General Marion Carl Memorial Page

Marine Captain Marion Carl standing in front of his F4U-1a, 1943. A larger format image (543 by 684 pixels, 261K) can be viewed on another page.

   Then Captain (Capt.) Marion Carl started his aerial combat career while attached to the Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-221 at Midway, he almost certainly fought against the Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 carrier fighter, Model 21s (Zero), from the carrier KAGA. One Zero was shotdown outright and another returned badly damaged to the ship with a wounded pilot who subsequently died of his wounds shortly afterwards. Both of these aircraft were hit during the strike against Midway. Possibly Zeros from other IJN carriers were also engaged by him as nine from each carrier were present during this action.
   After Midway Marion Carl was transferred to VMF-223, there to be one of their senior officers, as part of Marine Air Group 23 (MAG-23) at Guadalcanal. Marine Air Group 23 was attached to Rear Admiral Charles Mason's COMAIRSOLS (Commander Air Solomons).
   On 24 August 1942, Capt. Carl led a section of four VMF-223 F4F-4 Wildcats of the 3rd Division on a CAP over Sealark Channel. At 1413, and at about 12,000 feet, the four Wildcats bounced what Carl mistakenly took to be close formating single engine bombers. These aircraft were in reality the six Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) Zero's of Warrant Officer Shemegi Katsuma's Direct Escort component, composed of three Zero fighters each from the 12th and 17th Shotai of the IJN carrier RYUJO's first wave of the carrier's Attack Force, which was attacking Henderson Field during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Carl most suredly downed the Zero of PO2c Noijima Jisaku of the 17th Shotai.
   The IJN carrier RYUJO was part of the IJN's Carrier Division Two (CARDIV 2), commanded by the IJN RAdmr. Kakuta Kajimi, which also included the carriers JUNYO and HIYO.
   After gathering his scattered section, Capt. Carl was able to concentrate the section's efforts against the IJN Carrier Attack Force of six Nakajima B5N2 Type 97 (Kate) bombers from the 1st and 2nd Shotai. At 1433 Carl was able to smoke one of the Kates on the left side of the formation. Carl's attention was distracted away from the bombers in order to brush a Zero fighter off the tail of Technical Sergeant Johnny D. Lindley's Wildcat. There is the possibility that another of the Kate bombers was destroyed by Marion Carl.
   On 26 August 1942, Carl fought with the IJN TAINAN Kokutai (Ku, Naval Air Group) Zero fighters and several of these went down this day. While defending Henderson airfield at Guadalcanal on 29 August 1942, Carl engaged a group of Mitsubishi G4M1 Type 1, (Betty, land attack aircraft) from the Kisarazu Ku. On the 30th, Marion Carl fought against a major IJN fighter sweep of the airfield area which came from the carriers SHOKAKU and ZUIKAKU of Carrier Division One (CARDIV 1). These IJN fighters were land based at this time, being stationed out of Munda. The IJN CARDIV 1 was part of IJN Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's Kido Butai, Third (Carrier) Air Fleet.
   Fighting took place again on 9 September 1942 against G4M1s bombing Henderson field . These G4M1s staged out of Truk, through Rabaul. In the resulting action Carl claimed two of them. Bombers from both the IJN CHITOSE Ku and the MISAWA Ku were lost this day during this engagement. Marion Carl was in turn shot down and returned to his unit five days later.
   On 27 September, Marion Carl shared a victory over a G4M1 with Major Kirk Armistead. This aircraft was the left trailing Type 1 of the attack formation and was flown by PO1c Asatobi Sueo. After Armistead's and Carl's attack, Asatobi's Type 1 fell away from the formation in flames. At 1417, Carl attacked the retreating fifteen Type 1 bombers from the rear. Though having his right engine knocked out, smoking profusely, and falling out of formation, PO1c Sato Yoshima was able to land his stricken Type 1 at Buka. Carl was given a confirmed kill for his attack against Sato's Type 1. Both enemy kills were from the TAKAO Ku.
   On 28 September 1942 Carl was able to achieve another success over a G4M1 from the IJN TAKAO Ku. Leading the second division of twenty F4F-4 Wildcats, Marion Carl brought his group of fighters against the left bomber formation, the 22nd Shotai, 2nd Chutai of the TAKAO Ku.
   The Type 1 bomber of Yoshikawa, having already been damaged by Lieutenant Colonel Joe Bauer, was again hit very badly by Marion Carl. Major Fritz Payne picked up the stricken Type 1 of Yoshikawa, adding to the already heavy damage, and was then followed by Bauer, who expended almost all of his remaining ammunition into the quickly falling Betty bomber. Yoshikawa's Type 1 crashed into the jungle not far from Henderson field.
   For the contribution that the marine pilots made in the defense of Henderson field, John L. Smith, Robert Galer, and Marion Carl received the Navy Cross on 1 October 1942. Though twelve other marine aviators received DFCs, none of the navy's VF-5 pilots that also participated in the defense of Guadalcanal received any recognition at all.
   On 2 October 1942 the IJN Sixth Ku sent a fighter sweep and a feint of a bomber raid against Guadalcanal. Flying the balky F4F-4 number "13" of VMF-223, Marion Carl had to climb alone while the already scrambled pilots of VMF-223 climbed to altitude ahead of him. While climbing alone in the sick Wildcat number "13" out toward Tulagi, Carl was bounced by two Zeros from the TAINAN Ku. Carl was forced to dive away before he was able to engage with his guns. Marion Carl was able to gather two other Wildcats to fly a protective cover over Major John L. Smith, a downed Wildcat pilot that was making his way back to Henderson field. The IJN Sixth Ku lost one Zero in combat, one totaled when its landing gear collapsed while landing back at Buku.
   The next day, 3 October 1942, Marion Carl was the VMF-223 flight leader. Because of the previous days poor showing against the Japanese fighter sweeps, Carl wanted all the fighters to be at 30,000 feet altitude and above. The nine Japanese fighters of the Third Chutai of the Third Ku, under the command of Lieutenant JG Yamaguchi. were circling slowly at 3,000 meters (9,842 feet).
   By the time that the Zero fighters saw the Wildcats led by Marion Carl, they were less than 100 yards away. Carl focused his sights on the Zero fighter of PO1c Ozumi Fumio, the middle right trailer. Ozumi's Zero fighter exploded in flames but he was able to bail out and survive this encounter. When Marion Carl pulled out of his diving pass he noticed that his guns had jammed, a common malady with the F4F-4. Carl's victory over Ozumi was to be sixteenth and final victory for the Guadalcanal campaign. Marion Carl was to leave Guadalcanal on 11 October 1942.

   With the Japanese all but giving up on Guadalcanal after October 1943, their next plan of action was to await the Allied thrust up the Soloman Island chain toward New Britain and their major base at Rabaul. The Japanese Southeastern Fleet Headquarters at Rabaul was facing a severe lessening in its ability to protect the New Britain area.
   The Imperial Japanese Army's (IJA) Fourth Ku had been moved from Rabaul to Wewak in August 1943. To replace the loss of the IJA Fourth Ku, and the severe loss's suffered by the IJN Eleventh Ku during the Munda operations, the IJN was given the task of protecting New Britain.
   The Japanese Navy redeployed Vice Adm. Jisaburo Ozawa's Carrier Division 2 (CARDIV 2) down from Truk, where they had been withdrawn after their mauling in the Bouganville area during August. In order to counter the growing Allied air assets, the Japanese would also have to commit their CARDIV 1 to again try and strengthen Rabaul's defenses by November 1943.
   The aerial engagements that Marion Carl was engaged in on 23 and 27 December 1943 in the Rabaul area must be considered very closely for an explanation. Allied air operations were focused against the Japanese airfields in the Rabaul and Wewak areas to relieve the pressure for the planned Allied invasion of Cape Gloucester.
   Marion Carl's claim of the destruction of a Nakajima Ki-61 Tony fighter on 23 December 1943 is highly suspect. It is known that the IJN had started deploying the first examples of the Aichi Type 1 (Judy) dive- bomber into the Rabaul area during October 1943, and the IJA Fourth Ku was still deployed at Wewak, the aircraft shot down by Carl was most surredly a Judy and not a Tony. Since both aircraft were about the same size and were both inline engines aircraft, this was most likely a case of mistaken identity.
   General Marion Carl's Air to Air victory credits for WW II are as follows:

    Date                     Claims
04 June 1942         1 Zero destroyed and 2 damaged at Midway.
24 August 1942       1 Zero, 2 single engine and 1 twin bomber destroyed at Guadalcanal.
26 August 1942       2 Zeros destroyed at Guadalcanal.
29 August 1942       1 twin engine bomber destroyed at Guadalcanal.
30 August 1942       3 Zeros destroyed at Guadalcanal.
09 September 1942   2 Type 97 Kate bombers destroyed at Guadalcanal.
27 September 1942   1 and 1/2 twin engine bombers destroyed at Guadalcanal.
28 September 1942   1 bomber destroyed at Guadalcanal.
03 October 1942     1 Zero destroyed at Guadalcanal.
23 December 1943    1 Tony (probably a Judy) destroyed at Rabaul.
27 December 1943    1 Zero destroyed and 1 damaged at Rabaul.