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VF-42

military unit

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 26, 2024
Entity authorityQ48987610
Source-derived summary

Fighting Squadron 42 or VF-42 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established as Scouting Squadron 1B (VS-1B) in May 1928, it was redesignated as VS-1S in 1930, redesignated as VS-1B in 1931, redesignated as VS-41 on 1 July 1937, redesignated as VF-42 on 15 March 1941 and disestablished on 22 June 1942. It was the first US Navy squadron to be designated as VF-42.

Operational history

VS-1B was assigned to the USS Ranger in the 1930s.

In December 1941 VF-42 was embarked on USS Yorktown for deployment to the Pacific Theatre. VF-42 shot down 25 Japanese aircraft until the squadron was disestablished following the sinking of the Yorktown on 7 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “VF-42” as military unit. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around VF-42, military and unit.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1928, 1930, 1931, 1937—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with VF-42, military and unit providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “VF-42”, the useful work is to connect “military unit” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 26, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q48987610. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1928, 1930, 1931 and 1937.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “VF-42”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow VF-42 primary sources, VF-42 archive and VF-42 research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “VF-42”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from VF-42” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.