Felix Over Diamondhead, 1935

May 1935. A flight of Boeing F4B-4 fighters from the USS Saratoga's FIGHTING 6 forms up on a Marine Corps J2F Grumman Duck over the island of Oahu. Far below, CV-3 and her escort of flush deck destroyers begins rounding Diamondhead en route to Pearl Harbor's main channel. They will easily make it before the sun sets. Since joining the Fleet in 1928, Saratoga and her sister ship USS Lexington frequently operated together in Hawaiin waters, causing confusion among some aviators who attempted landings on the wrong ship. To set them apart, Saratoga sported a black stripe on her stack for many of her pre-war years. By 1939, that stripe would sport a large white letter "E", with two hash marks, signifying that her crew had been recognized three times for Excellence in Engineering.

Since the late 1920's, various airwings have used Felix the Cat as their mascot. By the early 30's, VF-6, based on Saratoga until 1936, was the official residence of this once-famous cartoon character. Later, during WW2, the mascot was adopted by VF-3 where he adorned the F6F Hellcats off the USS Yorktown. Today, he rides with the F-14 Tomcats off the USS John C. Stennis. But when he flew with FIGHTING 6 in 1935, he rode one of the most manueverable aircraft ever to see service with the US Navy. Boeing's little biplane fighter, their last to be manufactured, was said to be so nimble that all one had to do to execute a turn was to put an arm out of the cockpit. Note that each fighter sports a white "E" beneath the cockpit. This denotes Excellence in Aerial Gunnery.

13" X 44"	Watercolor	Limited Edition - 250	Signed by artist only.	$69.95/each
13" X 44"	Canvas	Limited Edition - 250	Signed by artist only.	$79.95/each
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