American Trafalgar: Midway 70th Anniversary

[Pags]

Today is the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, the turning point battle own the pacific where American carriers met and destroyed Japan's kido butai, sinking four fleet carriers and causing irreplaceable losses to the Japanese aviator corps.

Steeljaw scribe has a great post up at USNI's blog:
http://blog.usni.org/2012/06/04/midway-70-years-later-and-the-dauntless-on-my-desk/#more-14772

SJS also has an in depth history of the engagement and prelude to over at his homesite:
http://steeljawscribe.com/2012/05/31/midway-70-years-later-us-shore-based-air-order-of-battle

 

[Renegade One]

Always thought it was a pretty tough legacy for any of us to live up to. Best we can do it to try and be worthy of standing on the shoulders of the giants who went before us.

 

[jmcquate]

What amazes me is they had to find the Japanese fleet based on hours old intel, then find Mother using what I'm assuming was a rudimentary ADF that may have been turned off for OpSec.........in the middle of the Pacific.

 

[jmcquate]

Is that 2nd photo Ens. Gay?

 

[nittany03]

A little bit of luck didn't hurt. Some dorked away Japanese search patterns hid our carriers. A squadron CO willing to follow a hunch put bombs on target. Even a little help from our sub brethren on Nautilus who tied up one of their destroyers, made it fall out of formation, and caused it to point straight back to Kido Butai. For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.

 

[Pags]

Is that 2nd photo Ens. Gay?

Correct. Only survivor of VT-8.

The battle of midway never ceases to fascinate me. The over-confident Japanese split their fleet. The Americans turn around Yorktown from coral sea. The sigint effort that provided Nimitz with critical intel. The last minute change from Halsey to Spruance. Superb tactical indicative by the American aviators to find the fleet Japanese indecision as to what weapons to carry. The sacrifice of the TBDs. The glorious pushover of the SBDs on to the Japanese carriers to sink two thids of the pearl harbor strike force. Spruances fateful decision to not chase he Japanese fleet. Yorktown almost escaping.

And to think at 32, I would've been an old man in the fleet, maybe a squadron CO.

 

[Pugs]

Correct. Only survivor of VT-8. .

To be correct - the only survivor from VT-8 off Hornet. Remember that VT-8 also flew five Avengers from Midway too. They didn't fare well and only one of five returned to Midway. The gunner of the one that returned, Radioman 2c, Harry Ferrier (later CDR ret) was speaker at the NUW O'club back in the early nineties.

The NSA History Dept has a good summary of some of the Cryptologic work that went on too. http://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic_heritage/center_crypt_history/publications/battle_midway.shtml

 

[Rev]

Yorktown almost escaping.

My grandfather (pictured in my avatar and namesake) was onboard Yorktown at Midway. He survived and decided that OCS was a more attractive alternative than swimming in the Pacific.

 

[BusyBee604]

My grandfather (pictured in my avatar and namesake) was onboard Yorktown at Midway. He survived and decided that OCS was a more attractive alternative than swimming in the Pacific.

That's a "Gramps" that would be fascinating to sit on his knee and listen to REAL 'TINS' stories (surviving Coral Sea, limping back to Pearl, 48-hr. repair, Battle of Midway, sinking of YORKTOWN, rescue, etc.). Great stuff.
BzB

 

[SteveG75]

To be correct - the only survivor from VT-8 off Hornet. Remember that VT-8 also flew five Avengers from Midway too. They didn't fare well and only one of five returned to Midway. The gunner of the one that returned, Radioman 2c, Harry Ferrier (later CDR ret) was speaker at the NUW O'club back in the early nineties.

Actually, six TBF-1's launched from Midway. Harry Ferrier was the radioman of the one that returned. The gunner was Sea1/C Jay Manning who was killed in the attack. The pilot was ENS Albert Earnest was was awarded two (2) Navy Crosses for his actions that day (one for the attack, one for getting the airplane back to Midway).

Article written by Earnest and Ferrier: http://www.midway42.org/aa-reports/tbf-detach.pdf
Photo of 8-T-1 on Midway after the attack:

 

[koolaiddrinker]

As of three years ago, CDR Ferrier was living in Oak Harbor, WA. We had him as a speaker at a squadron dinner and he still tells the story of Midway incredibly well. He brought the cap he was wearing on that day, complete with Japanese bullet holes and told us how the worst part is that they were restricted on the number of beers they could drink on the island (some things never change). He is the real deal.

 

[Pags]

To be correct - the only survivor from VT-8 off Hornet. Remember that VT-8 also flew five Avengers from Midway too. They didn't fare well and only one of five returned to Midway. The gunner of the one that returned, Radioman 2c, Harry Ferrier (later CDR ret) was speaker at the NUW O'club back in the early nineties.

The NSA History Dept has a good summary of some of the Cryptologic work that went on too. http://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic_heritage/center_crypt_history/publications/battle_midway.shtml

Very true, I had forgotten that the TBFs from Midway were VT-8 birds as well. ENS Gay was the only survivor of VT-8 from USS Hornet.

Wikipedia has a decent section on VT-8, including a list of the squadron's losses that day:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VT-8

A list of the fallen:

• Lt. Commander John C. Waldron
• Lt. Raymond A. Moore
• Lt. James C. Owens, Jr.
• Lt.(jg) George M. Campbell
• Lt.(jg) John P. Gray
• Lt.(jg) Jeff D. Woodson
• Ens. William W. Abercrombie
• Ens. William W. Creamer
• Ens. Harold J. Ellison
• Ens. William R. Evans
• Ens. Henry R. Kenyon
• Ens. Ulvert M. Moore
• Ens. Grant W. Teats
• Robert B. Miles, Aviation Pilot 1c
• Horace F. Dobbs, Chief Radioman
• Amelio Maffei, Radioman 1
• Tom H. Pettry, Radioman 1
• Otway D. Creasy, Jr. Radioman 2
• Ross H. Bibb, Jr., Radioman 2
• Darwin L. Clark, Radioman 2
• Ronald J. Fisher, Radioman 2
• Hollis Martin, Radioman 2
• Bernerd P. Phelps Radioman 2
• Aswell L. Picou, Seaman 2
• Francis S. Polston, Seaman 2
• Max A. Calkins, Radioman 3
• George A. Field, Radioman 3
• Robert K. Huntington, Radioman 3
• William F. Sawhill, Radioman 3

Pilots of VT-8's Avenger detachment lost:

• Lt. Langdon K. Fieberling, Commanding
• Ensign O.J. Gaynier
• Ensign V.A. Lewis
• Ensign C. E. Brannon
• AMM1c D. D. Woodside

VT-8 was the only squadron from Hornet to make contact that day due to LCDR Waldron breaking VT-8 from the CAG's formation. Hornet's CAG had led his aircraft off on the incorrect heading, and Hornet's VF, VB, and VS squadrons missed the attack on the Japanese Fleet on 4JUN.

 

[Rev]

That's a "Gramps" that would be fascinating to sit on his knee and listen to REAL 'TINS' stories (surviving Coral Sea, limping back to Pearl, 48-hr. repair, Battle of Midway, sinking of YORKTOWN, rescue, etc.). Great stuff.
BzB

Yes sir, unfortunately he passed before I was able to get those stories out of him.

 

[VMO4]

My father was a Naval Aviator during WWII, although on a CVE in the Atlantic. One method he mentioned of finding mother was when you left the ready room, you wrote down letters of a circular chart. It was a system of assigning all headings on a compass a letter, example, the heading 90 -100 degree might have an R in it. When you were out flying , you tuned the ADF and listened. Maybe you heard the morse code for Z, you looked at your chart and saw that day Z was assigned the heading from 220-230. That meant you were in the cone from 220-230 from mother, so you headed the reciprocal. My father passed a year ago, and he could still name squadron mates who flew off in the morning never to be heard from again. After 65 years he said he could still see their faces.

 

[dilbert123]

These were serious men in serious times.

God bless them. I stand in awe of their fortitude and courage.