When Dive Bombers Sank Aircraft Carriers at Midway

It's June the 4th, 1942, at 6.16 in the morning, and high above the Pacific, 72 Japanese bombers and their fighter escorts mercilessly blast through the defending American aircraft and barrel on towards their target. It's an idyllic atoll, home to an important American air and naval base. The air raid sirens howl across the island. Its defenders look up to see Japanese fighters and bombers swarming from above. Bursts of flak blossom overhead, multiplying with each minute as the Americans rush to their stations and anti-aircraft guns open fire. Both sides know that the outcome of this battle will have far-reaching consequences. Today, the Japanese attack midway. Bombs and bullets rain down on the island airbase. Tracers zip skywards and targets are decimated one by one. The power plant, the oil storage facility, the seaplane hangar, and then the hospital alongside warehouses and the Marines' command post. But the Americans put up a fierce resistance, bringing down at least five Japanese aircraft and damaging many more. Despite causing great destruction, the Japanese fail to neutralize US air power, with the American runways remaining intact. From the cockpit of his SPD Dauntless dive bomber, Lt. Richard Halsey-Best looks out across the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean. He's commanding a squadron of 15 Dauntless bombers. In another plane, Earl Gallagher commands another 15 aircraft. Both squadrons are part of a flight of 33 bombers, led by Lt. Commander McCluskey. Thanks in part to the cracking of Japanese naval codes, American commanders are aware of some of the Japanese operation to attack Midway. The only way to stop the Japanese is to find and destroy their most powerful assets, the aircraft carriers, known as the Kido Butai. The Japanese aim is to use these carriers to neutralize and capture Midway and then to use the island as a trap, luring in the last of the severely weakened American Pacific naval forces that have survived Pearl Harbor into a decisive battle. McCluskey leads the flight over the area he estimates Kido Butai to be, only to find an empty square of ocean. But that's not his only problem. He looks down at his controls to see his fuel levels are dangerously low. He presses on, determined that this flight will not be for nothing. He turns the formation to fly west, then to fly northwest, intending to conduct a standard box search. McCluskey grits his teeth, praying for a change in fortune. He spots a white streak in the ocean, the trail of a Japanese destroyer making at great speed. Its white wake paints an arrow in the blanket of the blue sea. The ship is clearly trying to catch up to the Kido Butai. Best McCluskey and Gallagher feel a surge of optimism and McCluskey leads the flight north. As they draw closer and the dark shapes fade to the clear outlines of Japanese aircraft carriers, they know they've found the Kido Butai. But Best notices the impressive formation appears to be in some disarray. Far below its sea level, there are American planes already attacking the fleet. It's Lem Massey's torpedo squadron from the Yorktown. Best then realizes it's a conclusion of a disaster. The slow and vulnerable TBD devastators are no match for the defending Japanese Zeros and countless anti-aircraft guns. The TBDs are cut down mercilessly and what's left of them flies in disarray with every man for himself. High above, McCluskey observes the four Japanese carriers. The southernmost and nearest is the giant Kaga. Two miles ahead of it and 5 to 7 miles to the right is the Akagi, flagship of the Kido Butai's commander, Admiral Nagumo. 14 miles beyond them is the Hiryu. Another 6 miles beyond her is the Soryu. Although the Japanese defense is impressive, the box formation of the Kido Butai has completely disintegrated. Each ship is several miles away from the next having maneuvered to avoid the American torpedo attack, crammed with planes still being rearmed and unable to take off. McCluskey's American dive bombers have the crucial element of surprise. Not only that, but unknown to any in McCluskey's group, another dive bomber squadron from Yorktown has arrived on scene at the same time by pure chance. Both squadrons are unaware of each other's presence and if they did attack the same ship, there could be mid-air collisions. Earl, you and I take the carrier on the left. Best, you take the carrier on the right. As luck would have it, McCluskey heads for the Kaga and Akagi while the other squadron head for the distant Soryu. Although the Japanese are yet to spot the dive bombers, another problem threatens to throw away the advantage of surprise. Wade, I'm taking the left hand. Let's show them what we've got. Best doesn't hear McCluskey's command. Neither party hears each other. Both Best and McCluskey now prepare to dive on Kaga. Best prepares his squadron. They form an echelon and the pilots prepare to dive by shifting to low blower and low prop pitch. Opening their canopies in case they need to bail out. Best has no idea that right above him, McCluskey and Gallagher are doing exactly the same thing. Danger mounts as the two squadrons are now on a path for collision. Best eases forward entering a dive. Just as McCluskey and Gallagher's swarm of Dauntless barrel down in front of him, missing a catastrophic collision with him and his squadron by mere yards, Best reels backwards, stunned by the pure luck of his survival. But there's no time for him to truly digest what's just happened. He assumes McCluskey and Gallagher have decided to jump his target. Thinking quickly, he closes his flaps and waggles his ailerons to try and signal to the rest of his squadron to abort. But he's too late. Ten of his pilots join the cascade of dive bombers. Only Best's two wingmen Ed Kroger and Ensign Frederick Weber are close enough to see his frantic signals and hold up. McCluskey, Earl Gallagher and 25 other Dauntlesses hurtle towards the Kaga. Lacking radar, the only warning the Japanese aboard the ship have is the thundering of planes as they turn their eyes skywards. The first three bombers miss, but the Kaga is plunged into chaos as orders are screamed across the deck for the men to crank every gun skyward. Earl Gallagher grips his sight, trained on the immense aircraft carrier. This has to be a hit. The ship's outline fills up his sights. As he gets closer and closer, he clenches his jaw and releases. The 500-pound armor-piercing bomb hurtles towards the ship and flams squarely in the middle of the flight deck. Bomb after bomb find their marks in succession. The next comes for the Kaga's bridge. It's obliterated by a direct hit, full of planes being rearmed and refueled. A chain reaction of catastrophic explosions rocks the ship. One carrier is down. From 12,000 feet above, Best watches the drama unfold. Single dive bombers from the American carrier Yorktown dive for another Japanese carrier, the Soryu. Hit after hit tears the Soryu apart, unleashing internal explosions that tear through the men and planes alike. The first two carriers are being pummeled at 4 or 5 second intervals, smoke pouring into the sky. Amidst the chaos, Best carefully plans his next move. With only two pilots having remained at his side, he leads the three-plane formation the bank right, climbing back up to 14,000 feet. Best and his wingmen prepare to make an attack run on the Akagi, Admiral Nagumo's flagship. The Japanese are focused on the conflict at sea level, yet despite holding the advantage of surprise, Best is unsure of what he can do with just three planes. He can't divide them to attack at different angles with such a small number, and the dire fuel situation means he can't maneuver for a bow-on attack. Best and his wingmen must hit the ship across its relatively narrow 100-foot width rather than its 850-foot length. Even a small miscalculation could leave the bombs missing the hull. Memories of Pearl Harbor are fresh in his mind. Best is determined to give the Japanese a taste of their own medicine. He makes a decision. On his signal, the planes open their flaps and ease into a long dive. It was a calm and placid morning, he would later recall, thinking that it just felt like a regular individual battle practice drill. As they near the ship, Best puts his bombsight into the middle of the Akagi's flight deck. He watches one zero-fighter taxi and take off from the ship. He's determined to make it the last. Bombs soar towards the aircraft carrier. As one bomb hits the bow, the other near the stern. At 15,000 feet, Best wrenches the release lever and his bomb lands square in the middle of the flight deck. As the plane levels, he can't resist to look back. A chain of explosions rocks the ship, igniting a flood of aviation fuel from carts and wrecked planes. Under most circumstances, a big carrier like this could be expected to absorb 4 or 5 bomb hits and still function, but Best's one bomb has just hit in the right place at the right moment. The Akagi has been obliterated. Having descended to low altitude, Best and his two wingmen zip through the carnage of zero-fighters who continue to target the hapless Devastator torpedo bombers. Best resists the urge to dogfight. His job is to bomb the aircraft carriers. As Best turns for home, leaving the devastated Kilo Bataille behind him, he spots a black shape looming on the horizon. His heart races and he speeds for home as fast as he can. Touching down on the Enterprise, Best sprints to the flag bridge to find Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance, Commander of the American Task Force. On his way, he comes face to face with McCluskey who's just landed. Best notices that blood is running down McCluskey's arm and dripping onto the deck. McCluskey has parts of five bullets in his arm and shoulder. And before he can hear Best's news, he's rushed off to the sickbay. Best makes it to the bridge and quickly makes his case to Admiral Spruance. There are three carriers aflame and burning, but there's a fourth one up to the north. Permission to rearm and take off right away, sir? No, wait for the orders. We will get them. Yes, sir. But Best has to wait several hours before he can take off again. At 2.45 p.m. a report comes in. Admiral, we have their position! One carrier, two battleships, three heavy cruisers, four destroyers, course north, speed 20 knots. The enemy ships bear 278 degrees from Task Force 16. The Americans immediately scramble what they have. The force is a shadow of its former self. Just 27 SPDs are available, with McCluskey staying behind due to his injuries. Gallagher is now in charge, leading six SPDs, with Best leading four and Lt. Dave Shumway in charge of 14 from Yorktown. Now it's 5 o'clock in the evening. They spot what remains of the Kiributai on the darkening horizon. Gallagher orders Shumway… Shumway, you take the battleships. Roger that. Leaving him and Best's ten aircraft to take out the Hiryu, the last of the carriers. Although the Japanese have Zeros patrolling at altitude, it's only as Gallagher eases forward and plunges into a dive that they discover the Americans. For a second time today, the Japanese are caught by surprise. Yet the Hiryu's guns put up an impressive resistance. Gallagher watches the fire from the anti-aircraft's muzzles light up both sides of the carrier as he fixes his bombsight. But just as he commits to his dive angle, the Hiryu turns sharply. She's surprisingly agile for a big ship and it catches Gallagher off guard. He's already committed to the dive. He attempts to compensate by pulling up as he releases a bomb. The bomb misses a stern and Gallagher wrenches his back pulling out of the Harajis. After witnessing the next two bombs also miss the ship, Shumway decides to forget about the battleships and leads his squadron against the carrier. It's the right decision, but it throws the pilots into confusion as Shumway's group and Best's four-plane section both dive on the Hiryu at the same time. Once again Best finds himself having to maneuver at the last moment while he's preparing to dive. Turning to come in at a different angle gives the enemy zero fighters a second chance to attack and Best and his planes hold their turn. He looks to his side to see bullets rake his wingman Fred Weber's aircraft. Best watches his friend hurtle towards the ocean. A wave of rage racing through him. He points his plane straight for the starboard bow. For the second time that day Dick Best's bomb slams into a ship striking her forward elevator and blowing part of it into Hiryu's small island. Three more bombs strike in succession all in the same area creating a single massive crater in her flight deck. From high above it looks as if a giant's hand has reached down and scooped out the Hiryu's bow section leaving a gaping cavern in its wake. Like her sister ships she's been wrecked beyond recovery. Dick Best prepares to return to the Enterprise in a bittersweet victory mourning the loss of Weber and glancing down to survey the devastation. In just a day the Battle of Midway had been won. Thanks again to World of Warships. Check out the link in the description.