Initially the only pilot in his squadron, Thach personally test flew all 27 airplanes he was assigned, noting their discrepancies for his maintenance crew to fix while he waited for pilots to arrive.

Thatch’s Fighting Three was stripped of all its pilots to reinforce Fighting Two on the eve of Coral Sea, leaving Thach as the unit’s only assigned pilot.

Initially the only pilot in his squadron, Thach personally test flew all 27 airplanes he was assigned, noting their discrepancies for his maintenance crew to fix while he waited for pilots to arrive. Thus was Thach able to verify the utility of his equipment as replacement pilots finally trickled in

A day or two before embarking in Yorktown about fifteen pilots from VF-42 reported to me to fill out the roster of 27 pilots…. So, we got the 27 airplanes and 27 pilots, and they called me up and gave me an inkling that there was something big coming up in the Central Pacific. They said it looks like the Japanese are going to try and hit us again.

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/did-you-know-on-the-eve-of-the-battle-of-midway-legendary-naval-aviator-jimmy-thach-had-27-f4f-wildcat-fighters-and-was-his-squadrons-only-pilot/