“Luck” (II)

Cowardly-ass innovation. Keeps each generation American though, and not speaking some other godforsaken language. It was Admiral Bull Halsey himself whose rage at hearing about Pearl Harbor attacked angrily turned Enterprise into the wind to hunt those six bastard Jap carriers yelling “When this war is over, The Japanese language will only be spoken in Hell…”

Poor Halsey and Enterprise went on a wild goose chase trying to find the carriers in the midst of the battle. That spirit… holy shit, that spirit.

Nevada spirit. Not the state with their bullshit “Battle Born” motto like that state entered the union for any reason other than electoral votes to keep Lincoln in power in the 1864 election…

… The battleship USS Nevada. Japanese planes swarmed hitting every battleship in Port. The Oklahoma capsized and the Arizona’s Magazine went up like the Mighty Hood’s Earlier that year. West Virginia, California, Tennessee, Maryland, and Pennsylvania All severely damaged or sunk. But Nevada was moored at the northern end of battleship row, and while under attack whoever the officer of the deck was had that moment of rage. These 300+ planes were coming from carriers. Six of them. And while her sisters sunk and exploded around her, Nevada’s engines started. Crazy sons of bitches knew Nevada’s big 14 inch guns if they could get within range of those carriers could bring some instant payback and she made speed to get out to sea where she could maneuver. Fuck em. Nevada against that whole damned fleet.

Crazy? No one knew it at the time but those carriers had to make speed and leave their battleships behind. No way Novato would survive, But if her guns could’ve been turned on those vulnerable carriers….. 

Japanese pilots sure knew it, and concentrated on Nevada. And then instantly that moment of rage somehow Withdrew at just the right moment in favor of wisdom. Nevada was still making speed but her bow was sinking. That desire to fuck up the Japanese fleet could cripple the entire war effort if Nevada sink at the entrance to Pearl Harbor and blocked it. Her skipper turned her away from glory and into a beach So she didn’t block the harbor.

She’d find glory though, Long distinguished career including blasting Nazis at Normandy clearing the way for the guys at Omaha beach. She didn’t even want to go; One of the ghost flagships hit by nuclear bombs at bikini atoll after the war, She wouldn’t decide to roll over in sick when she was nuked; took A merciful sub to finish her off.

So yeah thinking about this stuff is who Bull Halsey was. Stand up and fight the bastard. And even though Halsey couldn’t fight and one of those prized battleships, Poor guy was denied even going to sea at Midway.

Midway. Enough miracles had already happened to give the Americans a chance, but more would come.

Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu – Japan’s best four carriers and best four air crews under Admiral Nagumo led a massive Combined fleet of invasion force is for Midway and a massive surface fleet led by the biggest battleship the world would ever see in the Yamato, where are the architect of both Pearl Harbor and Midway – Admiral Yamamoto – flew his flag. Each fleet flanked by numerous cruisers and destroyers… a more powerful fleet on earth would not assemble until america’s production juggernaut started churning out carriers two years later.

Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown – Yorktown best described as jury-rugged - Set out northeast of Midway to lay in wait for destiny. Midway Island itself by this point was so packed full of men,  guns, fighters and bombers more than one of the Marines wondered if it would sink.

The two and a half carriers had three kinds of planes: Wildcat fighters, Avenger torpedo bombers, and Dauntless dive bombers. All the bombers in the world wouldn’t really matter if you didn’t have fighter escorts for them to keep the opposing fighters from shooting them down before they could hit their ships. And only one plane could take off at a time. Coordinating waves wasn’t easy. Especially if you were in the mood for some radio silence.

Japanese planes we are a little different but suffice to say the bombers could be outfitted with bombs – The only way to attack land targets… or torpedoes – Best way to hit a ship.

Pretty heavy cloud cover, and everything kicked off when the first wave of air strikes were launched at Midway Island, armed with bombs to destroy the island’s defenses; The Japanese felt it was at their mercy because they thought the American carriers were still at Pearl Harbor. Diversionary hit on the Aleutian Islands in Alaska was meant to draw the Americans offguard somewhat but didn’t really accomplish much other than the answer to the trivia question of what is the only American soil occupied in that war.

Midway’s Defenses responded; having a decent amount of luck sending off the first bombing wave, but it’s bigger bombers having no luck with the Japanese fleet. But it was then that an American scout plane found Nagumo’s carriers and the game was afoot.

The first wave of American aircraft launched at Nagumo’s force but their disorganized and inferior planes ran straight into the buzz saw of the Japanese fleets fighter cover and were torn to shreds.

Nagumo realized there were too many planes – an American carrier must be in the area. Japan’s cruiser screen sent out the first wave of scouts trying to find the Americans – a dozen fanned out  searching On preselected routes, all but Scout #4, delayed with engine problems.

Another wave of American aircraft sword into the Japanese buzzsaw, but to no avail. But by now Nagumo knew it was not just up against Midway’s defenses but at least one and probably to American carriers. 

They had been lying in wait, while he had counted on them being at Pearl Harbor and only sailing in response.

The ferocity of the second American wave also gave the admiral pause. Bull Halsey would’ve come right at them, and exposed his carriers to risk. One variable wasn’t adding up. Then another. And another. All while on all four of his carriers, his planes were armed with bombs to deal with Midway’s defenses.

The urgency of the matter demanded he replace the bombs on those planes with torpedoes to deal with the American fleet – but that would take time. Half an hour at least – where they wouldn’t be able to attack and would only have their fighter cover up.

The disorganized American waves had done nothing so far and Nagumo’s fighters he felt could protect the carriers from a third. Without his trusted air commander Fuchida to advise him,  he ordered arming the bombers ceased and re-arming them with torpedoes.

There wasn’t much less confusion in the American aircraft. Yet again the wave was coordinated poorly and the fighter cover lost track of the torpedo bombers and dive bombers. All seems to be flying apart at the seams as the low-flying torpedo bombers emerged from the clouds, their mission dead on arrival as the Japanese air cover descended upon them. Alone, with no fighter escort of their own, the 15 brave crews were blown out of the sky.

And then the entire 20th Century changed – As the American dive bombers exited clouds far, far above, with no Japanese fighter cover between them and their targets…. each of the four giant carriers littered with planes on the deck rearming live torpedoes instead of live bombs, As they were hastily being refueled with all the gas tanks on the decks. 

The dauntless dive bombers descended from the heavens at full speed as if they were charging the earth itself… Each lining up the shot To deliver their more reliable bombs on their targets.

A more favorable coincidence in battle has never been recorded at sea. The dive bombers couldn’t fail if they tried. With no fighter cover to worry about they had the time to line up their bombs with only AA flack from the ships themselves. But within just a few minutes, Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu were Hopelessly ablaze as it only took one American bomb to sit off all the ordinance and fuel on the crowded flight decks.

Only Hiryu survived, and even then only long enough to launch one torpedo strike – itself self lucky enough to happen upon the most vulnerable American ship – Yorktown, after following some of the victorious American planes home. Even that wasn’t enough to sink her, but it put her out of action and barely able to reach a decent speed; She would later be happened upon by one of the Japanese screening submarines and finally sunk the next day…

In this moment Japanese admiral Yamaguchi, commanding Hiryu, Was congratulated for evening score, believing it was now one against one, when in fact she was still up against both Enterprise and Hornet. There weren’t many planes left on either side,  but Enterprise’s bombers So below them alone Japanese picket destroyer at full speed and air wing leader McCluskey put two into together and realized the direction it was going with lead them to Hiryu. In less than 20 minutes she would join her three sisters and with that, The cream of the crop of Japan’s fighter aces along with their four best fleet carriers lay below the waves.

Admiral Yamamoto, knowing that the fighters aboard the American carriers were depleted, and he still had his combined fleet and invasion force led by the Yamoto. Though he was tempted to seek to throw the winning thrust by rolling the dice in attacking with little air cover on either side, the wise admiral withdrew.

The U.S. Navy actually began realistically in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with six heavy frigates able to overpower anything they could not run just like the later battle cruisers that Sir Jacky Fisher was so fond of.

But if you ask any US naval historian when the modern US Navy was truly born, the answer is the battle of Midway.

It’s almost pointless to study from an alternate history perspective because of all the “coincidences” and lucky breaks that just so happened favored the Americans – even the ones that didn’t seem like they would at first.

And while Midway cost America the Yorktown, The Japanese threat to Hawaii and for that matter the West Coast ended instantly.

It was Walter Cronkite that Best summed up the Importance of Midway in the  Pacific war –

“Before Midway… the Americans had no real meaningful victory over Japan. After Midway, they would have no meaningful defeats.”

There are too many coincidences at Midway for Midway to be “coincidental” in the slightest.

There is no such thing as luck. Only blessings to be counted. 🙂