The first commanding officer was James H. Flatley fresh from the Battle of the Coral Sea.

The Grim Reapers deployed with USS Enterprise to the Southern Pacific in October 1942 where they participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal.

As part of that campaign, the Grim Reapers played a pivotal role in defending the Enterprise and its task force during the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands from 25-27 October 1942.

After their return to the U.S. and NAS Sand Point they transitioned to the Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat and once again deployed to the South Pacific aboard Enterprise.

During their second combat tour, VF-10 participated in operations in the Marshall Islands, Jaluit, Emirau, Western Caroline Islands, Hollandia, Truk Lagoon and the Battle of the Philippine Sea (Marianas Turkey Shoot).The squadron returned to the States, transitioning to the Vought F4U Corsair in January 1945[2] at NAS Atlantic City.