Posted on 05/31/2015 11:19:33 AM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
U.S. Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers from the USS Hornet about to attack the burning Japanese cruiser Mikuma for the third time on 6 June 1942
REMEMBER: June 4–7, 1942: the Battle of Midway, a turning point in World War II in the Pacific. The Imperial Japanese Navy had been undefeated until that time and out-numbered the American naval forces by four to one.
Timeline of the Battle of Midway (acc. to William Koenig) 4 June
04:30 First Japanese takeoff against Midway Islands 04:30 10 planes (Yorktown) begin to search for the Japanese ships 05:34 Japanese ships detected by Yorktown airplanes 07:10 1 Avenger and 4 B26 of US-Army (from Midway I.) attack 07:50 67 Dive-, 29 Torpedo-bombers, 20 Wildcats takeoff (Spruance) 07:55 16 Dive bombers of the US-Navy (from Midway I.) attack 08:10 17 B17 (from Midway Islands) attack 08:20 11 Bombers of the US-Navy (from Midway I.) attack 09:06 12 Torpedo-, 17 dive-bombers, 6 Wildcats takeoff (Yorktown) 09:18 Nagumo to Northeast 09:25 15 airplanes (Hornet) attack 09:30 14 airplanes (Enterprise) attack 10:00 12 T-Bombers (Yorktown) attack 10:25 37 Dive bombers (Enterprise) attack on Akagi and Kaga 10:25 17 Dive bombers (Yorktown) attack on Soryu 11:00 18 Vals and 6 Zekes takeoff from Hiryu 12:05 First attack on Yorktown 13:30 24 Dive bombers takeoff against Hiryu (Spruance) 13:31 10 Kates and 6 Zekes take off from Hiryu 13:40 Yorktown again in service with 18 kn 14:30 Second attack on Yorktown 15:00 Yorktown abandoned 16:10 Soryu sunk 17:00 Dive bombers attack on Hiryu 19:25 Kaga sunk
5 June
05:00 Akagi sunk 09:00 Hiryu sunk
Data from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwari1/p/Midway.htm
Captain Garth (Henry Fonda): How much can you decipher?
Commander Rochefort (Hal Holbrook): Fifteen percent.
Captain Garth: Really decipher?
Commander Rochefort: Ten percent.
Captain Garth: That's one word in ten, Joe! You're guessing!
Commander Rochefort: We like to call it "analysis."
Best damn line of the movie.
"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Didn’t know they tried out remote belly turrets on B17s. I know that the earliest Forts were nearly unarmed.
A tail gun position was first installed in the E model for the first time.
http://www.markstyling.com/pto_b17s1.htm
The Japanese were fighting a naval war over an ocean that covers half the world's surface, and despite living on islands, fought it like a land war. Adding those two carrier groups they'd sent to the Aleutians as a diversionary attack would have (not could have, would have) tipped the balance at Midway. The end of the war would have been delayed, because delivering the nukes to their targets would not have been possible from greater distances. Thanks UMCRevMom@aol.com.
The defeat at Midway was so complete and so humiliating that the Japanese public wasn’t told of its extent until 1955!
4 June
04:30 First Japanese takeoff against Midway Islands
04:30 10 planes (Yorktown) begin to search for the Japanese ships
05:34 Japanese ships detected by Yorktown airplanes
07:10 1 Avenger and 4 B26 of US-Army (from Midway I.) attack
07:50 67 Dive-, 29 Torpedo-bombers, 20 Wildcats takeoff (Spruance)
07:55 16 Dive bombers of the US-Navy (from Midway I.) attack
08:10 17 B17 (from Midway Islands) attack
08:20 11 Bombers of the US-Navy (from Midway I.) attack
09:06 12 Torpedo-, 17 dive-bombers, 6 Wildcats takeoff (Yorktown)
09:18 Nagumo to Northeast
09:25 15 airplanes (Hornet) attack
09:30 14 airplanes (Enterprise) attack
10:00 12 T-Bombers (Yorktown) attack
10:25 37 Dive bombers (Enterprise) attack on Akagi and Kaga
10:25 17 Dive bombers (Yorktown) attack on Soryu
11:00 18 Vals and 6 Zekes takeoff from Hiryu
12:05 First attack on Yorktown
13:30 24 Dive bombers takeoff against Hiryu (Spruance)
13:31 10 Kates and 6 Zekes take off from Hiryu
13:40 Yorktown again in service with 18 kn
14:30 Second attack on Yorktown
15:00 Yorktown abandoned
16:10 Soryu sunk [1 down]
17:00 Dive bombers attack on Hiryu
19:25 Kaga sunk [2 down]
5 June
05:00 Akagi sunk [3 down]
09:00 Hiryu sunk [4 down]
Unless they had Balkan crosses and inline engines, those Stukas could been Vals (Aichi D3A). They had fixed landing gear, too.
ROTFL I LOVE that! :D
Remember this was made in 1942
Just a guess here, but an explanation for changes in topography may be: “Though subject to wartime censorship and somewhat misleading in its focus... there is dramatic combat footage shot by Ford himself during the Japanese preliminary bombing raid on Midway Island.”
https://books.google.com/books?id=Oe4AOVHkJ9oC&pg=PA236&lpg=PA236&dq=is+it+true+Filming+of+Midway+with+heston+was+being+done+when+Japan+bombers+came&source=bl&ots=XdnvXJzuAk&sig=9tvQMvitrWT9KXjnlESZqLYblWo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=S1prVaYRi6iDBO32g9gJ&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=is%20it%20true%20Filming%20of%20Midway%20with%20heston%20was%20being%20done%20when%20Japan%20bombers%20came&f=false
Just watched it. Interesting to see them introduce John “Jimmy” Thatch, inventor of the “Thatch Weave” that got it’s first combat test at Midway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thach_Weave
bttt
Something forgotten in all this was that part of the battle of Midway was a Japanese diversionary attack on the Aleutians. The footage showing an island of more substantial height than Midway could have been Attu or Kiska
ping
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