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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBattle of Midway Anniversary
The battle that changed the course of World War 2 in the Pacific happened 72 years ago yesterday.
I was just remembering all the brave solders,sailors, marines and others that fought so hard for our country.
The valor of torpedo squadron 8 is the stuff of legend, and let us not forget the essential contribution of the code breakers in making the victory possible.
I pray that my son and his cohort will never be faced with that kind of hell.
Unknown Beatle
(2,672 posts)struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)Stanley Johnston carrying the headline "NAVY HAD WORD OF JAP PLAN TO STRIKE AT SEA." Johnston's story did not explicitly mention the decryption of JN 25, but it included intercepted and decoded intelligence about Japanese naval forces that Johnston had obtained prior to the attack. That intelligence was so detailed that the government thought Japan would recognize that its code had been cracked. A grand jury was called to pursue a possible indictment of the Tribune under the Espionage Act, but the charges were dropped, possibly to avoid drawing further attention to the decryption ...
1942 · The Battle of Midway
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)For example. We have all grown up with the image in our minds of the Japanese Planes sitting on the deck while the bombs were taken off, stacked haphazardly, and Torpedo's were installed. We have that image from movies, and from the writings of Commander Fuchida who wrote the Japanese version after the war, who wrote that five minutes made the difference in the battle.
The problem is that during this time, Japanese Fighters were landing to take on more fuel and reloading ammunition, then taking off again. There is no way this was possible if the aircraft were sitting on the deck of a carrier. Remember, that the angled flight deck we are all so comfortable with seeing which allows simultaneous recover and launching of aircraft was a post war development of the British. If the planes were sitting on the deck, awaiting launch, there is no way that you could recover any aircraft. They had to move those aircraft into the hanger deck before they could recover the strike force from Midway. There was no where else to land.
There are many other contributing factors to the American success and Japanese failures. Poor planning certainly applied. But the damage control and design of the carriers themselves also played an important role in the victory of American forces, and failure of the Japanese. Fascinating book, which I can recommend without reservation.