Yep no GPS. And the carriers couldn’t broadcast a homing signal. All they got is compasses and dead reckoning. And balls of steel.
Balls of Steel indeed. Those were men.
Funny, I very much enjoyed the recent movie iteration of “Midway” (though I likely would have liked it even more if they had exhumed James Cagney and brought him back!)
I had read enough and knew all about Aviation Machinist Mate Bruno Peter Gaido who jumped into a parked SBD on the flight deck to fire at a plunging Japanese aircraft, which sliced his aircraft in half! When I saw the movie, walking out I heard someone say (a younger person) “That can’t be for real...”
I had to laugh at that. It was like the time I walked out of seeing Apollo 13 in the movies, and a young teenage couple were in front of us and the girl said “I’m glad the movie ended that way!” as if it didn’t actually happen in real life...:)