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65 Years Ago Today: Midway
By Bull Nav
What is commonly referred to as the "turning point" in the war in the Pacific occurred 65 years ago today. Lots of good resources out there to look at including some great background information by Steeljaw Scribe and the attack on the Japanese carriers that occurred on 4 JUN 42 described a the Naval Historical Center website here.
A couple of books of interest are Miracle at Midway, which I read a couple of decades ago and was a good history at the time, and Shattered Sword, which I have not read yet, but is on my list.
Truly an incredible battle, in which luck played as much a part as skill (which is more often the case than not).
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Another very good site is the Navy's "Course to Midway" site here.
Midway is definitely my "favorite" naval battle.
Yes, luck played a decisive role in the battle. Had Wade McCluskey not stumbled upon a Japanese picket destroyer (I believe it was McCluskey's squadron that did that) and followed it to the carriers, the battle would have been much different.
Of course, as it is written, fortune favors the bold. I believe the torpedo-bomber pilots and crewmen were the heroes of the day. Being the only ones who arrived on time and on target, they still drove the attack home, against overwhelming (and I dare say suicidal) odds. They brought the Japanese fighters down to the deck (at the cost of their own lives) and drew away the attention of the AAA gunners on the carriers. This gave the dive-bombers a virtual target-practice run against the carriers (and the dive-bombers scored magnificiently). Very few torpedo-bombers survived. One squadron of them was completely wiped out.
Although the torpedo-bombers scored nary a scratch on the carriers, I still believe their actions carried the day. Had the Japanese fighters been on-station, they would have torn up the dive-bombers and their Wildcat escorts (a Wildcat in the hands of a young ensign in 1942 was NO MATCH for a Jap Navy Zero pilot). And, had the carrier AA-gunners had their guns trained up, instead of level, the dive-bombers might not have succeeded as well as they did.
Bless 'em all.
Hand salute. Ready, two.
My hat's off to the memory of the TBD Devastator pilots who flew a hopeless mission into a superior enemy with almost no chance of success. You can count the torpedo bomber squadron survivors on one hand and they never even came close to scoring a hit. However, their audacity and sacrifice made victory from a handful of dive bombers a possibility. Probably less than ten thousand pounds of ordnance broke the back of Imperial Fleet that day. Luck, played a big role, but sheer audacity and sacrifice made a luck break a reality.
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Luck, skill, and WILL. The will to cmmit to decisive combat and WIN. Truly an extraordinary battle, fought by extraordinary men.