SBD-3 DAUNTLESS DIVE-BOMBER

Carrier-based naval dive-bomber pilots flew the Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive-bomber at Coral Sea and Midway. The Dauntless entered service with the Navy in 1941. Structurally sound enough for pilots to put her into a near vertical 80 degree dive, the Dauntless ensured greater accuracy on the bomb run. Diving from 22,000 feet, the Dauntless covered the distance to her 1,500 to 1,200-foot bomb release point in about 15 seconds. Lt. Commander Wade McClusky led Enterprise's dive-bombers on the morning of 4 June. When McClusky arrived at the coordinates where the Japanese carriers were believed to be, the Japanese were nowhere to be found. Acting on his own initiative, McClusky made the decision to keep searching, even though his aircraft were running dangerously low on fuel. When a solitary Japanese destroyer was spotted, McClusky set his course based on the destroyer's heading. The gamble paid off, and led the dive-bombers directly to the Japanese carriers at the precise moment when fighter cover had been pulled down to sea level to repel attacks by the torpedo squadrons. At 1022 hours, Enterprise's dive-bombers attacked the Japanese carriers Akagi and Kaga, both carriers' decks were strewn with ordnance and fuel as crewman were rearming and fueling aircraft. In moments Akagi and Kaga were burning infernos. Nearly simultaneously, Yorktown's dive-bombers arrived on the scene, led by Lt. Commander Max Leslie, Yorktown's aircrews smashed a third Japanese carrier, the Soryu. Within minutes, three of the six Japanese carriers that launched the aircraft that attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier were on their way to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

F4F WILDCAT FIGHTER

Naval and Marine fighter pilots were equipped with the Grumman F4F Wildcat. Although the Wildcat was a sturdy, well-armed fighter, she lacked the speed and maneuverability that her nemesis, the nimble Japanese Zero, possessed. Fighter pilots developed techniques to maximize the Wildcat's attributes and minimize the aircraft's weaknesses. The most famous and successful technique was the "Thatch weave," created by VF-3 commanding officer Lt. Commander Jimmy Thatch, and used against the Japanese Zero for the first time during the Battle of Midway. The idea was simple enough. Two Wildcats flew parallel to each other, one of the aircraft acted as bait, the other as the hook. When the Zero chose one of the Wildcats to attack, the Americans would turn into, and crisscross each other, forcing the Japanese pilot to pursue the "bait" aircraft while putting the Zero into the crosshairs of the "hook" aircraft. The tactic was successful no matter which of the two Wildcats the Japanese pilot chose to attack.

TBD-1 DEVASTATOR TORPEDO BOMBER

Carrier-based torpedo plane pilots and aircrews were equipped with the TBD-1 Devastator. One of the most advanced naval aircraft of its day when adopted by the US Navy in 1937, it had been quickly outclassed by rapid advances in naval aircraft design. Although Devastators were marginally successful earlier on during the Marshall Islands raid and the Battle of Coral Sea, they were slaughtered at Midway. One of the TBD's shortcomings was that it was incredibly slow; the Devastator had a cruising speed of only 130 mph. In addition, the Devastators primary armament, the Mk. 13 aerial torpedo, was notoriously unreliable, and required Torpedo plane crews to make long, straight and slow-speed attack runs. The delicate Mk. 13 torpedo had to be launched from an altitude of no greater than 60 feet, at a speed no greater than 110 knots and a range of 800 yards. This made the Devastator easy prey for the Japanese fighters and gun crews. Of the 41 TBD-1s that participated in the battle of Midway, 37 were lost. With 68 of 82 crewmen killed, Torpedo Squadron 8 from Hornet was nearly completely wiped- out, Ensign George Gay being the sole survivor. Not a single torpedo found its mark at Midway. However, the torpedo aircraft crews did succeed in bringing down the Japanese fighter cover to sea level, leaving the skies above the Imperial Japanese Fleet clear and undefended when dive-bombers from Enterprise and Yorktown arrived moments later.

TBF AVENGER TORPEDO BOMBER

A small detachment from USS Hornet's Torpedo Squadron 8 flew the Avenger into combat for the first time at Midway. Torpedo Squadron 8 was the first squadron scheduled to receive the aging Devastator's replacement. Six air crews flew the brand new aircraft to Midway Island from Hawaii; they had missed Hornet's departure from Pearl Harbor by a day. At 0600 hours on the morning of 4 June, Torpedo Squadron 8 (detached) took off shortly before Japanese carrier based aircraft struck Midway Island. The Avenger crews were off to attack the recently spotted Japanese carriers some 180 miles from the island. At 0705 hours the Avengers, without the benefit of fighter escorts began their attack run on the Japanese aircraft carrier, Hiryu. Swarms of Japanese Zero fighters descend on the torpedo planes, and quickly decimated the formation until only one Avenger remained. The pilot, Ensign Bert Earnest pressed his attack on despite his aircraft's controls being severely damaged. Earnest's turret gunner, Seaman 1st class Jay D. Manning was killed by machine gun fire from the attacking Japanese fighters. Radioman 3rd class Harry M. Ferrier, manning the belly gun of the aircraft was wounded and knocked unconscious. Earnest, now bleeding profusely from shrapnel wounds to the cheek, launched his torpedo at a Japanese light cruiser, but failed to score a hit. Earnest limped back to Midway Island where he made a crash landing, the sole surviving Avenger had sustained over 70 bullet and cannon shell hits. Earnest and Ferrier recovered from their wounds and would fight again another day.

B-26 MARAUDER MEDIUM BOMBER

Four Martin-built US Army Air Forces B-26 medium bombers flew off Midway Island to engage the Japanese carriers in the early morning hours of 4 June. The small force was armed with torpedoes, even though the crews had no training in making torpedo attack runs and the aircraft wasn't designed to carry this type of ordnance. The B-26s began their attack run on the Japanese fleet about five minutes after the Avengers made their ill-fated attack. The B-26s did not fare much better. Japanese fighters quickly splashed two of the attacking Marauders. The two surviving B-26s launched their torpedoes, but again, no hits were scored. Both aircraft made it back to Midway, heavily damaged. One of the remaining B-26s flown, by USAAF 1st Lt. James Muri, had over 500 bullet and shrapnel holes in it.

B-25 MITCHELL MEDIUM BOMBER

The requirements of the Doolittle raid could only be met by one aircraft in the US inventory at the time. The B-25 however was by no means perfect. The B-25s used by Doolittle and his men were heavily modified. The ventral turret was removed to accommodate fuels cells to carry an additional 1,141 gallons of fuel. The top secret Norden bombsight was removed and replaced by a 20-cent, low-level bombing sight called the "Mark Twain." And the rear guns were removed to reduce weight and replaced by broomsticks, a cosmetic attempt to discourage Japanese fighters that might attack from the rear. The B-25 was the only aircraft to bomb Tokyo until 1944 when B-29 Superfortresses began operating from the Marianas Islands.

F2A BREWSTER BUFFALO

Marine Fighting Squadron 221 based on Midway Island, was primarily equipped with the Brewster Buffalo. F2As were the first monoplane fighters operated by the US Navy and Marine Corps when the stubby fighter's operational career began in 1939. But it was the F2A's abysmal performance, accompanied by poor tactics employed by inexperienced pilots at Midway that ended the Buffalo's service with the US military. The flying leathernecks, in addition to being outnumbered three to one, were plagued by the Buffalo's malfunctioning guns, poor maneuverability and unarmored cockpit. Of the 20 Buffalos that challenged the Japanese aerial assault of Midway Island, 13 were shot down. Losses of Marine pilots were exacerbated by the merciless Japanese practice of strafing the parachutes of helpless pilots who had escaped their stricken aircraft. The Marine flyers' opinion of the Buffalo is probably summed up best by one of the Midway survivors, "It is my belief that any commander who orders pilots out for combat in an F2A should consider the pilot as lost before leaving the ground."

SB2U VINDICATOR

Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241was equipped with the SBD Dauntless and its predecessor the SB2U Vindicator. The Marine aircrews, more so than anyone else, felt the pinch of desperation that was being thrown into Midway Island's defense. The Marines of VMSB-241 along with their comrades in VMF-221, equipped with the equally antiquated Buffalo fighter, were thrown into the fray with second-rate aircraft that made them about as menacing as clay pigeons to the seasoned Japanese naval forces they faced. Beginning on the morning of 4 June, 28 gallant Marine bomber crews began a battle of attrition against the Japanese fleet that cost the squadron two commanding officers in two days. By 5 June, VMSB-241 had been cut down to 12 operational aircraft — six Dauntless dive-bombers and six Vindicators. Captain Richard E. Fleming, leading the section of Vindicators, began his glide-bombing attack on the Japanese cruiser Mikuma that morning. Japanese anti- aircraft fire set Fleming's engine aflame. Undeterred, Fleming maintained his attack, dropping his 500-pound bomb and narrowly missing Mikuma's stern. Captain Fleming, unable to pull out of his dive, crashed into the sea, killing both he and his radioman/gunner Private First Class George A. Toms. Captain Fleming was awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously. It was the only Medal of Honor awarded at the Battle of Midway.

B-17E FLYING FORTRESS HEAVY BOMBER

US Army Air Forces B-17s were also part of Midway Island's eclectic air force. Flying Fortresses dispatched from Midway made several attacks on Japanese naval forces over the course of the battle, but scored no hits and suffered no losses, and did very little to alter the course of the battle.

PBY CATALINA FLYING BOAT

The Catalina proved invaluable pulling double duty in the reconnaissance role and as a search and rescue aircraft. Catalina crews operating from Midway Island succeeded in locating the Japanese invasion fleet on 3 June and the carrier strike force on the morning of 4 June.

MITSUBISHI A6M ZERO FIGHTER

The Japanese Zero ruled the skies over the Pacific in 1941 and 1942. The Zero enjoyed an advantage in speed, maneuverability and climb rate over every allied fighter in the first year of the war. The nimble Zero's agility did come at the cost of the pilot's safety. Amenities such as armor plate in the cockpit and self-sealing fuel tanks that were standard equipment in most US aircraft were absent in the Zero. A short machine gun burst from an attacker would usually be enough to ignite the Zero into an inferno. In 1943, new allied aircraft designs such as the F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat came online that outperformed the legendary Zero, ending its reign as the scourge of the skies.

AICHI D3A VAL DIVE-BOMBER

The Imperial Japanese Navy's early war, carrier-borne dive-bomber was the D3A Val. The Val served in nearly every major action of the war and earned the distinction of sinking more Allied warships than any other Axis aircraft. Although obsolete by 1943, the Val soldiered on throughout the war, eventually being used for suicide attacks in the closing months of the war.

NAKAJIMA B5N KATE TORPEDO BOMBER

The B5N Kate was one of the most successful torpedo bombers fielded on either side during World War II. The Kate was used as a level bomber as well. Operating in this fashion, a B5N scored the hit on the USS Arizona that was responsible for its destruction at Pearl Harbor. B5Ns also participated in attacks on the US fleet carriers Yorktown, Lexington, and Hornet — all three of which were consequently sunk.