Lest we forget: June 4th 1942

[A4sForever]

Today, June 4th, is a great date that will live in USN history and tradition forever ... as it is the 68th anniversary of the opening day of the Battle of Midway ... June 4-6, 1942.

An artist's rendition of Scouting-6 SBD Dauntless dive-bombers off the USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) led by LCDR Wade McClusky, rollin' in on IJN KAGA and AKAGI, whose wakes can be seen below ...

In the words of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, McClusky's decision to continue the search for the enemy and his judgment as to where the enemy might be found, "decided the fate of our carrier task force and our forces at Midway...".

And the battle ultimately marked the 'end of the beginning' for the tides of fortune that Imperial Japan and the IJN had enjoyed during the previous 6 months that had passed since the Pearl Harbor attack ...

The attack, in LCDR McClusky's own words ... times are HNL time.

 

[UF_ME]

Thank you for the post A4s. I am a little embarrassed of my generation because of their lack of knowledge regarding significant dates in our history that aren't printed on the calender dates like June 4th and 6th. The worst was when I over heard a girl on my bus making plans for Memorial Day say "I don't even know what Memorial Day is but I'm glad that I get a chance to work on my tan".

Thank you to all that have served and to the families of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

 

[Annalisa]

The worst was when I over heard a girl on my bus making plans for Memorial Day say "I don't even know what Memorial Day is but I'm glad that I get a chance to work on my tan".

That's an incredibly depressing thought with which to kick off my Friday. Sadly, she will still probably manage to produce offspring even if she looks forty-five by the time she's twenty-one from all the tanning. (True story: we ran into someone -- younger than us, mind -- my husband had last seen when she was a sun-worshiping teenager. At first glance he mistook her for her mother.)

I noticed that the movie "Midway" is available on instant play for any Netflix users out there. I've never seen it; today might be a good day to rectify that oversight in my cinematic education.

 

[SteveG75]

On 4 June 1942, 51 torpedo planes attacked the Japanese fleet. They consisted of 41 TBD Devastator's from the carriers, 6 TBF Avengers and 4 B-26 Maruaders from Miday. Four TBD's made it back to USS Enterprise, two B-26's and one TBF made it back to Miday. OF the 120 men who flew in those airplanes, only 26 survived.

Here is the story of the VT-8 Midway Det flying Avengers. http://www.midway42.org/aa-reports/tbf-detach.pdf

About ten years ago, I was privileged to meet Harry Ferrier, the radioman/tunnel gunner of the Avenger that made it back. The pilot, Albert Earnest, passed away last October. He earned TWO Navy Crosses that day.

 

[A4sForever]

DIVE BOMBING 101, Midway-style:

Please click the following link for an EXCELLENT short essay on WW2 dive-bombing by CDR George J. Walsh, USN-Ret. CDR Walsh was an SB2C Helldiver pilot with significant time and experience in the Pacific Naval Air campaign, post-Midway.

From the September, 2009 USNI Blog: SMOKE AND THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY

 

[OnTopTime]

While we're on the subject:

http://www.timesrecord.com/articles/2010/06/04/news/doc4c094644bdbbc832905963.txt

 

[NavAir42]

Patrol aviation's finest hour...

 

[OUSOONER]

I guess it's fitting that I am at NOLF Waldron.

 

[jmcquate]

Then after putting two carriers on the bottom, finding Mother with a map and a compass on fumes and trapping with no bolters. Big Brass Ones.

 

[SteveG75]

Just scored a copy of John Ford's "Battle of Midway" documentary for $5 on Amazon. It is only 18 minutes long but the legendary director filmed it from atop the power plant on Midway island during the Japanese attack. It was awarded the Best Documentary Oscar for 1942.

You can watch the video here: http://www.archive.org/details/BattleOfMidway

Check out the VMSB-241 Vindicators taking off at about the 6:00 min mark.

 

[FastMover]

Course to Midway is a great website that has background leading up to the battle, interviews with surviving veterans (including Harry Ferrier and Bert Earnest), maps, and so on. Definitely worth perusing for a while.

I finished reading A Dawn Like Thunder a few weeks ago and highly recommend it to anyone interested in WWII Naval Aviation. It was difficult to put it down and reads pretty fast. The story behind Bert Earnest's Avenger pictured above is amazing as told in the book.

 

[bunk22]

On 4 June 1942, 51 torpedo planes attacked the Japanese fleet. They consisted of 41 TBD Devastator's from the carriers, 6 TBF Avengers and 4 B-26 Maruaders from Miday. Four TBD's made it back to USS Enterprise, two B-26's and one TBF made it back to Miday. OF the 120 men who flew in those airplanes, only 26 survived.

Here is the story of the VT-8 Midway Det flying Avengers. http://www.midway42.org/aa-reports/tbf-detach.pdf

About ten years ago, I was privileged to meet Harry Ferrier, the radioman/tunnel gunner of the Avenger that made it back. The pilot, Albert Earnest, passed away last October. He earned TWO Navy Crosses that day.

That's the only surviving aricraft of VT-8 at Midway. All 15 Devastator's and 5 of 6 Avengers were shot out of the sky.

 

[A4sForever]

This year for historical interest, I'm kinda' focused on the VB's and VS's ... the SDB's ... the Dauntless 'Rons.

Last year I was kinda' focused on the Torpedo 'Rons ... actually, I always have been as I lost an Uncle @ Midway in VT-3 (of course, I never knew him) ... the below picture is supposedly him taken several months prior to the battle -- I obviously can't say for certain, but I tracked it down years ago and the answer at that time was -- yes ...

 

[A4sForever]

That's the only surviving aricraft of VT-8 at Midway. All 15 Devastator's and 5 of 6 Avengers were shot out of the sky.

Along w/ that post ... the below pix is a quite 'rare' picture of VT-8 forming up in their RDVS over the HORNET -- just prior to shoving off to the west ... incredibly, it show ALL 15 VT-8 TBD Devastators of the squadron ... none of which would return ...

These guys knew the score, they knew the odds, they knew what they were going up against. Kido Butai was the proverbial 900-lb naval gorilla in the Pacific ever since Pearl Harbor ... but yet, these guys formed up & headed towards the enemy in their piece-of-shit, obsolete Devastator torpedo-bombers ... they knew what their chances of survival were ... they were as brave as anyone has ever been.

A haunting photo, at least for me.

 

[OUSOONER]

Along w/ that post ... the below pix is a quite 'rare' picture of VT-8 forming up in their RDVS over the HORNET -- just prior to shoving off to the west ... incredibly, it show ALL 15 VT-8 TBD Devastators of the squadron ... none of which would return ...

These guys knew the score, they knew the odds, they knew what they were going up against. Kido Butai was the proverbial 900-lb naval gorilla in the Pacific ever since Pearl Harbor ... but yet, these guys formed up & headed towards the enemy in their piece-of-shit, obsolete Devastator torpedo-bombers ... they knew what their chances of survival were ... they were as brave as anyone has ever been.

A haunting photo, at least for me.

If only Stanhope Ring had listened to Waldron just before take-off, perhaps a few lives would have been spared.