Bombing Squadron Nineteen
1943-1944

Why is America lucky enough to have such men?
They leave this tiny ship and fly against the enemy.
Then they must seek the ship, lost somewhere on the sea.
And when they find it, they have to land upon its pitching deck.
Where did we get such men?

James A. Michener

VB-19 graphic

Read the stories of the men of Bombing Nineteen in their own words:

The Voices of Bombing Nineteen

depending on the margins, this book is 100-150 pages long

Microsoft Word Format (.doc)

Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf)

Highlights

Chronological Highlights

15 AUG 1943 - Squadron Commissioned - N.A.S. Los Alamitos, CA
16 NOV 1943 - ENS Franklin P. Hart and Theodore G. Scheck, ARM3 killed on dive bombing run near Seal Beach, CA
3-4 JAN 1944 - Carrier landing qualifications, USS Altamaha, off San Diego, CA
21 FEB 1944 - Entrained to Alameda for further transportation west
24 FEB 1944 - Departed N.A.S. Alameda, CA in USS Lexington (CV-16) for Maui, T.H.
28 FEB 1944 - Arrived Pearl Harbor
29 FEB 1944 - Transferred to N.A.S. Kahului, Maui, T.H.
APR 1944 - Received first SB2C-1s for transition training
MAY 1944 - Received SB2C-3s
11-13 JUN 1944 - Refresher carrier landing aboard USS Franklin
21 JUN 1944 - Departed Maui and boarded USS Intrepid for transportation to Eniwetok
30 JUN 1944 - Arrived Eniwetok
1-10 JUL 1944 - Moved to USS Bunker Hill
7 JUL 1944 - Refresher carrier landings aboard USS Bunker Hill
9 JUL 1944 - Embarked in USS Lexington for Combat
10-14 JUL 1944 - Provisioning and rearming at Eniwetok Atoll
18-21 JUL 1944 - First Comat Missions - Guam
25-27 JUL 1944 - Strikes on Palau Group
4-5 AUG 1944 - Strikes on Bonins - Kazans - Iwo Jima
10-29 AUG 1944 - Rearm - provision - Eniwetok
6-8 SEP 1944 - Strikes on Peleliu Island
9-10 SEP 1944 - Strikes on Mindanao, Philippines
12-14 SEP 1944 - Strikes on Visayans - Cebu - Mactan
21-22 SEP 1944 - Strikes on Luzon - Manila
24 SEP 1944 - Strikes on Visayans - Cebu - Negros
25 SEP - 7 OCT 1944 - Rearm - provision - Palau and Ulithi
10 OCT 1944 - Strikes on Okinawa
12-14 OCT 1944 - Strikes on Formosa - Pescadores
21 OCT 1944 - Strikes on Coron - Romblon
24 OCT 1944 - Strikes on Japanese battle fleet, Sibuyan Sea and on Luzon
25 OCT 1944 - Strikes on Japanese carrier force - Philippine Sea
26 OCT - 1 NOV 1944 - Standby at Leyte and provision at Ulithi Atoll
5-6 NOV 1944 - Strikes on Luzon
5 NOV 1944 - Hit by Kamikaze plane off Luzon
10-22 NOV 1944 - Repairs at Ulithi Atoll
23 NOV 1944 - Relieved on Station by Air Group 20 - transferred to USS Enterprise for transportation to Pearl Harbor
8 DEC 1944 - Aboard USS Long Island for transportation to San Diego
14 DEC 1944 - Arrived San Diego

Combat Record

18 JULY 1944 - 8 DEC 1944 1,364 SORTIES FLOWN
Naval Ships Sunk 2 Aircraft Carriers 1 Heavy Cruiser 1 Destroyer Escort 2 Troop Ships 1 Submarine Tender Total Tonnage Sunk 67,500	Naval Ships Damaged 1 Aircraft Carrier 3 Battleships 1 Cruiser 3 Destroyers 2 Minelayers Total Tonnage Damaged 112,000
Merchant Ships Sunk 8 Tankers 21 Cargo and misc. Total Tonnage Sunk 95,200	Merchant Ships Damaged 14 Tankers 53 Cargo and misc. Total Tonnage Damaged 133.500
Airfields Struck - 28 spaceShip and Harbor Facilities - 10 Industrial and Military Targets - 301 Aircraft Destroyed In the Air - 10spacewiderProbable in the Air - 1 On the Ground - 105spaceDamaged on Ground - 17

Campaigns space Combat Targets

Marianas
Bonins / Kazans
Palau

Philippine Islands

Ryukus
Formosa / Pescadores
Sibuyan Sea
Second Battle of the Philippine Sea

Guam - Saipan

Chichi Jima, Iwo Jima, Haha Jima

Peleliu

Mindinao, Cebu, Leyte, Mactan

Coron, Surigao, Luzon, Negros

Okinawa

Awards

Individual Awards Presented

34 Navy Crosses
3 Silver Stars
60 Distinguished Flying Crosses
46 Air Medals
29 Purple Hearts

The Presidential Unit Citation
as an attached squadron
aboard
USS Lexington CV-16

Lost Shipmates

Shipmates lost 15 AUG 1943 - 23 NOV 1944

Albini, Edward R.
Banker, Donald F.
Blazevich, Michael M.
Burns, James T.
Cavanaugh, John A. Jr.
Doyle, Robert W.
Evatt, John W.
Fisher, Charles F.
Gevelinger, Paul A.
Gilchrist, John W.

space

Hansen, Richard E.
Hart, Leon F.
Jackson, Francis O.
Majors, Roy F.
McGowan, Richard S.
Nitchman, Louis O.
Parker, Robert B.
Scheck, Theodore E.
Smith, Robert G.
Snow, John R.

Some squadron songs:

I Wanna Go Home
lyrics by "the guys" / MP3 format

I Wanted Wings
lyrics by "the guys" / MP3 format

Transfiguration (The Ballad of Bombing Nineteen)
lyrics by George H. Bowen / MP3 format
music composed by Hugh Emerson 5/26/2001

Click on one of these three pictures for an even larger version