Home | My Search | The Crew | Original Crew | Shoot Down | Documents | Coleman Final Mission | The Plane B-24 | 307th Bomb Group
Yap Search Trips | About Yap | Japanese Info | Planes & Men Lost near Yap | WWII Yap Pictures | WWII Yap Video
Discussion Center | Pat's Missing Air Crew Update Blog | Old Site Updates | Resources | Site Search | Tourism Project | Contact Us
Yap WWII Tourism and Memorial Project | Project in the Press



You are here: Home | American Planes Lost on Yap | 21 March 1945

Yap Island Mission Loss—21 March 1945

The following plane was lost on 21 March 1945 on a mission to Yap Island. I would greatly appreciate anyone's help to locate additional information regarding the information listed below.Submit additional information, updates, newpaper articles, pictures, and supporting documents to: pat@missingaircrew.com

Date: Plane Type: Unit: Crew Names: Supporting Documents:
21 March 1945 F6F-5
Hellcat
VF-12 from Marine Air Base, Ulithi due to damaged USS Randolph
  1. ENS. DELBERT L MARTIN, 364035
Action Report

Description:

    HIT GRD STRAFING;POSS AA HIT
    United States Naval Reserve
    Entered the Service from: Indiana
    Died: 22-Mar-46
    Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
    Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
    Manila, Philippines
    Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal
    Ens. Delbert LaRue Martin
    USNR
    Parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Martin from Fountaintown, IN

    Delbert apparently did not marry. He had one sister Scytha Martin Brown who died in 1993 and a brother Robert L Martin who died in 2003. Delbert's maternal first cousin is Maurice Eugene Boring. I talked to Maurice and he said Delbert was a little guy, light build but a ball of fire. He stopped by to say goodbye before leaving for the service. His parents thought he was lost at sea and his dad walked the roads in grief for years.

VF-12 and VB-12 flew this mission from the Marine Air Base in Ulithi due to their carrier being damaged by a Japanese attack in the Ulithi harbor. They flew with a support package of Marine planes (F6F-5, TBM-3 and PBY-5A) from Casu-51 and VPB-23. Ens. Martin went into a dive with the other F6F-5 from VF-12 but never pulled out. It was not known whether he had been hit by AA, blacked out, or a structural failure caused the plane to crash near the Pelak harbor entrance on Gagil-Tomil, Yap.

VF-12 History

On 11 March 1945, while anchored at Ulithi Atoll, a Yokosuka P1Y Frances kamikaze hit the Randolph on the starboard side aft just below the flight deck, killing 25 men and wounding 106. She was repaired at Ulithi Atoll before joining Task Group 58.2 enroute to Okinawa on 13 March 1945. USS Randolph (CV-15) alongside repair ship Uss Jason (ARH-1) at Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands, 13 March 1945, showing damage to her after flight deck resulting from a kamikaze hit on 11 March.

Please submit additional information.

Return to top

Return to list of planes


 

Submit comments about this site

Follow the Missing Air Crew Project On:   Follow Us on Facebook  Follow Via YouTube   

Web Site Terms of Use: This web site authorizes you to view materials solely for your personal, non-commercial use. You may not sell or modify the material or reproduce, display, distribute, or otherwise use the material in any way for any public or commercial purpose without the written permission of the web site owner. pat@missingaircrew.com



This site is owned & developed by Patrick Ranfranz of Shoreview, Minnesota
Email: pat@missingaircrew.com | 1473 21 1/2 Street, Cameron, WI 54822 | Phone: 715-458-0020

Copyright Notice: All images and text on this website are protected by U.S. and International Copyright Law.
No images or text should be copied, downloaded, transferred, or reproduced without the written consent
of Patrick Ranfranz/MissingAirCrew.com Images. If you wish to use any materials
(images or text), please contact: pat@missingaircrew.com

® Copyright 2004-2008, MissingAirCrew.com®, All rights reserved.

Help support this site, order your www.Amazon.com materials through this link.