Leyte (CVA 32) - Naval Cruise Book

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ICIJTEIL QUADKO FIGHTER SQUADRON THIRTY-THREE, QVF-335, is one of the Navy's younger regular squadrons. It was corn- missioned at Quonset Point, R. I., on ll October, 1948 under LCDR Horace H. Epes, Jr. .Flying F8F BEARcATs , it made an early acquaintance with the Leyte on a short cruise in January 1949. Upon return from this cruise, the squadron moved to Charles- town, R. I., on 5 February, 1949. Shortly thereafter, VF-33 embarked in the U.S.S. Kearsarge for Atlantic Fleet man- euvers involving pre-invasion attacks and close air support inlconnection with simulated combat landings on Vieques s anc . Returning to Quonset Point in March, VF-33 had further operations with the Leyte during early May, and ended Fiscal 19119 with a high mark in combat readiness. Shore- based operations from Quonset Point were continued for the remainder olf 1949 except for a short period in july aboard the U.S.S. Kearsarge.

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Upper Left: A Flyer works from sun to sun, but a yeoman's 'work is never done. Bryant, YN2, and Dunn, PNSN, fight the perpetual war of the typewriters. No squadron could operate without an efficient and alert office crew to unscramble the paper work. Center: CDR Memel climbs aboard 112 while plane captain Janecek, AD3, stands by to strap him in. The plane captain leads a rugged life aboard ship, but nothing gives a pilot more confidence than to have a good, sharp plane captain. Upper Right: Ferrarri, AM2, performs last-minute check before pilots man their planes. The Panther's a good maintenance plane, easy to trouble-shoot and gives a minimum of maintenance problems. VF-31's top-notch crew accounted for her top ranking in Airlant FQF availability. Lower Left: Fair Weather and slight seas make for good carrier operations The pilot of 102 found the ri 'ht combination as he . ' 3 . straddles the center line for a perfect carrier landing. VF-31 completed its 3000th jet carrier landing during this cruise. Lower Right: Pre-Briefing and post-briefing are an important part of every flight Here Skipper Memel briefs the troo s on the . , p nearest emergency landing field while pilots on the launch cross-check on their WAC charts. The pilot, front row right, is LCDR P. H. Durand. THE OUTBREAK of ,hostilities in Korea found the squadron in the Mediterranean area aboard the Leyte. Following a record speed run back to the States and then to the combat zone in the Sea of Japan, the pilots of THIRTY-ONE flew their first mission on 10 Gctober 1950, over the Korean peninsula. During the more than four months of continuous combat duty, a total of 968 sorties were flown. Upon return to the continental U. S., command of the squadron was assumed by LCDR E. S. Memel, the former Executive Ollicer. After a short period of reorganization and training, Fighting THIRTY-ONE again embarked with the remainder of Carrier Air Group THREE on the U.S.S. Leyte for a short training cruise in the Caribbean, at the completion of which it was deployed to the Mediter- ranean Area.

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