This is not my research. I pinched it from a coworker who posted it on a work forum, but I thought this group would find it interesting and informative.
Roland Emmerich has a new movie about the Battle of Midway out this weekend. I’ve read a couple Hollywood reviews panning the movie, so that means it must be pretty good, right? No matter the reviews, I will probably see it anyway. Hopefully it’s better than Affleck’s sappy Pearl Harbor. I’m not posting to promote the movie as much as to highlight some facts about the US victory in the first clash between two large aircraft carrier forces. If you’ are interested in World War II history, you already know a lot about the naval battle described as a turning point in the United States war with Japan.
Most are probably aware that after Pearl Harbor the Japanese Navy, under a plan pushed by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, wanted to lure America’’s remaining carrier forces ( the U.S.S. Lexington sunk and U.S.S. Yorktown severely damaged in the battle of Coral Sea one month earlier) into a trap in order to eliminate the U.S. fleet as a threat in the Pacific. Most are probably aware that Navy cryptologists led by Commander Joseph Rochefort had partially broken the Japanese Naval communication code, thereby discovering Yamamoto’s next target was Midway atoll, which afforded US military planners an opportunity to set a trap of their own.
Admiral Chester Nimitz would place our three remaining aircraft carriers U.S.S. Enterprise, U.S.S. Hornet and a hastily repaired U.S.S. Yorktown to the North and East of Midway in a prime position strike the 4 Japanese fleet carriers ( Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū, and Sōryū) under command of Admiral Chūichi Nagumo. Knowing where the Japanese would next attack also gave Nimitz and the U.S. Navy time to position extra aircraft on the airfield at Midway. Long range reconnaissance PBYS, TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, Navy SB2U dive bombers, Marine SBD dive bombers all joined the mostly obsolete Marine F2 Buffalos and a handful of F4 wildcats. Also in this mix was added around 17 B-17’s and 4 B-26 Marauders.
It is the attack of the Marauders’ on the morning of June 4, 1942 that I want to highlight. It seems to be left out of the 1976 movie “”Midway”” starring Charlton Heston. I’m hoping the 2019 film might include it. The B-26 was a twin engine medium bomber with a crew of seven. Two planes each from different bombing groups of the U.S. Army Air Corps were en route from Hawaii to a base in Australia when they were tabbed to take part in the coming battle. The aircraft were modified to carry aerial torpedos and the crews practiced in the ten days preceding the attack. Shortly after 5:30 am , when Navy PBYS reported sighting the Japanese carriers and incoming strike planes, the aircraft on Midway scrambled airborne. The Marine fighters stayed behind to take on the incoming strike, thus all the other aircraft including the B-26’s proceeded to their target unescorted. The 6 Navy TBM’s arrived first and didn’t have much luck. 5 were quickly shot down.
The Marauders arrived next with Lt. James Collins and his copilot 2Lt. Colin Villines leading the diamond formation. Lt. Herbert Mayes and copilot 2 Lt. Garrett McCallister on one flank with Lt. William Watson and his copilot 2Lt. Leonard Whittington on the other. Lt. James Muri and copilot Lt. Pren Moore came up last. They dropped down close to the sea past the screening ships of the Japanese forces as they started the target run. 28 men hurtled headlong into a wall of lead laid down by attacking A6M2 Zeroes from the Japanese combat air patrol and anti-aircraft fire from their intended target, Admiral Nagumo’s flagship the Akagi. Collins and his formation maneuvered aggressively trying throw off the Akagi’s gunners as they closed. The following excerpt from Lt. Muri is taken from Walter Lord’s “ Midway- The Incredible Victory”. “ As Muri’s Copilot glanced around, every ship seemed a solid sheet of gunfire. Japanese gunners firing into the water using the splashes as tracers and walking the rounds into the B -26’s. But they came on anyhow. At 800 yards Collins released his torpedo and banked hard right”. Lt. Muri never saw what happened to Watson or Mayes as bullets tore through his Marauder. Muri ordered the release of their torpedo but the crew was having difficulty with the improvised delivery switch. Eventually determining it had been delivered Lt Muri looked up and had a dilemma looming, literally. Akagi. Muri banked hard right and flew over the length of Akagi’s flight deck, scattering the deck crews as his gunners raked the ship with their own guns. It must have been quite a fly by. I haven’t been able to determine which B-26, either Watson’s or Mayes’ ( neither returned to Midway) but one, severely damaged, continued bearing down on Akagi in an attempted suicide run barely missing the Akagi’s Bridge before cartwheeling into the sea. Imagine if that had happened.
The incident probably reinforced Nagumo’’s decision to re- arm his reserve planes with bombs for a second strike on the island’’s airfield. The Marauders nor the rest of the strike force from Midway scored any hits that morning, but it kept the Japanese carriers busy enough until our own carrier aircraft arrived on the scene. You all probably know the rest of that story. I hope I did this part of the story justice. I apologize if I got any facts wrong. Feel free to correct. Raise a glass for those who gave everything.
Crews of the downed B-26’s
Pilot 1st Lt William Watson
Copilot 2nd Lt Leonard Whittington
Navigator 2 Lt John Schuman
Bombdr Sgt James Via
Nose Gunner SSgt Richard Decker
Engineer/Turret Cpl Albert Owen
Tail Gunner Cpl Bernard Seitz
Pilot 1st Lt. Herbert Mayes
Copilot 2 Lt Garrett McCallister
Navigator 2Lt. William Hargis
Bombdr 2 Lt. Gerald Barnicle
Nose Gunner SSgt Salvatore Battaglia
Engineer/Turret Pvt Benjamin Huffstickler
Tail Gunner Pvt Roy Walters