Midway 75

[kham]

75 years ago, a battle was fought in the pacific ocean, across the international dateline, over an insignificant spec of dirt called Midway Island. Strategically , it had absolutely no value at the time. Except, Japan wanted to use it in their quest to force the elusive 'decisive victory' they had been obsessed with since Tsushima. It was Yamamoto's grandiose plan, to entice the remaining US Navy carriers into battle and destroy them, along with any remnants of the Pacific Fleet
Except it didn't work out that way.
Like most grandiose plans, it failed on the face of it, from poor strategic thinking, and not understanding the mindset of your opponent.
All the talk over the last 75 years, has been about how brilliant Yamamoto was, how he went to school in America, and understood everything, etc etc. Like Fuchida's Tissue Of Lies book, it's pretty much in the same vein. A lot of their senior officers went to school in America; Yamaguchi did, and classmates recalled him as being more involved in drinking and dancing than anything intelligent. Other Naval Officers remarked that he would be a fine choice for the diplomatic corps, but no great shakes as an officer. And he was supposed to be 2nd to Yamamoto. Clearly, your mileage may vary...
The roots of failure run deeper, culturally, since by this point the Japanese had convinced themselves that they were superior to all us dumb smelly gaiijin. Which is why they expected the US Navy to just blunder about and do what they planned at any wargaming scenario. That, is a poor way to plan, and train. And , if Coral Sea hadn't convinced them of THAT , nothing would. Shokaku was in the body and fender shop for months afterward, and Zuikaku was missing it's entire air group. US Naval Aviators were not clay pigeons, shockingly.
It needs to be remembered, that THE PLAN, called for these ships to be at Midway. That their absence was simply brushed aside, was not only arrogant, but flat-out stupid. They did no alterations in the planning, which most normal navies would have done as a matter of course. Nagumo, also was going to leave a full day late, based on operational circumstances in provisioning. Other units chimed in, that an extra day would be helpful. Both were ignored by Yamamoto. They MUST leave on time, to catch the favourable tides at Midway for the landings. Now, I get that the tide is pretty much beyond control; but the inability to even alter the schedule slightly, speaks of a rigidity in command that in combat, could prove a deadly weakness. And remember , this is all smoke-bullshit, with the "plan" assuming that they had 3 days to invade, AND make Midway operational again for their own use before the Americans showed up. If that's not divine faith, I can't think of much else.
So when they arrived on scene, struck Midway, and soon after discovered that SHOCKINGLY ... the US had not only ships in proximity, but a carrier. Now, all the movie-stuff bullshit portrays Nagumo as trying to get a strike off, changing ordinance loads, etc etc. This , simply didn't happen. When they learned this, at 0745 local, they were waiting on their own strike to return, and recover. They had ZERO planes spotted for anything, other than CAP fighters. Preparing and spotting the remaining strike birds, would take 45-60 minutes , MINIMUM from the moment they started. And, this would sacrifice all of the returning strike aircraft. Plus, it wouldn't save them. Enterprise, and Hornet had been launching since 0700, and Yorktown would be in about 45 minutes. There was literally nothing they could have done to alter the coming course of events. More in a bit

[PM2K]

Fascinating stuff. I have to read up more on this and the modern rethinking/re-analysis.

A question, then.... I have read elsewhere some historians thought Coral Sea could be considered part of the same battle... or the opening rounds of it. Does this idea (pardon the pun) hold water? Or are they two separate battles, with some overlap?

[Duncan Edwards]

Fascinating stuff. I have to read up more on this and the modern rethinking/re-analysis.

A question, then.... I have read elsewhere some historians thought Coral Sea could be considered part of the same battle... or the opening rounds of it. Does this idea (pardon the pun) hold water? Or are they two separate battles, with some overlap?

It was two battles each with it's own reason for being, intelligence, and opportunity for different outcomes. They were the same only in that some of the forces involved at Coral Sea recontacted each other at Midway. What I always liked about this point in the war, on all fronts, was summarized perfectly by Winston Churchill -

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

[kham]

Coral Sea took place a full month earlier. May 4-8. It was important for several reasons; It was the first time that 2 opposing task forces fought without never seeing the other. The Japanese lost Shoho, obliterated by far too much airpower than was needed; The US lost Lexington , from poorly understood principles of damage control. Shokaku was brutalized, and nearly lost due to Japanese incompetence running from the battle area. Zuikaku had her air group immolated , reducing her to a cool fast ship with a flat deck.
However, it ALSO was the first time in the war, that the Japanese failed to achieve their objective, and were turned back. It was notable for monumentally bad scouting, and intelligence on both sides. But it proved that the United States Navy had aviators just as deadly as anything the enemy could field. The irony is, that this made no impression on the Japanese; in their monumental arrogance, they considered it was because CarDiv 5 (Sho and Zui) being considered 'rookies' still had managed to pull off a 'victory' , then the vaunted CarDiv 1 and 2 of Kido Butai would have no problems at all, even minus these two carriers. Genda, when asked what would happen if the americans showed up ahead of schedule; his reply was basically, it made no difference. "One brush of the armoured sleeve"
The Gods of War listen. And they are NOT Kind

[kham]

Also, the objective was to capture Port Moresby. It was in no way connected to Operation MI, beyond the detachment of CarDiv 5 to the operation. This in of itself , was a flaw, since MI was supposed to be the most important battle of the war. This violates one of the most basic principles of war, reducing the amount of power available to the commander at the point of attack. And it got worse. Nearly the entire combatants of the IJN were involved, HOWEVER, they were spread all across the Pacific Ocean. Operation AL, in the Aleutians, was tacked on as an afterthought, allowed by Yamamoto for him getting his way blackmailing Combined Fleet into the whole thing. You might note, that THIS is one fucking bad way to run a Navy. And remember , THIS is when they were WINNING

[PM2K]

Thanks for the history lesson.

[kham]

Siddown, class aint over


Discovering that the americans had the temerity to show up days ahead of "THE PLAN" was a shock - a delicious one from my POV, but I want them to suffer... and it was here that the entire thing started to unravel. Nagumo already knew, that a 2nd strike was going to be required (at least) on Midway, and he still was under orders (verbal, but that's irrelevant except for Yamamoto apologists) to keep half his air group for antiship duties. Examining THAT, in the harsh light of combat shows just how retarded that is. Based on that, what was supposed to happen? Continue to use the Tomonaga-led part of the group to keep beating themselves bloody on Midway's defences, while the rest of Kido Butai's pilots sat on their asses sunning themselves on the flight decks? To call it asinine is being generous. And now, here he had an actual target for them. Unfortunately, circumstances worked against things. Everyone for decades had this misguided notion of he just had to fling his planes aloft and things would be fixed. Which represents a complete lack of understanding of the tactical situation, AND carrier operations. Lying books and BAD movies are no substitute for reality. I mentioned in the ship thread how small japanese carrier bridges were; Nagumo was on Akagi's bridge, an oblong steel box about 4 metres on a side. In it, was the ship's captain, navigator, helmsman, a couple lookouts, and telegraph operators. Plus himself, his chief of staff, Genda, Fuchida, his staff intelligence officer, and a couple runners for messages. The ship's air operations officer was also coming and going , reporting to his captain on the state of flight deck operations, since there was CAP to spot, and cycle. It was not a space for quiet contemplation. Add to this, Nagumo was not well versed in aviation, despite commanding the most powerful carrier force in the world for 14 months. He relied on Genda. But, since japanese were obsessed with 'loss of face' , admitting this in public would simply not be possible. To his credit, he at least managed to act swiftly , ordering the arming of the other aircraft for a Midway strike to stop, and rearm with antiship ordinance. He also ordered Scout #4 to retain contact and determine ship types. Sound decisions. But, Events were largely out of his hands now; a series of near-continuous air attacks were beginning from Midway, and would prevent any attempts at spotting. His returning strike showed up, and managed to start recovery around 0840, through about 0915. They had barely been struck below, when around 0925-0930 Torpedo 8 showed up. This , is one of the more tragic elements of the Battle. They came on alone, having broken off from the rest of Hornet's group who proceeded on a course west for reasons god only knows why; Stanhope Ring, the CAG, NEVER offered a proper explanation. They flew to the point of fuel exhaustion, and beyond, a large number of them ditching unable to find their carrier. Thus Hornet lost most of her group to no purpose.
So Torpedo 8 was going in alone, unescorted in lumbering obsolete Devastators. Stay tuned

[kham]

For over 5 decades, closer to 6, everyone thought that Torpedo 8, heroically were shot down in their attack on the japanese carriers; little to no mention was made of Torpedo 3 or 6. It was them, that dragged the japanese CAP down to sea level and allowed the SBD's to have their runs free and unopposed.
Except that didn't happen

The Japanese had just finished recovering the morning strike around 0920, and were still proceeding ENE roughly into the wind. When at 0930 Torpedo 8 was spotted making their run-in from the NE. They were alone, having broken off and led solo by their squadron commander, John Waldron on his hunch of where the japanese fleet was. Immediately, Kido Butai wheeled about and sped west at full speed. This might seem silly against airplanes, but you must remember that loaded with a one-ton torpedo , a Devastator could make about 100 knots. Maybe. So by cutting your enemy's approach speed by 25% or more, you give your CAP more time to do it's job.
In 1942, It would be harder to think of a more one-sided matchup than a TBD and an A6M. One by one, all 15 of them went flaming into the drink, shot to pieces or simply crashed. Only one pilot survived, managing to escape his sinking plane and hiding under his seat cushion. They didn't realize it at the time, but VF-6 from Enterprise was orbiting above at 20,000 feet; they had tied on with what they thought was VT-6 but with the scattered clouds, they lost contact en route. Despite Torpedo 8's calls for support, they were unheard. Running low on fuel, they had spotted the japanese, but only parts of it and never more than 2 carriers. They finally broke off for home, sending a contact report as they did. It was only then that they were spotted by the japanese. Who attempted to intercept, but by that time VF-6 had departed the area. Almost immediately with the last of VT-8 disappearing , VT-6 began their approach from the South. Again, Kido Butai was forced to run, this time NW. Their attack was better positioned, for conducting an anvil attack on Kaga. Also, the CAP was out of position, putting her in an awkward spot at best. Splitting into 2 divisions, they tried to bracket her but again , some of the CAP managed to intervene, and while twisting about , Kaga managed to fling several Zeros at her attackers. The outcome was slightly better, with one division managing to drop, but their angles and distances were wrong, and she easily dodged the torpedos. 5 aircraft out of the 15 attacking managed to break out, but one ditched on the way home, and another was shot up so badly it was pushed over the side on landing. Kido Butai changed course again, to the NE now, trying to close the range, and still more or less into the wind which was backing more all the time as the front passed. No one wants to think, or be told, that their fathers and brothers, friends died for no purpose. Which is what on the face of it , what happened. What VT-8 and VT-6 DID do, was in football terms, was to take time off the clock. Roughly 45 minutes, which is of course, the amount of time minimum, to spot ANY strike aircraft for launching. That act, is no less heroic than any in the battle. The 'dragged CAP down' is pure fiction, because of the A6M. VT-6 was chased off about 1000 roughly. The A6M, can climb from the deck, to about 15,000 feet in about 5 minutes flat. Without trying hard. So that narrative falls apart. Plus, they were still cycling the CAP, the carriers recovering, and launching at 1005, 1010, and 1020 even.
But at 1005, unknown to them, they had already been sighted by 2 separate attack groups, who were unaware of the other's presence. The Iron Fist was about to fall on them with utter, brutal, violence

[kham]

As the remnants of VT-6 vanished over the horizon, another attack was already developing. Coming in from the East, was the only co-ordinated strike of the entire battle for the Americans; Yorktown's strike, of VT-3, VB-3 , and a detachment of 6 F4Fs from VF-3 were inbound. The terribly slow speed of the TBDs , again compelled them to attack the closest carrier, Hiryu. This also changes the narrative as to how she was ahead of Soryu. Also, they were not coming in on the deck , at least at first. They were around 6-8000 feet, with VF-3 riding herd on them. The Det was led by Jimmy Thatch himself, about to enter the history books for an untried tactic that was about to be debuted in combat, without any practice. The strike split up, with the TBDs heading in from the ESE, and Max Leslie's VB-3 looping around to the NW to go after Soryu. Meanwhile, completely unknown to them, VB-6 and VS-6 were approaching from the SW, led by Wade McCluskey, Enterprise's CAG. One of the few things movies get correct, is that he had been coming up on fuel exhaustion, when he sighted a japanese DD below. Making knots NE and leaving a huge wake. DD's generally don't operate alone, so he had to be going somewhere. Following it, it was not long before wakes appeared on the horizon, resolving into the japanese task force. 2 Carriers were in sight, so McCluskey picked them out as the targets. Kaga was closest, with Akagi more to the NE. The only problem, was McCluskey was new in the CAG job , and was a fighter guy, not an attack pilot. As such, he wasn't as versed in dive bomber doctrine as he should have been. Closing in, (according to several witnesses) he basically told Earl Gallaher " Earl, follow me down!" and peeled off on Kaga. Worse, this transmission stepped on Dick Best leading VS-6 , who was in the process of saying he was attacking according to doctrine; which was, when 2 squadrons have 2 targets, the lead squadron goes after the further target; this way, both targets will be struck at nearly the same time. As he was setting up for his dive, he was cut off as most of his squadron cut in front of him, following the CAG... Yanking out of his dive, he noted that Akagi would be unmolested. He managed to snag his 2 wingmen, and took off to the NE to attack Akagi on their own.
VT-3 began their run-in, with Hiryu again reversing course and speeding west. Gradually losing height, they were soon under attack from the CAP, but initially suffered no losses, because for the first time, american fighters were with them. The Zeros quickly were drawn into a maneuvering fight , with them quickly shooting one of Thatch's fighters down from below. Seeing more and more A6Ms mobbing him he decided to bet his, and his men's lives, on the first-ever employment of what would be known from now on , as The Thatch Weave. Crossing back and forth across each other's paths, they kept this up as more and more fighters entered the fight. To say this was an unpleasant surprise would be an understatement. Up until now, the japanese showed up, and shot down the enemy. Now, the were faced by a constantly maneuvering opponent, who fought back. And killed them. Thatch alone personally claimed 3 kills in the furball. But time and numbers were against them, slowly prying them away from Torpedo 3. And they were gradually subjected to the same rough handling, 11 of 13 being shot down including their squadron leader, L.E Massey.
But Kido Butai's time had run out
The SBDs coming down on Kaga , were spotted from Hiryu, and signals were exchanged, but really, at the point where the Dauntlesses were coming down in their attack runs, it was a waste of time. Kaga, officially took 5 hits; 3 spaced along the flight deck , one just in front of the bridge, and a fifth on the bridge, slaughtering her captain and most of her senior officers. I will leave the effects of a 500 pound bomb detonating in your living room surrounded by guests , on the coffee table to your imaginations. But really, 5 is only official, since no one was really counting. With 2 squadrons attacking, Kaga was pulverized under an avalanche of explosives. Akagi, was in a turn to port after launching a CAP fighter, and continued her hard turn to evade. Best and his wingmen came down, dropping on target, with one bomb exploding alongside just forward of the bridge, one aft nearly hitting the corner of the flight deck but exploding right alongside aft, and the third bomb - Bests - scoring a direct hit on the centre elevator. It took longer , with only one hit, but Akagi blazed up eventually like the other struck carriers. Soryu, took 3 direct hits - all 1000 pounders - 2 in the upper hangar, and the third, deep in the lower hanger, which also ruptured her boiler uptakes and steam lines, killing her entire boiler-room crew and stopping her turbines dead in one blow. Of all the carriers, she was the most catastrophically hit, to the extent she was ordered abandoned at 1040.
The CAP chased off the surviving TBDs and the SBDs while Hiryu and the rest of the force beheld the sight of 3 blazing carriers. To say they were stunned , would be somewhat of an understatement

[nachtjaeger]

So much destruction, so many lives lost on both sides.