Cornelius N. Nooy

Cornelius Nicholas Nooy (April 15, 1921 – March 12, 1958) was a United States Navy flying ace of World War II. Nooy ended the war as the highest-scoring fighter pilot operating from a light aircraft carrier (CVL), and tied for fourth-highest-scoring ace in the US Navy (with Patrick D. Fleming and Alexander Vraciu). Nooy served two tours with VF-31's "Flying Meataxers" aboard and . The first of these tours set a record for kills by a CVL fighter squadron.

Early life Nooy was born in Smithtown, New York, on April 15, 1921. He graduated from Smith Island High School and from the Long Island Institute of Applied Agriculture.

World War II Nooy enrolled in the US Navy's Aviation Cadet Program on 18 March 1942 and was quickly sent to the Naval Reserve Aviation Base in New Orleans, LA. He earned his wings on 15 January 1943 and was subsequently attached to Fighting Squadron 31 (VF-31) "Flying Meataxes", the outfit he'd stick with throughout the duration of the war.

VF-31 VF-31 was officially established May 1943 Cabot arrived at Pearl on 27 November. By January Cabot was again in motion, now attached to Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery's Task Group 58.2 as part of Marc Mitscher's Fast Carrier Task Force. Their first strikes, launched in January, would be the opening salvo of Operation Flintlock in the Marshall Islands campaign.

Winston's division flew lowest, where the murk of clouds led to the worst visibility. As a result, Winston, Nooy, Wilson and Hancock shadowed a group of aircraft they expected to escort to the strike zone, only to discover at the last second that they were following on the heels of Japanese Zeros. Winston opened up on the surprised enemy fighters first and started a fracas that broke his division out into weaving sections. The Thach Weave worked well for Winston and Nooy, who each claimed a probable by knocking an enemy from their section mate's tail on the first exchange. Winston earned a confirmed kill on the second weave. With a lull in the action, Winston and Nooy slipped out towards a predetermined meet-up point at Point William but were jumped en route. Nooy spotted the Zeke nipping at their heels and attempted to alert Winston, but his radio was out and he didn't sense the danger. Winston only understood the gravity of his situation when tracers whipped past and bullets tore through his wings. The two successfully ran from their tail to the meet up point, Winston's plane still in fighting shape. That would have to wait, however. After a nighttime torpedo attack on 17 February severely damaged Intrepid, Cabot was assigned to escort her back towards Pearl. The light carrier returned to the task group and by mid-March was headed back to the Marshalls.

April–June In early April Cabot refueled and returned to anchorage at Majuro, spending a week and a half there before again departing for the next TG 58.2 mission, Operation Desecrate-2. On 13 April Cabot steamed out of the atoll to engage in training exercises en route to the Hollandia area. By 19 April the ship was close enough to the combat zone to see anti-aircraft fire on the horizon. Cabot arrived on 21 April, launching strikes north of New Guinea designed to suppress Japanese air power in advance of U.S. Marine landings. After providing support for the operation, largely consisting of CAP/ASP missions over the task group, Cabot retired to refuel and re-supply in late April. The closing days of the month, along with 1 May, the task group renewed attacks on the previously battered Truk. On 30 April Nooy and Winston dropped bombs on Dublon Island that struck barracks, setting them on fire. VF-31 flew predominately as high cover for VT-31 on their bombing missions; Cabots air group often flew alongside Air Group 5 of during these strikes.

Almost the entire month of May was spent either at anchorage in Majuro or in the vicinity, engaging in gunnery practice (in the case of the ship), fighter director operation and other integral aspects of air group command. Over the next few days, further strikes would rain down on Pagan Island before Cabot retired back to Eniwetok for the remainder of the month.

July–September The Meataxers' next saw action at Iwo Jima. Following on the heels of the surprise attacks launched by Joseph J. Clark's TG 58.1, Cabots fighter squadron flew top cover for the first TG 58.2 fighter sweep early on 4 July. Hellcats from and strafed airstrips and barracks in an attempt to nullify any possible aerial counterattack, also silencing anti-aircraft fire for the impending bomber strike. Meanwhile, the three divisions from Cabot were holding at 15,000 feet above the target area, watching the mayhem unfold below while they waited for retaliation from above. Japanese fighters arrived on the scene fifteen minutes later with a 3,000-foot altitude advantage. Nooy was flying wing on Wallace, the VF-31 strike leader and point man in the first of its three divisions. His division was the first to nose up into the Zekes, who Split S'ed away from the incoming Americans. Nooy fired at the extreme range of his guns while he chased the Zekes down but remarkably scored fatal hits on both of his targets. One enemy pilot bailed out. The other never had a chance. Just as soon as he had climbed back to altitude, Nooy spotted a Hellcat almost at sea level being hotly pursued by an enemy. He once more pushed his plane down, turning pursuer into pursued. He splashed this third Zero of the day with little difficulty. Nooy's fourth and final confirmed kill on the 4th was part of a team effort with a fighter from Wasp. They pounced on a Zero rapidly losing altitude as it sought to extract itself from the melee. Nooy is recorded as scoring hits from all angles, all over the doomed aircraft. He and the Wasp pilot went on to maul another enemy together, and Nooy probably destroyed yet another fighter later while he escorted a damaged friendly back to the carriers. Overall, the fighter squadrons from Wasp and Cabot each claimed over a dozen enemies shot down with only a handful of losses between them.

Aerial victories

Post-war After the war, Nooy moved back to New York and stayed with the U.S. Naval Reserves and was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1952. He was vice president of the American Partition Company and ran for political office in Branchburg, New Jersey, in 1954. Nooy is buried at North Branch Reformed Church Cemetery in Somerset County, New Jersey.

Awards and decorations

Nooy received the following decorations:

Naval Aviator BadgeNavy Crossw/ two " Gold Stars Silver Starw/ one " Gold Star Distinguished Flying Crossw/ one " Gold StarPurple HeartAir Medalw/ one " Silver Star Combat Action RibbonNavy Presidential Unit Citationw/ one " bronze starAmerican Campaign MedalAsiatic-Pacific Campaign Medalw/ one " silver star and two " bronze starsWorld War II Victory MedalArmed Forces Reserve Medalwith bronze hourglass devicePhilippine Presidential Unit Citation Philippine Liberation Medalw/ two " bronze stars

1st Navy Cross citation

Lieutenant Cornelius Nicholas Nooy U.S. Navy Date Of Action: July 4, 1944 The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] Cornelius Nicholas Nooy, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron THIRTY-ONE (VF-31), attached to the U.S.S. CABOT (CVL-28), in action against enemy Japanese Forces in the Pacific War Area, on 4 July 1944. Participating in the initial fighter sweep over the Japanese-controlled Bonin Islands, Lieutenant Nooy fought his plane gallantly against the enemy, dived from an altitude of ten thousand feet to destroy a hostile fighter which was attacking a friendly plane about fifty feet above the coast. During this same action Lieutenant Nooy shot down three other enemy aircraft and probably destroyed a fourth. By his fighting spirit, initiative and courage, Lieutenant Nooy contributed materially to the success of our operations in this area and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

2nd Navy Cross citation

Lieutenant Cornelius Nicholas Nooy U.S. Navy Date Of Action: September 21, 1944 The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Navy Cross to Lieutenant [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] Cornelius Nicholas Nooy, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron THIRTY-ONE (VF-31), attached to the U.S.S. CABOT (CVL-28), in action against enemy Japanese forces in the vicinity of the Philippine Islands, on 21 September 1944. A daring and aggressive airman, Lieutenant Nooy gallantly led his section in a bold fighter sweep against a highly important and enemy-held airfield. Fighting his plane with skill and courage, he succeeded in shooting down five enemy planes with only minor damage to his own plane and later executed a bombing run which resulted in a direct hit on a Japanese hangar. By his superb airmanship, courageous fighting spirit, and unswerving devotion to duty, Lieutenant Nooy contributed substantially to the success of this vital operation, thereby reflecting the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service.

3rd Navy Cross citation

Lieutenant Cornelius Nicholas Nooy U.S. Navy Date Of Action: July 24, 1945 The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Second Gold Star in lieu of a Third Award of the Navy Cross to Lieutenant [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] Cornelius Nicholas Nooy, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane and Strike Leader in Fighting Squadron THIRTY-ONE (VF-31), attached to the U.S.S. BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24), in action on 24 July 1945, while deployed over Kure, Japan. Leading his four-plane fighter strike against major units of the Japanese Fleet, Lieutenant Nooy braved intense anti-aircraft fire to press home a dive-bombing attack against the enemy battleship Ise and score a direct hit, thereby contributing to the final destruction of the hostile vessel. His expert airmanship, courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.