blood red skies us ace pilot david mccampbellDavid McCampbell was the United States Navy's highest scoring pilot, and the all time F6F Hellcat Ace with 34 aerial victories. McCampbell joined the US Navy before the war and served as a landing signal officer. He survived the sinking of USS Wasp near Guadalcanal in September 1942 and returned to the United States as an instructor until August 1943. McCampbell formed fighter squadron 15 (VF 15) in September 1943 and soon became commander of the USS