To add a little to Tracy's chart:
Lexington's cruise of 05 Dec 1941 (TF-12), she left to ferry VMSB 231, 18 SB2U-3's to Midway Is.. On 05 Dec 1941, 1 F2A-3 was damaged upon landing, and was tossed over the side as unsalvagable. So VF-2 left PH w/ 18 F2A-3's, and returned w/ 17. VF-2 by the end of this cruise, 13 Dec 1941, had literally grounded it's Buffalos due to defective landing struts! BTW, VMSB-231 was never flown off to Midway, instead returned to Ewa when TF-12 returned to PH.
Lexington's next war cruise was from 14 Dec 1941 to 27 Dec 1941 (TF-11). VF 2's strength was 21 F2A-3's (18 operational), however on 26 Dec 1941, a F2A-3 was lost when the engine cut-out, and the pilot deadsticked into the sea (pilot recovered).
Cruise of 29 Dec 1941 to 03 Jan 1942 (TF-11), VF-2 had on strength 17 F2A-3's, however on 29 Dec 1941, 1 Buffalo was lost when it struck the ramp on landing (pilot recovered). Two more F2A-3's were damaged in landing accidents, so VF-2 returned to PH with a mere 14 Buffalos operational.
Just some random info which shows just how difficult it is to determine exact aircraft numbers for any given time, as operational losses, mechanical issues, etc, always affected actual aircraft strength.
BTW, source was "The First Team", Lundstrom
Jerry
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