2/19/2023 0 Comments Battle group spruance![]() Fortuitously, the Japanese destroyer Arashi was sighted steaming at high speed, presumably to rejoin the fleet. Running low on fuel, McCluskey disregarded the standard expanding square search pattern and turned the other way. Wade McCluskey should never have found the Japanese fleet. The higher-flying American bombing squadrons would face no fighter opposition.Įnterprise’s Bombing 6 led by Lt. But Japanese fighters lost the advantage of altitude. John Waldron was the first to reach the Japanese fleet and was slaughtered by Japanese fighters. Hornet’s Torpedo Squadron 8, commanded by Lt. Then, torpedo planes flying at wave-top heights would apply the coup de’gras. Just the reverse happened. ![]() ![]() In theory, the first attack wave was horizontal bombers followed by dive bombers. Spruance launched at his aircraft’s maximum range without regard to fleet battle tactics requiring coordinated attacks. The decks of all four Japanese carriers were awash with bombs, torpedoes and aviation fuel as the aircraft were being rearmed for the new mission. The quandary: Continue striking Midway or rearm with torpedoes to attack the approaching enemy fleet. As bombs were being loaded on Japanese aircraft to press further attacks against Midway, Nagumo received a report sighting enemy aircraft carriers. During that 45 minutes, none of the Japanese aircraft could be rearmed and refueled as the carriers rapidly changed course. Nagumo’s carriers were forced to conduct high-speed evasive maneuvers to evade enemy bombs. However, in the fog, friction and chance of war, the effect of the attacks would make a decisive difference. That morning, further airstrikes from Midway conducted brave but futile attacks, all failing to hit any Japanese warship. Nagumo launched his strikes against Midway early on June 4. On June 3, Midway’s bombers, with staggering losses, failed to damage any of Nagumo’s fleet. Chuichi Nagumo, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor, centered on four aircraft carriers and an accompanying fleet superior in firepower to Spruance’s. The Japanese Strike Group under Vice Adm. But after Yorktown was disabled, Spruance assumed command. Frank Jack Fletcher would soon follow after a miraculous repair effort made her seaworthy again.įletcher was in tactical command. The USS Yorktown, badly damaged at the May Battle of the Coral Sea, and its task force commanded by Rear Adm. Raymond Spruance to intercept and “bushwack” the Japanese fleet. Chester Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, ordered the task force with aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and Hornet under the command of Rear Adm. So alerted, even with Washington dissenting on that evaluation, Adm. Isokuro Yamamoto was en route to seize the two tiny islands comprising Midway. What has been missing, however, is how seemingly minor, secondary or unexpected events became the hinges on which these battles turned, Midway more than Normandy.Īmerican code breakers concluded from radio intercepts that the combined Japanese fleet under Adm. Both battles have been analyzed and re-analyzed in millions of books, research papers and reports. Last week marked the anniversary of two of the most important battles in American history: Midway June 3-7, 1942 and the Normandy invasion June 6, 1944.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |