Wing and a Prayer: the Joseph Kristufek Collection

Joseph Rudolf Kristufek served as a pilot with Torpedo Squadron Five (VT-5) during World War II. Primarily flying a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber, VT-5 made up part of the USS Yorktown’s powerful arsenal on their first trip into the Pacific. Kristufek said of his squadron, “Personally, I think that VT-5 is the best outfit, but I could be prejudiced.” VT-5 would be stationed aboard the USS Yorktown until the end of her first war cruise in 1944.

During the Yorktown’s shakedown cruise, a film crew captured footage for a Hollywood movie, A Wing and a Prayer: The Story of Carrier X. The film told a fictionalized reimaging of the Battle of Coral Sea and Battle of Midway. Kristufek and his Avenger would take center stage when footage of one of his many practice runs deploying a torpedo became part of the climactic film finale.

While Kristufek and his torpedo plane were now technically film stars, it was their wartime service aboard the Yorktown that would endear them to a grateful nation. From the quiet monotony of a pilot waiting for his next mission to harrowing flights through anti-aircraft flak, the Joseph Kristufek collection provides a glimpse into life aboard the Yorktown from the view of a torpedo bomber.