title: VF-16
text: # VF-16
  
  Fighting Squadron 16 or VF-16 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy during World War II. Originally established in 1943, it was disestablished on 16 November 1945.
  
  ## Operational history
  
  From late November 1943, VF-16 deployed on USS Lexington and supported the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign including the Battle of Tarawa. On 23 November VF-16's pilots shot down 17 Japanese aircraft. By the end of 1943 the pilots of VF-16 had shot down 55 Japanese aircraft, with three pilots becoming $aces.^{:19}$
  
  On 19 June 1944 while deployed on the Lexington, the squadron participated in the Marianas Turkey Shoot and squadron pilot Lt Alexander Vraciu shot down six Japanese Yokosuka D4Ys in eight minutes.
  
  In 1945 VF-16 was deployed on USS Randolph.
  
  