Today in World War II History—August 31, 1943
US Navy pilot Lt. Cdr. James Flatley’s F6F Hellcat fighter on the USS Yorktown before raid on Marcus Island, 31 Aug 1943 (US Navy photo: 80-G-K-16166)
80 Years Ago—Aug. 31, 1943: First use of Grumman F6F Hellcat in combat, from carrier USS Yorktown in raid on Marcus Island in the Pacific—only 18 months after first flight of F6F prototype.
US Civil Air Patrol’s Coastal Patrol program is discontinued as U-boat threat has waned.
Destroyer escort USS Harmon is commissioned at Quincy, MA, the first US Navy ship named for an African-American—Leonard Ray Harmon, who died in action in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal while caring for the wounded.
“Democracy in Action, No. 4” by Charles Henry Alston, US Office of War Information poster about USS Harmon and her namesake (US National Archives: 535634)
