Battle of Midway, 1942 (video in color) - Fantastic

notoriouslyconservative.com ^ | 05 18 09 | Notoriously Conservative

[Notoriously Conservative]

A color documentary short that portrays the decisive battle of Midway. The naval/air confrontation between the carrier forces of Japan and the U.S. is considered to be the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. Directed by John Ford

Video on site

The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle, widely regarded as the most important of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. It took place between 4-7 June, 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States Navy decisively defeated an Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) attack against Midway Atoll, inflicting irreparable damage on the Japanese navy and seizing the strategic initiative.

The Japanese operation, like the earlier attack on Pearl Harbor, aimed to eliminate the United States as a strategic Pacific power, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It was hoped another demoralizing defeat would force the U.S. to negotiate an end to the Pacific War on conditions favorable to Japan.

The Japanese plan was designed to lure the United States' few remaining carriers into a trap. The Japanese also intended to occupy Midway Atoll as part of an overall plan to extend their defensive perimeter in response to the Doolittle Raid. This operation was considered preparatory for further attacks against Fiji and Samoa. The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of American reaction and poor initial dispositions.

American codebreakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack, enabling the forewarned U.S. Navy to set up an ambush of its own. Four Japanese aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser were sunk in exchange for one American aircraft carrier and a destroyer. The heavy losses, particularly the four fleet carriers and their aircrews, permanently weakened the Imperial Japanese Navy.Japan was unable to keep pace with American shipbuilding and pilot training programs in providing replacements.

[wbill]

Bump for later. Can’t see the video.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Midway is an incredible story by any measure. The war in the Pacific flipped around in literally 15 minutes, and IIRC, before that moment, not a single hit was scored on any Japanese ship and each and every (and there were a fair number of them) attacking US airplane was shot down.

[ArrogantBustard]

Every aircraft in Torpedo Squadron 8 was shot down, without getting any hits. However, they pulled the Japanese air cover down to the deck, unable to respond to the following wave of medium altitude dive bombers. The sole survivor of VT-8 (Ens. George Gay) got a front-row “seat” as the dive bombers set the Japanese carriers on fire.

[Pistolshot]

Intelligence on Operations AF and AO gave the U.S. 2 distinct results.

1) The destruction of Japanese naval projection by sinking of 4 carriers.

2) The crash landing on one of the Aleutian islands of a Mitsubishi A6M Zero in repairable and flyable condition.

The first is well known, but the second enabled aircraft designers to create the aircraft to specifically kill the Zero. The F6F Hellcat.

[savedbygrace]

Video doesn’t play.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Who could forget “Hellcats of the Navy” ?

[dfwgator]

So when will Obama apologize to the Japanese?

[ClearCase_guy]

It's interesting to think how different times are now. I can't imagine an enemy plane being recovered now, reverse-engineered, a new American design being created in response, and then manufacturing facilities being set up to put that design out into the field in substantial numbers.

It could take decades to do that now.

[Pistolshot]

One other thing. John Ford damn near got himself killed filming at Midway.

He had located a camera on top of a building where the tower was in view. The bomb that destroyed it sent a piece of shrapnel right at Ford who was doing the filming. This can be seen racing past the camera and missing Ford by inches.

[Vinnie]

ping

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Who could forget “Hellcats of the Navy” ?

Great movie!

One of the best literary descriptions of Midway was by Herman Wouk, in “War and Remembrance”. Fantastic sequel to “The Winds of War”.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I have the Wouk books. Most recently, I read “Retribution” by Max Hastings. Hastings is a Brit who does an even handed job or covering the last year of the war in Asia. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Asian history of the era.

[DieHard the Hunter]

Does Hastings cover much of Gen Slim’s activities?

[Brilliant]

bttt

[Notoriously Conservative]

If it wasn’t working, it should be working now. http://www.notoriouslyconservative.com/2009/05/battle-of-midway-1942-video-in-color.html

[Gaffer]

Betcha didn’t know the flyer downed in the water who got to witness a couple of the best American strikes against the Japs was named “Gay”.....

[PA Engineer]

Here are a couple youtube links to John Ford's Midway:

WW II : RARE COLOR FILM : MIDWAY : DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD

John Ford's: "The Battle of Midway"(ca.1942) 1/2

John Ford's: "The Battle of Midway"(ca.1942) 2/2

[Eric in the Ozarks]

There is a good bit about Slim and the CBI Campaign. The index gives more than a dozen references.
Hastings had some surprisingly strong criticism of Australian resistance to helping fight the war. And he illustrates the fundamental difference in war aims of the Americans and every other Allied country; The UK, Dutch, French, etc., expected to get their colonies back after the war. The US did not see this as a natural result.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I DIDN’T know that.... of course, the word didn’t have today’s “enlightened” meaning. But I DID know that one of the pilots who inflicted the most damage on the carriers was named Dick Best. So it’s got that going for it!