Posted on 06/04/2019 1:00:08 PM PDT by JWashington69
Nice video of Japanese perspective on how 15 minutes changed the world.
Link to Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd8_vO5zrjo
Bombs or Torpedoes? In the end it didn’t matter.
If our Torpedoes worked, the war would have ended much earlier.
Only the dive bombers did any damage.
A broken code and poor reconnaissance on their part. Nice payback for Pearl Harbor.
I watched a shorter, around 15 minute one a few weeks ago. I actually think the video was made by a German.
The final conclusion was that Midway was the decisive victory of the war. Not because as is widely stated, that it broke the back of Japan’s naval forces.
Although they lost a lot of pilots, aircrew, and carriers, they still had adequate forces to defeat us. The real effect was psychological.
One of Hollywood’s best movies (Midway). Saw it in the theaters in SENSURROUND! “We’re we just better than the Japanese or just luckier?”
All Star cast; Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Hal Holbrook, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum and of course Pat Morita (aka Mr Miagi and Arnold from Happy Days)
I was stationed on Midway in 75-76. Dove on several of the remains of the battle. It was eerie.
Actually the IJN’s search and rescue effort after the battle was very effective. Most of the pilot that were forced to ditch were recovered. They still had losses. Damage control wins naval battles.
2 Cool!
Lots of reference for your post:
https://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2017/05/25/ensign-george-h-gays-fateful-day-june-4-1942/
Here’s the Mark 14 torpedo story...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_14_torpedo
We’ve to Naval Museum in Pennsacola. They have all of Ens Gay’s personal effects from that day including life vest with mirror on it. Also saw “Strawberry 5” is in the hangar.
I don’t want to hear that awful story again.
This is the ‘Victory At Sea’ segment, ‘Midway is East’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrJQTgx_XI4&t=772s
That is a really good museum. I haven’t been there in 30 years but the one thing which fascinated me was the cut away engines.
The old piston ones were actually far more complex than the jets.
I saw that several months ago and I’m still waiting for Part 2 to show up.
Your post made me want to look up some of the details, thought I’d make that easier for others who had the same thought.
Good idea, it’s quite a story and can turn anyone cynical. A malignant case of stupid.
Wading my way slowly through "Shattered Sword" right now. Kindle version shrinks maps and phots to unreadable size unfortunately.
I’ve stopped watching the VAS series. Saw it as a kid, but we know so much more about how things went down today, VAS is of marginal use.
The final conclusion was that Midway was the decisive victory of the war. Not because as is widely stated, that it broke the back of Japan’s naval forces.
Midway was pivotal, but the Meat Grinder, ie, the Guadalcanal and associated actions, allowed the US to fight at what we do best, attriting the enemy. Which we did. He said that was the decisive victory because we chewed ‘em up.
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