One man came back. Naval Aviation's finest hour, with help from our IW Brethren . . .LCDR John Waldron said:
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
69 years ago this weekend . . .
- Thread starter nittany03
- Start date
MasterBates
Well-Known Member
And to think they did it without ORM, Positive Intrusive Leadership, or Political Correct Diversity Seminars.
The horror.
(I really need to work on that time machine)
The horror.
(I really need to work on that time machine)
You do realize only one guy in the squadron survived that attack, right?
MasterBates
Well-Known Member
I'm talking about Naval Aviation as a whole.
They did what needed to be done. And they did not deal with needless bullshit.
I'd deal with those odds to fly with such men.
They did what needed to be done. And they did not deal with needless bullshit.
I'd deal with those odds to fly with such men.
Not so tongue in check, we had a lot to do with it. We (On-the-Roof-Gang)were "plugged" into Japanese communications we had all the IJN battle plans, their logistics, and the battle readiness of the ships/squadrons in the armada. Down to name, rank and serial numbers of the IJN Pilots/Air Crews. We also knew that the Japanese commanders would doggedly stick to their battle plan, regardless. Parts of the cryppie files still remain classified.
That said it took a very large set of brass ones to make the critical decisions regarding the battle, relying heavily on the IJN message traffic (e.g., the cryppies could be wrong or message traffic was meant to deceive), as it was almost too good to be true. Of course, the real heros, the folks that did win that battle were the men that few the airplanes and those that supported them.
Just my .02c worth.
The way I understand it, calling the Aleutian "diversion" a diversion would be something of a misnomer. I can't remember if the battle groups going to Midway got there a day late or if the Aleutian invasion force got there a day early, but they were supposed to happen simultaneously. It obviously didn't make a difference either way. It wouldn't have made any sense to send anything north toward Alaska when we knew the Japanese were coming for Midway. Midway threatened Hawaii. The Aleutians threatened nothing of any strategic importance. Nimitz did the logical thing and put his cards where he did and got wildly lucky.
Re: Torpedo Eight
If you react with bravery in a split second, that's the result of good training.
If you act with bravery while flying in to the target, watching your friends being shot down, one after another, and you have time to think about all of it yet you press on in spite of it all, well, that's courage.
Training doesn't give you courage. Character gives you courage.
If you react with bravery in a split second, that's the result of good training.
If you act with bravery while flying in to the target, watching your friends being shot down, one after another, and you have time to think about all of it yet you press on in spite of it all, well, that's courage.
Training doesn't give you courage. Character gives you courage.
Bill Esders, VT-3............
http://www.pnj.com/article/20110603/NEWS01/106030322/Hill-Goodspeed-Devotion-last-Battle-Midway
http://www.pnj.com/article/20110603/NEWS01/106030322/Hill-Goodspeed-Devotion-last-Battle-Midway
The book Shattered Sword is a great book from the Japanese perspective.
http://www.shatteredswordbook.com/