[Fred L. Dungan oral history interview (Part 1 of 2)]

In this two-part oral history, fighter ace Fred L. Dungan discusses his military service with the United States Navy during World War II. In part one, he describes his wartime experiences as a fighter pilot, including his time stationed aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10) and USS Hornet (CV-12) with Night Fighting Squadron 76 (VF(N)-76). Topics discussed include his training history, his involvement with Project Affirm (a night fighter development unit), and his combat missions in the Pacific Theater. Special focus on his participation in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, also known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot, on June 19, 1944 and on a nighttime strike on Hahajima on July 4, 1944.

Fred L. Dungan was born on July 27, 1921 in Los Angeles, California. He joined the United States Navy in 1941 and graduated from flight training the following year. Assigned to Project Affirm, a night fighter development unit, Dungan was placed with Night Fighting Squadron 76 (VF(N)-76), one of the first carrier-based night fighter squadrons to fly Grumman F6F Hellcats equipped with air-to-air radar. He served aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10) and USS Hornet (CV-12), flying both daytime and nighttime missions over the Marshall Islands, Guam, the Bonin Islands, and other areas in the Pacific Theater. Dungan remained in the Reserves after the war and retired as a lieutenant commander in 1963. In his civilian life, he worked as a fixed-base operator at Teterboro Airport, then as a sales representative for the 3M Company until his retirement in 1982. Dungan passed away in 2018.

Biographical information courtesy of: Boyce, Ward J., ed., American fighter aces album. Mesa, Ariz: American Fighter Aces Association, 1996.