The Roundtable
Forum
Official
Newsletter of the Battle of Midway
Roundtable
Issue Number 2011-21
21 September 2011 • Our 14th Year
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AROUND THE TABLE ~
MEMBERS’
TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE:
1. From Our Archives: Divine Intervention?
2. Japanese Reaction to the TBF at Midway
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1. FROM OUR ARCHIVES: DIVINE INTERVENTION?
Ed.
note: I found this early Roundtable message from
Ted Kraver in our files, on the subject of whether the unlikely victory at
Midway was the result of “divine intervention.” While the discussion never rose to the level of a debate, I
thought that Ted’s explanation below was as good as any as to why the BOM
actually turned out as it did. Ted’s
take was that the battle’s outcome had more to do with the Japanese than with
Heaven.
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25 January 2003
From: Ted Kraver
Arizona
The number one reason that the Battle of Midway was fought and won by the
U.S. had nothing to do with divine intervention. It was the all too human ego; thoughts and actions of Yamamoto
running wild. He decided on this “all or nothing” attack,
muscled the decision against the thoughtful disagreement of just about every
other military leader in Japan, and then concocted a plan that was magnificent
in complexity that was doomed because of lack of focus, lack of concentration
of force, lack of redundancy, and had the requirement that the U.S. forces
and his vast fleet must adhere strictly to his plan—statistically impossible as
the fog of war, with its human failures, communication breaks, and
adversary innovation and creativity started playing out.
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2. JAPANESE REACTION TO THE TBF AT MIDWAY
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18 September 2011
From: Jeffrey W. Petraska
Michigan
Regarding the Torpedo 8 contingent attacking
Kido Butai in their new TBF Avengers, what was the IJN reaction to their first
encounter with these new planes? Did they understand at the time that
this was a new design? Did the CAP pilots recognize them for what they
were? Did they come as a surprise, or were they anticipated from Japanese
intelligence efforts?
Since they attacked from Midway, was it
realized that this was a carrier-capable design or did they assume it was a
land plane? And finally, what was the initial IJN assessment of this airplane,
if any?
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18 September 2011
From: Ronald W. Werneth
Illinois
author, Beyond Pearl
Harbor
Honestly, out of all the IJN Midway veteran aviators and mechanics, not
one of them paid any special attention or noted to me anything about the
TBF. I don't recall any detailed
feedback that they were "surprised" or even noticed how this aircraft
compared to others.
Sorry, I don't have anything helpful, but I would have remembered this, and it
would have been in my book.
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18 September 2011
From: Mark E. Horan
Connecticut
co-author, A
Glorious Page In Our History
No, I doubt there was even an understanding that the TBF was a new
carrier design in relation to the TBD (as opposed to a land-based design) and,
even if there was, that that information was retained after the debacle
suffered three hours later.
I make the above assessment based on the knowledge that the IJN had extremely
limited contact with the TBD itself—they had participated in the Marshalls raid
against minimal aerial opposition by land-based naval formations only, at
Lae-Salamaua against no aerial opposition (and only half the attacking planes
had carried torpedoes), and at Tulagi where again, there was no aerial
opposition. TBDs then participated in
both days’ attacks at Coral Sea but while there was carrier opposition, it was
only by CarDiv 5, not the heart of Kido Butai.
I am sure that the consolidated intel had fairly good info on the TBD by 4 June
at Midway. However, I doubt very much that the small six-plane formation
of TBFs that was all but obliterated by more than twice its numbers of Zero
defenders in the brief attack created an impression that survived the resulting
disaster suffered a few hours later.
The overall knowledge of the USN torpedo plane tactics gained by the cumulative
war experience to date would have shown no differences between the two types at
that point because, for all practical purposes, no one in the USN outside of
VT-8 (Detachment) had any actual knowledge of the increased abilities the TBF
gave the torpedo plane squadrons in relation to attack doctrine. That was not gained until the late June to
early July interlude when the three carrier torpedo squadrons retained at Pearl
and the newly refitted VT-7 on USS Wasp began training in the new plane.
So, in my opinion, the abilities of the new plane would only have been
recognized by the IJN in the early stages of Guadalcanal operations, most
notably during the Battle of Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz.
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~
NOW HEAR THIS! ~
NEWS
& INFO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Messages Invited for the Roundtable’s 15th
Year
- Featured Link: Lloyd Childers at Squadron
Reunion
- Editor’s Notes
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MESSAGES
INVITED FOR THE ROUNDTABLE’S 15th YEAR
Next month, this
newsletter will observe the start of the 15th year on the Internet for the
Battle of Midway Roundtable. Members
are especially invited to submit comments or articles for that special
issue. Suggested topics might include the
Roundtable’s effect upon the evolving history of the battle, the members’ interaction
among some of the battle’s best known authors and historians, the experience of
associating with actual veterans of the battle, the evolution of the Roundtable
itself, or anything else that you might think appropriate for the occasion.
Contributions for this
special issue are invited from long-term and new members alike, from
international members as well as those in the U.S., and especially from Midway
veterans.
You can include
attachments or Internet links if desired.
Publication is tentatively scheduled for the week of October 16 -
22. I’m looking forward to your
comments on this notable occasion. —RR
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FEATURED LINK: LLOYD
CHILDERS AT SQUADRON REUNION
Lt.
Col. Lloyd Childers (USMC-Ret) is a very familiar name in most written
histories of the BOM, and he’s a familiar face on many video documentaries
about the battle. He’s also been a
generous contributor to the Roundtable since its earliest years.
Lloyd’s
BOM fame came not as a Marine, but as an enlisted Navy gunner in VT-3, the only
radioman-gunner of the squadron to survive its attack on Kido Butai as the BOM
began. He transitioned to the Marine
Corps thereafter, and served a distinguished career in Marine aviation through
Korea and Vietnam. In the latter
conflict, he was the squadron C.O. for HMM-361 (Marine Medium Helicopter
Squadron 361), whose veterans held a 45-year reunion in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire this month. The 90-year old
helo skipper made the long journey from northern California to NH for the
event, and was extremely well received by his former Marines. See the link for a fine write-up on the
reunion by a local newspaper reporter in Portsmouth.
Click
here for the featured link..
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EDITOR’S NOTES
~ The Commemorative Air
Force (CAF), the famous volunteer organization that restores and flies WW2
aircraft, is now working on a PBY Catalina to be done up with BOM markings and
colors. Completion is expected in 2014,
which will make it only the second “Cat” in the world that is still
flying. For more details, click here.
~ The latest USN ship to
bear the name of Admiral Spruance departed on its maiden voyage September
1st. For full info from the Navy’s web
site, click
here.
~ I’m flattered over the
occasional request I get for a signed copy of No Right to Win, but my
personal stock was depleted long ago, and the publisher’s resupply costs were
excessive. But they’ve recently
relented, so I’ve restocked and can once again offer signed copies at a
favorable price to those who might be interested. For details, click
here then scroll down.