Seven Vals & Seven Stukas

SEVEN VALS
&
SEVEN STUKAS

Eric Hammel

This publication features two military history articles by Eric Hammel.

“Seven Vals” takes place near Guadalcanal in April 1943. It details first combat by Marine 1st Lieutenant James Swett—in which the eight-plane F4F Wildcat division he was leading helped to break up a massive attack by Imperial Japanese Navy land-based bombers against Allied shipping at work in the vast Tulagi anchorage. It involves Swett’s encounter with Japanese Aichi D3A Val dive-bombers.

“Seven Stukas” takes place near the Isle of Rhodes in October 1943. By then , Major Bill Leverette was a P-38 Lightning squadron commander with several years training experience and several combat missions under his belt. The P-38s he led that day were tasked with providing top cover for several Royal Navy surface warships that were under intermittent attack by Luftwaffe bombers, including Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers.