[yarddog]

The whole battle of Midway hinged on maybe 10 minutes. The Japanese fighters which were flown by some of the best pilots in the world, were drawn down to water level to dispense with the torpedo bombers. If the had known just how bad our torpedoes were at that time they may have just sent a few fighters after them.

Anyway just at that time the dive bombers free of Japanese fighters sank 3 fleet carrier or was it 4? We got the last one the next day.

[Cry if I Wanna]

I think we sunk three carriers. Was it Midway where we lost the Lexington?

[spokeshave]

The Japanese fighters which were flown by some of the best pilots in the world,

Yes...but the US recovered a Zero fighter that crash landed on one of the Aleutian islands.

Engineers flew it and discovered the two fatal flaws...

1. No self sealing fuel tanks.

2. Poor rate of climb.

The came up with a new fighter that was a Zero killer.

[wizkid]

The shambolic nature of the American attacks at Midway certainly disconcerted the Japanese. On one hand, they admired the almost suicidal tenacity of the US bomber and torpedo pilots who risked annihilation by attacking in an uncoordinated fashion many times without fighter escort. On the other, they thought that they could beat off these attacks and eventually defeat the Americans with their superior coordination.

The Shattered Sword did a good job portraying this and going into great detail regarding some of these doomed US attacks that are not very well known. These include attacks on the Japanese fleet by B17 bombers, Marauder bombers rigged to hold torpedoes and, incredibly, torpedo laden Catalina flying boats. Here is an article that describes some of these attacks:

Naval History Blog - Nimitz and the Battle of Miday

From Midway he learned that the B-17s sent against the invasion force found and attacked it 570 miles out. They reported having hit two battleships or heavy cruisers and two transports—news that the CinCPac staff received with a certain amount of skepticism. In the early evening, four Catalina amphibians took off from Midway for a moonlight torpedo attack on the invasion force.

Here is a good rendering of the Marauder squadron attack on the Akagi:

Shot Across the Bow

I believe that some Japanese sailors even sent up a cheer to the Marauders in respect for their gallantry in the face of suicidal odds. Here is a good article about it:

The Pacific War Org - The Charge of the B-26 Marauders at Miday