Circling high above Bougainville, Gregory “Pappy” Boyington peered through the glass of his F4U Corsair’s cockpit at the Japanese air base below. He was in charge of 24 other Marine Corsairs from the legendary Black Sheep Squadron, and their plan was simple: lure as many Japanese pilots into the sky as they could and kill them.

Boyington’s Black Sheep Squadron was already a combat-tested unit. They had shot down 23 Japanese planes during their first two weeks in the Pacific. Boyington himself had also previously flown combat missions in China, as a volunteer with the famous Flying Tigers. But for all their experience, Boyington and the other Corsair pilots were about to face their biggest battle yet. As the Black Sheep flew above Bougainville’s Kahili airfield, an estimated 60 Japanese planes scrambled to meet them.

The Corsairs could dive and climb faster than the enemy’s Mitsubishi A6M Zeros. Each Corsair also had the additional firepower of six .50-caliber machine guns mounted on their wings. With those advantages, the Corsairs made quick work of the Zeros. Of the 60 enemy aircraft that took to the sky, 20 were shot down. Not a single Corsair or Marine pilot was lost in the battle.