Posted on 06/04/2013 11:18:48 AM PDT by Retain Mike
A Near-Run Victory at Midway
Walter Lord and Gordon Prange considered Midway an incredible, miraculous victory. For Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake Okumiya, the battle doomed Japan. The calculated risks Chester Nimitz took required assembling all possible resources, and still left him with a three to one disadvantage in ships. To appreciate further this tenuous condition note the fate of four Army B-26 medium bombers rushed to Midway.
Captain James Collins led the aircraft in torpedo attacks. The pilots had never seen or practiced with aerial torpedoes. They would now only practice takeoffs and landings.
Those early B-26’s earned a reputation as “Widowmakers”. To avoid fatal landings, pilots flew final at 150 mph, and landed at speeds of 120-135 mph; excessive compared to contemporary aircraft.
The Mark 13 aerial torpedo was equally unforgiving in 1942. The pilots were attempting to hit a 30 knot aircraft carrier with a 33 knot torpedo. To do so required flying straight, low, and slow through lethal fighter attacks and intense anti-aircraft fire. Only one in three torpedoes would run hot and true when launched at heights over 50 feet and at speeds exceeding 126 mph. For the B-26’s that meant flying close to the speed where they would auger into the ocean.
The B-26’s attacked the carriers but obtained no hits. Two of four aircraft with their five man crews perished. Captain Collins with another crippled bomber returned and crash landed on Midway. Such courage and sacrifice by Army, Navy, and Marines wrought this astonishing victory.
Midway: Extraordinary Leadership and Brave Men
In late December 1941, Navy Secretary Frank Knox and FDR met and selected Chester Nimitz to command the Pacific Fleet, which at the time the public perceived as residing at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt said, “Tell Nimitz to get the hell out to Pearl and stay there until the war is won”. Knox informed Nimitz by saying, “You’re going to take command of the Pacific Fleet, and I think you will be gone a long time”.
On Christmas Day 1941 Admiral Chester Nimitz arrived by Catalina flying boat to take command. When the door opened he was assailed by a poisonous atmosphere from black oil, charred wood, burned wiring, insulation and paint, and rotting flesh. The boat ride to shore engulfed the party in the panorama of sunken hulls and floating wreckage punctuated by the bodies of dead sailors still surfacing from the blasted ships.
He spent the first days learning everything he could about his new assignment and confirmed the public’s perception was incorrect. The dry-dock, the repair shops, and the tank farm were intact. The carriers, their escorts, and the submarines stood ready to take the offensive. Admiral Raymond Spruance said of Nimitz, “The one big thing about him was that he was always ready to fight….And he wanted officers who would push the fight to the Japanese”.
Nimitz decided some very good men had taken a terrible beating and were now suffering terrible reminders and apprehensions. When he officially took command December 31, he told the assembled staffs he had complete and unlimited confidence in every one of them. As head of officer personnel in the Pentagon, he knew they had been selected for their competence. But if any wanted to leave, he would individually discuss their futures and do all he could to get them the assignment they wanted. However, there were a few key staff members he wanted to stay with him. They included Commander Joe Rochefort, Jr. and Lieutenant Commander Edwin T. Layton. These men did not provide warning of the Pearl Harbor attack, but later provided the key intelligence allowing Nimitz to take the calculated risks for the Midway battle.
Midway began with the gracious, quiet, determined leadership of Nimitz bringing the fight to the enemy at long odds. It finished with the fearful sacrifice of a few brave men on that day. To understand Nimitz’s and the flyers tenuous position consider that gathering nearly every U.S. Navy ship left in the Pacific achieved the following order of battle for Midway.
Japan United States Heavy aircraft carriers 4 3 Light aircraft carriers 2 0 Battleships 11 0 Heavy cruisers 10 6 Light cruisers 6 1 Destroyers 53 17 --- --- Total 86 27
This abbreviated narrative now leaves out the contribution of thousands, whose efforts provided the vital margin needed for victory. Preparing Midway for invasion and assembling the task forces at point “Luck” to attack the Japanese required prodigious achievements in logistics, ship repair, and naval intelligence. The narrative also does not describe how making more and/or paying the more bitter price for mistakes contributed heavily to the Japanese defeat.
The Japanese transport group was discovered on June 3, but on June 4, 1942 the curtain rises for the carrier battle when PBY patrols by Lieutenant Howard Ady discover the Japanese task force, and by Lieutenant William Chase report Japanese planes heading towards Midway. The warnings enabled the 120 aircraft crammed onto Midway to get into the air and Admirals Raymond Spruance and Frank Fletcher to launch carrier attacks. All Midway aircraft made attacks against the carriers except for 25 Marine Brewster Buffalos and Wildcat fighters dedicated to repel the attackers. In the ensuing Japanese attack on Midway at 6:16AM, 14 of the 25 pilots died prompting Captain Philip R. White to say, “It is my belief that any commander that orders pilots out for combat in a F2A-3 should consider the pilot lost before leaving the ground”.
The attacks by land based planes on the Japanese carriers began at 7:48AM. First six TBF Avenger torpedo bombers lead by Lieutenant Langdon K. Fieberling obtained no hits, but five of six aircraft were destroyed including Fieberling’s and only two of 18 men survived. Next Army Captain James Collins lead four Army Air Corps B-26 medium bombers rigged to carry torpedoes in the first ever attempt to attack enemy ships. Two of four planes and their five man crews perished, and no hits were obtained. Lieutenant Colonel Walter C. Sweeney lead 15 long range B-17’s over Nagumo’s position in a level bombing attack from 20,000 feet and obtained no hits on the carriers or escorts. Major Benjamin Norris lead eleven Vindicator dive bombers considered so ancient pilots called them “wind indicators”. They never reached the carriers and unsuccessfully attacked a battleship. Amazingly only two fell to enemy attacks and two more were lost at sea because of low fuel.
Next into the battle came Torpedo 3, Torpedo 6, and Torpedo 8 from the USS Yorktown, USS Enterprise, and USS Hornet respectively. In all Lt. Commander Lance E. Massey, Lt. Commander Gene Lindsey, and Lt. Commander John Waldron lead 41 Devastator torpedo bombers. The squadrons became separated (Waldron deliberately so) from their dive bombers and fighters that were intended to accompany them for coordinated attacks. These 100 mph torpedo bombers had to evade 300 mph Zero fighters, and withstand concentrated task force anti-aircraft fire long enough to launch effectively 33 knot torpedoes against 30 knot aircraft carriers.
In pressing home their attacks, 35 aircraft with their three man crews were lost, except for Lieutenant George H. Gay who crashed in the midst of the Japanese carriers and was rescued by a PBY the next day. The only fighters about were six from Fighting 3 lead by Lt. Commander “Jimmy” Thach that tangled with a horde of Zero fighters and lost one aircraft. Those from Fighting 6 lead by Lieutenant Jim Gray lost track of the torpedo bombers and kept circling at 20,000 feet to protect the dive bombers they never found. Eventually these fighters returned to the Enterprise in total frustration.
The USS Hornet fighters and dive bombers spent a fruitless morning. Commander Stan Ring lead Bombing 8, Scouting 8, and Fighting 8 exactly as directed and then searched to the south until fuel was critical and each squadron proceeded independently. Lt. Commander Russ Johnson leading Bombing 8 was unable to find the Hornet and landed on Midway, but 3 of the 14 aircraft had to ditch on the way for lack of fuel. Lieutenant Stan Ruehlow leading Fighting 8 remained determined to find the Hornet, but all ten aircraft had to ditch, and Ens. Mark Kelly and Ens. George R. Hill were never found. That morning there were 29 empty seats in the Hornet ready room. Fifteen seats belonged to Torpedo 8 pilots slaughtered that morning by the Japanese. The 11 were for Bombing 8 that refueled at Midway and later returned to the Hornet.
The Japanese carrier task forces had withstood seven separate attacks over nearly three hours without a single hit. Not counting the B-17’s that stayed at 20,000 feet, Navy and Army flyers pressed home attacks with 62 aircraft. Of those 44 were destroyed, 134 of 183 men were lost, and no hits were obtained.
Next Bombing 3 and Bombing 6 from the USS Yorktown and USS Enterprise respectively found the carriers. They arrived over the carriers while the Zero fighters were still at low altitude finishing off the last of the American torpedo bombers. The 17 planes of Commander Max Leslie’s Bombing 3 delivered three fatal hits to one carrier, probably the Soryu. For Bombing 6, Lieutenants Wade McClusky and Richard Best lead sections that obtained three hits on the Akagi and at least four hits on the Kaga. The Japanese task forces that had been impervious to harm from 7:48 to 10:23AM saw three of their heavy carriers turned into burning wreckage in six minutes. However, a price had to be paid. Max Leslie’s planes returned safely, but Bombing 6 lost 8 of 18 two man crews.
There was still one heavy carrier unaccounted for, and at 3PM Lieutenant Sam Adams of Scouting 5 radioed Admiral Spruance its location. The Admiral had no fighters or torpedo bombers, but ordered Lieutenant Earl Gallaher aloft at 3:30PM to lead 24 planes from three dive bombers squadrons. A half hour later the Hornet launched 16 dive bombers lead by reserve Lieutenant Edgar Stebbins. These 40 aircraft encountered anti-aircraft fire, lighting attacks from Zeros, and superb evasive ship handling, but there were too many planes and bombs. At least four hits and many near misses transformed the Hiryu into the fourth blazing funeral pyre of the day. All three dive bombing squadrons got hits and two aircraft were lost.
There were attacks before and after June 4 at Midway costing the Japanese Combined Fleet other ships. However, the loss of these four heavy carriers achieved by the incomparable skill, fortitude, and valor of these few men proved lethal.
One could easily paraphrase Winston Churchill to say never have so many who fought in the Pacific owed so much to so few. Not counting the B-17’s, about 370 flyers attacked the Japanese in around 180 aircraft of which nearly 90 were lost resulting in about 190 deaths. Walter Lord and Gordon W. Prange considered this an incredible, miraculous victory. For Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake Okumiya, it was the battle that doomed Japan.
USNI Blog: http://blog.usni.org/?s=Midway
USNI Search: http://www.usni.org/search_google.asp Composition U.S. forces
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq81-5.htm
Action Report: USS Hornet (CV-8) Midway http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/logs/CV/cv8-Midway.html
Battle of Midway, Commanding Officer, USS Yorktown, report of 18 June 1942 http://www.patriotfiles.com/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=1096&page=1
Battle of Midway: 4-7 June 1942, Online Action Reports: Commanding Officer, USS Enterprise, Serial 0133 of 8 June 1942 http://www.history.navy.mil/docs/wwii/mid6.htm
MK XIII AERIAL TORPEDO http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1035 http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WTUS_WWII.htm
Martin B-26 Marauder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-26_Marauder
Midway Film by John ford http://video.staged.com/localshops/ww_iirare_film__midway__directed_by_john_ford
Valor: Marauders at Midway http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1986/April%201986/0486valor.aspx
As the Zeros swirled madly around the Devastators, it seemed to Tex Gay that he was flying in slow motion. The enemy fighters appeared to have three times his speed, and were darting in and out of their tight formation like backcountry prairie falcons.
Up ahead to his right he saw one of the Devastators drop like a hurtling stone into the sea, its two man crew gone in an instant. It happened so fast that Tex had no idea whose plane it was. A few seconds later another Devastator went down on his left.
"Was that a Zero or one of our planes?" came commander Waldron's voice on the radio.
Tex radioed back that it was a Devastator.
The Zeroes were concentrating on the lead planes in the formation as Torpedo Eight continued boring in towards the nearest Japanese carriers. Tex tried to keep his Devastator steady so that his crewman, Bob Huntington, has a clear and stable field of fire. That also made them easier prey.
He watched as another of the Devastators blew up in a shower of flame and debris. They were past the airborn wreckage a moment later. The dwindling formation was still miles from the carriers when yet another torpedo plane did a slow half roll and crash into the sea on its back, disintegrating when it hit the water.
Bob Huntington came on the intercom -"Lets go back and help, sir" he said.
There was nothing they could do to help. Tex could only press on with the attack, even if they were the last ones left. Those were the Skipper's orders. There would be time for mourning the losses later.
Two Zeroes moved in to attack him, one from behind and the other from the port side. He could feel bullets thudding into the armor plate behind his bucket seat. A second pattern raked his instrument panel and blasted several holes in his windshield.
He heard Huntington cry out on the intercom. Turning his head for a quick look, he saw him slumped down in his seat, motionless. When he turned forward again, the Devastator that had been flying next to him had disappeared.
In the distance, Tex saw that the carriers had swung west, heading away from them to reduce their target profile. Shoving the throttle forward, he watched the air speed indicator slowly begin to climb, Waldron's voice was still coming through his earphones, fast a furious.
"There's two fighters in the water," the Skipper had radioed at one point. "See that splash... I'd give a million to know who'd done that."
In the tail compartment of his Dauntless dive bomber far to the north, Leroy Quillen was listening to Waldron's excited words. He wondered why no one in the group was responding to Waldron's calls.
"My two wingmen are going in," came Waldron's voice one last time.
Then it was his turn.
The Skipper's plane was out in front of the remaining Devastators, all alone except for the attacking Zeroes. As Tex watched, Waldron's plane suddenly burst into flames. Fire quickly enveloped the fuselage, and the plane began gliding down towards the sea, trailing a thick cloud of smoke and fire.
The Skipper suddenly stood up in the blazing cockpit as if he were riding a fiery chariot. In the plane's final moments, he thrust his leg out onto the right wing. Then the plane hit the water and was gone.
Greatest act of courage I ever heard of in WWII was during the Battle of Leyte Gulf when the USS Johnston [commanded by Ernest Evans] and the USS Hoel, both destroyer excorts, relentlessly attacked Japanese battleships that were bearing down on the Leyte beachhead ...
Great post!
The turning point in the Pacific theater. Valiant fighting that day, for sure!
A miracle helped along by the fact that we could read all their coded messages:
http://www.navalhistory.org/2013/06/04/navy-cryptology-and-the-battle-of-midway-our-finest-hour
Navy Cryptology and the Battle of Midway: Our Finest Hour
A special feature of the BATTLE OF MIDWAY ROUNDTABLE
by LCDR Philip H. Jacobsen, USN-Ret
(Editor’s note: the following is the text of an address given by LCDR Jacobsen to a gathering of Naval Security Group personnel at San Diego in 2000. It has been edited slightly for clarity and to better suit this format.)
The Advent of U.S. Naval Cryptology
Although my part in the Battle of Midway was very small, I appreciate this opportunity to relate to you some of the more important achievements of my contemporary naval cryptologists that made the success of the Battle of Midway possible. As a current member of the Naval Security Group, you can take pride in the great accomplishments of your predecessors, not only related to the Battle of Midway but long before World War II as well as throughout World War II.
There are not many naval cryptologic veterans alive today that were involved in providing the communications intelligence information that gave our inferior forces on land, sea and especially in the air the equalizer of knowing the composition of enemy forces, and when and where those huge Japanese forces would attack U.S. territory under Admiral Yamamoto’s grandiose invasion plan. This crucial communications intelligence information, when combined with the heroic actions of fighting forces under the brilliant command of Admiral Nimitz, led to the great U.S. victory in the Battle of Midway.
The above is just part of this great story. Go to the link for the rest of the story: http://www.navalhistory.org/2013/06/04/navy-cryptology-and-the-battle-of-midway-our-finest-hour
the key was a hand full of sailors breaking the jap naval code indicating Midway was next on the list. I joined this group in 1947 right out of boot camp and spent 27 years in a very interesting role.
“The battle is won, or lost, before the first arrow is fired.”
That said, flying 100 mph with Zeros on your tail......those were men to be proud of.
The coded messages basically let them know Midway was the target. Beyond that small starting place, it was basically guts and skill of the aircrews.
The codebreaking didn’t lead our planes to the Jap fleet, etc. The location and attack on that ememy fleet was pure naval skill.
The Japs were never found via radar or anything else.
The codebreaking kept the attack on Midway from being a surprise, but did little beyond that.
An interesting note I read on Midway and I’m sorry I don’t have the source. I believe it was the carrier Akagi that was sunk with all the Japanese aircraft attack footage from Pearl Harbor. The footage never made it’s way back to the mainland.
There was also a journalist aboard Akagi who filmed Kaga while she was under attack, obviously oblivious to the fact his own ship would be hit a minute later. That film didn’t survive the battle, either.
I used to play the "Midway" board game. IIRC, the B-17 factor was a die roll every so often (aka "sortie"), while Midway Island was still considered functional, that is.
I think you mean TBD’s ...the TBD replacement the TBF had just come in to service at the time of the battle and I believe only 3 were rushed to midway flying off the island itself. .none off the carriers
You are entirely correct - that looked funny when I reread it. Mea culpa and good catch.
Make no mistake in reading this reply, Midway was a great victory on a shoestring by greatly out-numbered US Forces, but it also well illustrated Japanese Admiral Yamamoto’s well known prediction of 6 to 12 months of great success followed by Japanese failure. This was the absolute nadir of the US Navy while also being the near height of the Imperial Japan Navy yet the US was only starting its engine while Japan was already near maximum effort.
It took only till 1943 before the US alone was outproducing Japan in all war production areas and mid-1944 before it was outproducing EVERY other Axis or Allied composite. By late 1944 the US Navy had cancelled more warships than all other countries had in service and it was said with more than a little truth that you could fly a Piper Cub from San Francisco to Tokyo by landing on the outbound USN Carriers.
It is one of the things that keeps me from drinking myself senseless over our current condition, we have been down so many times in our history yet followed the depths with new heights. We shall (pray God) do this again!
I’ll have to find it somewhere, but I believe one Japanese Captain stated something along the lines of “We were lied to, they do know bushido”.
Only Yamamoto was not suprised as he had spent time stateside.
Four TBFs flew from Midway to attack the carriers, two returned.
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