FlyingIron F6F -5 Repaint of Capt. Elrod's F4F-3 Wildcat, Mike Fox 11 (BuNo. 4019)
On December 4, 1941, Captain Elrod flew to Wake Island with twelve aircraft, twelve pilots,
and the ground crew of Major Paul A. Putnam's fighter squadron, VMF-211.
Hostilities in the air over Wake Island commenced on December 8, 1941.
On December 12, he single-handedly attacked a flight of 22 enemy planes and shot down two.
He executed several low-altitude bombing and strafing runs on enemy ships;
during one of these attacks, he became the first man to sink a warship,
the Japanese destroyer Kisaragi, with small-caliber bombs delivered from
a fighter aircraft, dropping the bombs onto the destroyer's stern, causing the depth
charges to explode.
When all the U.S. aircraft had been destroyed by Japanese fire, he organized remaining troops
into a beach defense unit which repulsed repeated Japanese attacks.
On December 23, 1941, Captain Elrod was mortally wounded while protecting his men who
were carrying ammunition to a gun emplacement.
He was posthumously promoted to major on November 8, 1946, and his widow was
presented with the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the defense of Wake Island.
This repaint was created by request.
donfanucci 
