola.
At this point the Kingfisher was only about 300 meters above the island and began to experience intense, but thankfully inaccurate, anti-aircraft fire from the Japanese troops below.
Ammunition load for the Browning .30 caliber MG was two standard ball, one tracer, and one incendiary.
The Pensacola’s war record sums up the action: “While spotting main battery fire for the Pensacola on 16 February, Lieutenant (j.g.) Douglas W. Gandy, flying one of the Pensacola’s OS2Us, was attacked by an enemy fighter, “Zeke 52”. In spite of the Zeke’s superior speed and firepower, Gandy eluded the Jap’s assault, maneuvered his plane into a position astern of the “Z”, and shot it down with his forward single .30 caliber machine gun.”
For his actions that day, Lt. Gandy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and Gold Star.
Conclusion
Just one day after the men of the Pensacola celebrated Lt. Gandy’s amazing aerial victory, the Japanese struck back. On February 17, 1945, the Iwo Jima shore batteries hit the USS Pensacola six times, along with several near misses. Three officers (including the executive officer) and 14 men were killed, and five officers and 114 men were wounded.
The Combat Information Center and secondary conning station were knocked out, one of the OS2U Kingfishers was destroyed (the standby spotting plane), and there were three shell holes and several fragment holes in the starboard hull near the waterline. Emergency temporary repairs were made and the ship carried out its gunfire assignments. Despite the damage, the Pensacola remained on station and continued to bombard the island.
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