What You Never Knew About the Battle of Midway

[@TJ3]

Come fly with me today! Download War Thunder totally free today here: playwt.link/tj3 and then, come join the TJ3 War Thunder Event discord here so you can be in my documentaries: discord.gg/EXGCTgUqYJ

[@KarlVonEiser]

TJ3 How dare you not summon me to play VT-8 as John C. Waldron. I made Torpedo Squadron 8 for a reason

[@vincentmazzola7230]

P0l pls

[@vincentmazzola7230]

😅

[@windy7684]

I've been waiting for this to come out for along time, some of the most fun I've ever had. Flying in close formation with coyote in the wildcat formation over the bombers was just awesome!

[@kenkarish826]

Major Lofton Henderson was from my home town of Lorain,Ohio. He was 39 at the time of his death. Our city honored him be naming a major bridge in our city after him. He also has an airport on Guadalcanal and Midway named after him. Even a more famous person was also from my home town, Admiral Ernest J. King who served as Commander and Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of all Navel operations during WW2. It amazes me our schools dont teach this to our kids, but they do go into great detail about how wrong it was to drop the A-Bombs... We have a lot to live up to.

[@robertdendooven7258]

Lt Cmdr. John Waldron, who was the commander of Torpedo 8, was 41 years old when he was killed at Midway. This is just one example of older pilots in combat than Henderson.

[@TJ3]

Wow! Very cool. I did not know that.

[@KarlVonEiser]

@@TJ3i did, I did some research on VT-8 while recreating it, Ensign George H. Gay was the only living survivor of VT-8 to return. There was 15 planes and 48 members

[@CGW116A]

Looks like the public accuracy screening is occurring in this great new video. So much information available, sorting through it, gas to be very time consuming. My grandfather was also in the Pacific in WWII... Army... and he did disagree with some historical events on some of the "island hops" battles he participated in and how they were portrayed. The same probably could be said about the air battles but not witnessed.

[@rabbitramen]

He was also part Souix Indian and trusted his instincts more than his navigator, Ensign Gay to find the Japanese fleet. He and his men were also stationed and lived at NAS Norfolk, Virginia before being deployed to the Pacific. Another of the three survivors from Torpedo Eight, Ensign Albert Earnest who was flying one of the six Avengers from the VT-8 detachment at Midway Island died not many years ago in a Hampton Roads, Virginia hospital, not far from where I live and where the squadron was from.

[@EddieF14]

Another story about LCDR Waldron was he got into a heated argument with Air Group Commander Stanhope Ring when they arrived where Kito Butai was supposed to be. LCDR Waldron took VT-8 the other way and found the Kito Butai while Ring took the rest of the strike force heading toward Midway Island and never found the IJN Carriers. .

[@SIXSTRING63]

My late father in law was a AA gunner aboard the Yorktown. He endured the battle of The Coral Sea and lived through the sinking of the Yorktown at Midway. He told me some stories about his time onboard the Yorktown and both battles. He sadly passed away 2/14/2000. I’m proud and honored of his service. Also very proud of all his shipmates who didn’t make it home and every veteran who served our country from the beginning. God bless you all!

[@leojablonski2309]

My Dad did not speak of his 4 years in the So.Pacific until he came to reside with me while in hospice.

[@noborderssports5434]

The Yorktown was a fighter! Almost couldn't be killed!

[@donaldlucas8688]

My dad spent the whole war on Midway Island. He was in the navy. He was wounded during the battle of midway, sent to Hawaii for medical treatment. They sent right back after 30 days rest. He volunteered to be a crew member on a PBY looking for the Japanese fleet.

[@briankorbelik2873]

My mom's best friend's fiance was a fighter pilot aboard the "Old Yorky" during Coral Sea. My mom's friend had moved back to Norfolk, VA Yorktown' Home Port, and lived with his parents, awaiting the pilot's return. Sadly I cannot remember the Wildcat's pilot's name. Suffice to say that he was shot down and killed in the Coral Sea. My mom told me that really f'upped her friend badly.

[@bw1889]

My grandfather was on the USS Lexington during the sinking at Coral Sea. He rejoined on another carrier in 1943. He passed in 2019. These men were something else.

[@jaiclary8423]

You've got to imagine that at some point Japanese high command got tired of hearing "we sank the Yorktown.'

[@moffjerjerrod1579]

They also claimed to have sunk the USS North Carolina battleship on more tan one occasion as well.

[@jaiclary8423]

@@moffjerjerrod1579 That's weird. Other than the Sibuyan Sea, which was unambiguously one-sided, I don't remember the US battleships ever seeing combat. How did this happen?

[@Cod3nameHurricane]

They also claimed to have sunk the Enterprise 3 or 6 tines

[@jaiclary8423]

@@Cod3nameHurricaneAnd one or two of those times they very nearly did. Both sides had a tendency to drastically over-estimate what they'd accomplished, but on the Japanese side it felt a bit...forced. Like the illusion of victory was far more important than actual victory.

[@graceneilitz7661]

@@jaiclary8423 North Carolina was a fast battleship, as such it was often apart of the carrier escort groups. As one of the biggest ships in the escorts, it came under attack by Japanese planes a lot.

[@kerryrock9248]

The Yorktown was actually attacked three times, the Japanese thought she was three different carriers! This helped the Midway attack!

[@goldman77700]

As a former sailor and lookout I can absolutely see that happening.

[@James-bv4nu]

Yorktown was attacked three times. And the Japanese thought she was two different carriers. The first time by Japanese dive bombers, took out a boiler which was restored and got Yorktown steaming again. The second time by torpedo bombers, and because the fire had been put out, the Japanese thought they had bombed a second carrier. This misled the Hiryu into believing the odds were even now, one carrier against one carrier, and the Japanese flyers were allowed to eat dinner before the final bomb run. But in fact there were two American carriers left, Enterprise and Hornet, and their dive bombers took out the remaining Japanese carrier. Yorktown was attacked a third time by a Japanese submarine, this time the Yorktown was finished.

[@danielb7253]

bad intel...is it not?? you are shown photos of what the enemies A/C look like and ships. silhouettes.

[@davidlium9338]

USS Yorktown had also been damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea as well.

[@davidkinsey8657]

Yamamoto reportedly said that after Pearl Harbor the Japanese Navy could run wild throughout the Pacific for six months. He was only off by 3 days.

[@sheilatruax6172]

The Admiral was a prophet!

[@chrissnape9537]

He also said that they had woken the industrial giant

[@DavidRoux-oi6zf]

Yamamoto didn’t want a war, he was educated and knew the power of our industrial might,he wanted to sue for peace but December 7th,well we knows how it ends!!

[@tomcusack884]

The Admiral was educated partly at Harvard so he knew the America people well enough to understand awakening a sleeping giant is foolhardy. The arrogance of the Japanese military command was also problematical. He knew the industrial might of America would take time to initiate but once the snowball started rolling downhill and gathering momentum....... He was right but being a good soldier he obeyed orders. And he paid the ultimate price

[@fuktrumpanzeeskum]

Yamamoto knew America's motto "don't touch our boats"

[@Purvis-dw4qf]

Thanks for the great video. As a general rule, Navy and USMC pilots tended to be a little older, especially in 1942. Halsey was 52 when he trained as a pilot. In the battle, Wade McClusky was 40, Eugene E. Lindsey was 36, and John Thach was 37 to name a few. Air Force General Clarence Tinker led a bomber attack at the battle and was killed at the age of 54.

[@robertmcsorley4001]

And Lt. Cmd Waldron of Torpedo 8 was 41 years old.

[@MW-eb1qh]

General Tinker was also Native American same as Waldron but of the Osage tribe. He was the first American General killed in WW2. Tinker AFB in his home state of Oklahoma was named for him.

[@Purvis-dw4qf]

@@MW-eb1qh Thanks, I knew about Tinker but not Waldron.

[@user-mx9tu9xd1b]

Great info. Thanks. Never realized they were all that old.

[@MichaelLee-rj8eo]

Ù

[@Kawboy65]

Squadron commanders early on it the war were typically "older". At the Battle of Midway, John Waldron was 41, Max Leslie was 39, Gene Lindsay, Jimmy Thatch, Lem Massey were all mid to late 30's. Wade McClusky, whom many say won the battle, just turned 40. The commanders who survived then quickly left combat for other roles.

[@williammitchell4417]

The irony that "Pappy" Boyington was 35 when he took command of the Black Sheep..

[@forrestsory1893]

​@@williammitchell4417and he was considered old by his men.

[@shawnc1016]

@@williammitchell4417 I think he was only 30. They made him 35 for tv if I recall correctly.

[@williammitchell4417]

@@shawnc1016 I know that (Robert as acting) said that Greg was 35. I suspect he was older than that. Don't make dig out Greg's book!!

[@shawnc1016]

@@williammitchell4417 I had to look it up. He was born in December 1912, so he'd just turned 31 when he was shot down.

[@oldcremona]

The light carrier Shoho was also lost by the Japanese at Coral sea, the only naval asset ever sunk by the ill-fated TBD Devastator.

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

Well the TBDs didn't sink her alone. The 13 bomb hits scored by the Dauntlesses helped lol I'll never quite not find it funny that the 11,000 ton Shoho took more bomb and torpedo hits than the 65,000 ton Yamato did (13 and 7 to 11 and 6, respectively) despite being attacked by a fraction of the planes as Yamato was.

[@Nurse_gloves]

more than 90+ planese were dedicated to shoho alone which is crazy af 😂😂😂

[@davidtwliew616]

That plane was the most useless piece of warplanes in WW2.

[@arsenal-slr9552]

​@davidtwliew616 it wasn't much different from the B5N which performed well in the early years of the war. The TBD was let down by its faulty torpedoes, & bad coordination by the USN at Midway which led to two squadrons of Devastators going to attack targets which had more CAP fighters than Americam Torpedo planes and most were shot down before closing the targets. When Yorktowns planes came in with fighter protection they actually managed to press on a carrier long enough to draw the Japanese CAP down to sea level where many were shot down, but the skies were clear for the SBDs. Anyways the TBDs weren't very good but they ran into a lot of bad luck, and the TBF was just way better in every regard, the TBD was going to be replaced no matter what happened at Midway. Edit: typos

[@Wookie120]

Thank you, was beginning to wonder if my memory was failing me. Seems Mr. TJ3 should check his facts before posting

[@manuelvalentin2648]

I've watched and read just about anything regarring the battle of Midway, and yet it seems there are still so many more details to be discovered regarding this historical event. Another awesome presentation! 👍👏

[@WNC_BUCKEYE]

Have you read shattered sword it's my personal favorite. It dispels many myths.

[@manuelvalentin2648]

I've heard of that book, I'm going to make a point to look it up.

[@Summersong2262]

Oh, you'll love it. It's THE book to read on Midway, and formed the modern consensus on the battle, overturning a lot of inaccurate common wisdom that existed prior to it's publication. See here's the thing; Tully actually used ALL the sources available, not just the English language ones, and not just the translated accounts of interrogated IJN personel after the war. He went after the memos, receipts, internal documents and statements, not just prisoners telling their captors what they wanted to hear, and what made them seem good in hindsight. He does an amazing job of analysing the battle as the result of a system of systems, not simply as chance and personality and narrative, which historical accounts of Midway often fell prey to.

[@cuz129]

My dad served on an escort carrier in WW2 in the Pacific. I love reliving his experiences.

[@rabbitramen]

Captain Fleming did deliver one of the fatal blows to the Mikuma, though posthumously. His plane didn't crash into the ocean, but on the Mikuma's after turrets near a ventilation intake duct as was shown in the famous picture after the attack on that cruiser. The flames from his crashed Vindicator's fuel tanks were then sucked down the vent into one of Mikuma's engine rooms and killed all of the personnel in it, therefore crippling the ship before she sank.

[@Happy11807]

Was not a Vindicator,NAVY ONLY FLEW DAUNTLESS AT MIDWAY!

[@robertdendooven7258]

@@Happy11807 Fleming was a Naval Aviator in the US Marine Corps flying from Midway. Part of the Marine dive-bombing squadron from Midway did fly Vindicators. So, save your all caps comments for actual FACTS!!

[@Happy11807]

As I said Navy flew Dauntless,and in official history of Midway the picture caption states Crashed Dauntless on rear turret! My comment takes NOTHING AWAY FROM THE MARINES FLYING THOSE OBSOLETE AIRCRAFT! THEY WERE ALL BRAVE MEN AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CAPS!

[@Happy11807]

My comments were from a eye witness report byCapt Leon Williamson USMC THAT Flemings SB2U burst into flames strayed in his dive and went down in flames,dropped his bomb at 500 ft and had a near miss on the rear of the ship.And that the Marine’s had not scored any hits! INCREDIBLY BRAVE MEN,WITH HOPELESSLY OBSOLETE AIR CRAFT! WE OWE ALL THESE INDIVIDUALS OUR UNDYING RESPECT AND GRATITUDE! We were not there so all we have is the written history,and have to take it from there!

[@rocketguardian2001]

Actually it's been verified that he didn't actually crash into Mikuma. The story came from Mitsuo Fuchida, who was not present during the attack. Fuchida's accunts are full of outright lies. Mikuma's crew kept very accurate logs on the damage and no such crash was recorded. This is covered in Shattered Sword by Parshall and Tully.

[@captainhurricane5705]

A really well-made and presented video. Let's take a minute to remember all those brave men on either side lost at Midway, too. I climbed the control tower at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal many years ago; I wonder if it is still there.

[@tobybabalu6628]

Look Google Earth it is!

[@timothyhorner3152]

Screw the other side are you crazy

[@lloydryan7716]

Excellent video I am a Marine from the fifties who has studied WWll especially the Pacific ever since. Your video of the Battle of Midway has more information than I ever learned before. I am a fan!!

[@chuckliebenauer3656]

You should read Shattered Sword by Jon Parshall and Anthony Tully that explains the battle in great detail.

[@cleverusername9369]

Aside from the great narration, excellent information, and beautiful visuals, I love how this channel includes a fun and interesting quiz/trivia component. Very engaging and creative.

[@TJ3]

Thanks!

[@tinker2evers2chance]

I never knew I would learn about Midway from Freddie Krueger.

[@benjaminrush4443]

He did a nice job on this one.

[@timf2279]

Kind of interesting having Freddy Krueger narrative a video on Midway.

[@eddyjohan8650]

As I was watching this docu for the first time, I remembered Tom Clacy said in an interview (maybe with David Letterman Late Show) that he was going to write a book about the Battle in Midway. I was struck by his very words that there are still things about the Battle of Midway which yet to be explored. I read a lot about The Battle of Midway so that comes as a big surprise. Now I understand what he meant. Could be a great book if not for his death in 2013.

[@jibeco]

Hi TJ. This video is excellent. You answered many questions about Midway. Your research and people who support you are invaluable. Great narration, rich in detail. Great synchronized graphics. Congratulations, as always. Thank you very much.

[@TJ3]

Thank you!

[@rocketguardian2001]

Actually, Hornet's strike started off together, but Waldron disagreed with the CAG, who flew off on the wrong heading. Waldron tried to correct him but nobody listened, so he took his squadron in on his own. His CAG, Stanhope Ring, led the infamous "flight to nowhere". His fighter escort ended up in the drink, and his dive bombers essentially mutinied and turned back, some landing at Midway, some eventually finding their way back to Hornet, and more of them crashing into the sea. The death of Torpedo 8 had nothing to do with flight coordination, which was only a problem with Enterprise's group. Even Yorktown's group managed to stay together right up until they reached the Japanese carriers, but the CAG lost contact with the Torpedo planes at the last minute, and only started his attack after the last of them was being shot down. You really need to check Parshall and Tully's "Shattered Sword" or at the very least, check Montmayor or Drachinifel for more detail. Sorry dude.

[@f430ferrari5]

All those vids are misleading too. Nothing but garbage. The only good vid is by Brighten Enlightenment. It’s a declassified film by the US Naval War College. Lists all vessels involved and explains what the IJN should have done. They basically state the IJN should have used their surface ships.

[@DesertRat332]

Thank-you! I couldn't believe he missed the mutiny of the Hornet squadrons. To me that's the biggest thing people don't know about the battle of Midway. The movies gloss right over it.

[@Guitarguy273]

An excellent book on this subject, "A Dawn Like Thunder, the True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight" by Robert Mrazek. In it he proves that there were two more "sole survivors" of Torpedo 8's attack - Bert Earnest and Harry Ferrier -- who flew with the five Avengers that took off from Midway that morning.

[@rocketguardian2001]

@Guitarguy273 yeah I've read that one too...Torpedo 8 had a very checkered history. Technically there were also members of the squadron that missed the battle entirely, only showing up aboard Saratoga when she ferried aircraft to the other carriers.

[@joeelliott2157]

I know the "Flight to Nowhere" scenario is supported by the top current historians of the Battle of Midway, who among other things, proved the Japanese were not on the verge of launching an attack when the three carriers were hit at the last possible minute. But I firmly believe the "Flight to Nowhere" scenario is false. Why? 1. Even if the alleged guess that the Japanese carriers were split in two groups was believed by the Hornet's senior officers, it makes no sense to try to send of the whole group on course 265 true. Instead, a fan search would have been sent out and if the carriers were found, try to use the radio vector in the other planes, or keep a strike reserve on the Hornet, like the Yorktown did a few hours earlier. 2. Most of it requires a Large-Secret-Enduring Conspiracy to be true. Namely, the surviving Hornet aircrews kept it a secret that blunders from their superiors caused them to miss the main portion of the Battle of Midway. They would be angry. They would bitch about it. But, supposedly, even when transferred to other carriers, even while relaxing over beers with their follow pilots on leave, the kept their great secret. And all did so for 40 years. No, no. I don't buy it. There are many other reasons to disbelieve the 'Flight to Nowhere' scenario, but these two are the principal reasons, particularly the second reason.

[@jamesbednar3108]

Awesome video!! Having been studying this battle since i was about 7 years old (over 50 + years), pretty much nothing new to learn about this battle. However, must admit NEVER heard about the "5 bullets" comment, so DID learn something new. Awesome graphics and information. Also thanks for mentioning the Japanese doctrine of no flexibilty of putting another carriers air group onto another and giving the USS Saratoga,s air group its riteful place in history. Many books/documentaries really do not mention those issues, if at all. Learned those facts by reading books while growing up dueing the 1970s.

[@gaoxiaen1]

That was a major complaint of the Germans in WWII. The Americans didn't follow their own battle doctrine, thus they were too unpredictable.

[@ChuckMatley]

I read a book I think was "I Boat Commander" by a Japanese sub officer who had an interesting take on the battle. There was to be a sub picket line in place but the senior commanders ignored the junior commanders and sent older, slower boats to do this job. He said that if the newer, faster boats had been sent, as recommended, they could have been in place to see and report the US carrier force and possibly to interdict it. I have never seen this referred to any where else.

[@benjaminrush4443]

The Japanese were aggressive warriors and surely innovative in early use of the Carrier Taskforce. There weapons were some of the best early in the war and that included their submarines. It appears that they made many mistakes and gave The US time to perfect their version of "The Art of War".

[@antonioperez2623]

Thanks TJ. Excellent graphics. Beautiful recreation of the battle.

[@ApokalyptikNM]

I remember hearing a story about a SBD dive bomber gunner if I remember correctly his guns either jammed or were out of ammo so the gunner decided to just start throwing whatever he got his hands on at the Japanese zeroes that were on his six Edit: yeah I seen that footage of midway Island I wonder what it felt like for the guy with the camera in the thick of it.

[@mikebrase5161]

That was Hollywood Director John Ford and cameraman BTW. John Ford was the James Cameron/ Stephen Spielberg of his day.

[@binaway]

In the Pacific the British and Australians also removed the red inner circle from their roundels, who wants be mistaken for the enemy. To prevent friendly fire the British also added the three bars to more closely resemble their US allies.The bars were also blue. The center bar was changed to red on US aircraft after the war.

[@m.a.granados7960]

You forgot to mention the B-17s high altitude bomb run, the Avengers debut and the Marauders torpedo runs, which was the only time in which they were used in that way

[@db5757]

I think it’s a shame they used the B26’s that way. They were a very good medium bomber and, for their day, very fast.

[@1977Yakko]

I think one of the most common myths of the battle was that the Japanese carrier flight decks were crowded with planes. As I understand it, that was not the case. The flight decks were being kept clear so Zero's could land and rearm and return to their combat air patrols while the strike planes were being reloaded in the hanger. I would think that was more devastating for the Japanese as when the planes exploded, they did so internally thus doing more damage to the carriers. One of the carriers as I recall was only hit by one bomb but the internal explosions were still enough to seal its fate.

[@davidphillips6803]

You are correct.

[@steveb6103]

What also played a large part is the hangers - on the Japanese carries where inclosed. Unlike the US , which has open hangers-on. So the explosions caused more damage.

[@germanofficer980]

That Japanese carrier that you are talking about that got hit by one bomb, yet suffered such a staggering loss would be the Akagi. It was bombed by Lt. Best and his 2 other wingmen, in which Best was the one who actually scored the hit on Akagi, that blew her up, and eventually would be the cause of her sinking.

[@1977Yakko]

@@germanofficer980 thanks!

[@richardwhiting1480]

absolutely correct. the flight deck was crowded with, gas and ammo the rearm the returning planes. AND below deck the hanger was stacked high with both bombs and torpedoes.

[@EddieF14]

Side note: Captain Miles Browning, Chief of Staff of Rear Admiral Spruance aboard the USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway, is the grandfather of Chevy Chase the actor. Also when Admiral Halsey was sidelined in the hospital before the battle, he told RADM Spruance to trust his staff (Spruance's background is in cruisers, not aviation), especially Captain Browning because he knew carrier tactics very well. Captain Browning suggested to RADM Spruance to launch the attack to coincide with when IJN Carriers are recovering the Midway strike force.

[@newsieboys1171]

Another tragedy about Torpedo 8 was that it was with the rest of the USS Hornet's air group. But its CAG took them in the wrong direction which was why Bombing & Scouting 8 never got in the battle because they got lost. Waldren's squadron broke from the rest of the air group on his good hunch of where the Japanese fleet was.

[@razorback20]

Actually, another one of Midway's secrets - which I regret no to be in that video - was VT-8's literal mutiny on that very occasion. When Hornet's CAG (L/Cdr Ring) persisted into keeping the whole flight in the wrong direction, Waldron squarely told him to go eat a d**k and broke from formation. Every VT-8 crew then followed their trusted leader without hesitation. Should they have survived what followed, you can bet Waldron and his men would have been thoroughly court-martialled for insubordination... Instead, a few moment later, the radio erupted with shoutings that left no doubt about the actual situation: Waldron had found the enemy, was being engaged without fighter cover and was probably about to be wiped out with his whole group. It was like an uppercut to the chin for Ring who, unable to take any proper decision, ended leading the rest of Hornet's air group to their infamous Great Trip to Nowhere... That whole affair was swept and firmly kept under the rug for decades by the Navy (because they needed heroes at that moment). It only surfaced about 15 years ago, as the few remaining veterans of the battle, feeling their end was nigh, suddenly felt the urge to appease their own conscience before meeting their creator...

[@tonyk92]

You genuinely have some of the best content on this platform, I love binge watching your content and even have it playing in the background while I fall asleep. Keep up the amazing work TJ!

[@TJ3]

Thank you man!

[@bobkonradi1027]

One thing that I've never heard much about are the 4 B-26s that were made available to Adm. Nimitz, which were transferred to Midway just before the battle, and which were outfitted with what was passed off as torpedoes. The pilots had never practiced dropping them, they were defective anyway, and so for these and more reasons, played no part in the battle. I've read accounts that two of the B-26s were shot down, but that the remaining two were able to overfly the flight decks of the Japanese carriers after dropping their torpedoes. I've often speculated how the battle would have run if the B-26s had been carrying their normal load of bombs, which the pilots knew how to drop, had dropped the bombs onto the flight decks of two carriers over a full hour before the actual carnage began. All we can do is speculate these days, but man, what a difference they would likely have made.

[@SubvertTheState]

Wow yeah, who knows how it could've turned out. Couldve saved a lot of pilots lives. But America was one of the only nations to actually implement ideas and tactics which were tried out or thought of at the lowest level of fighting units. The freedom of action of US military units allowed them to make mistakes, and actually learn from them. Creating an environment of constantly evolving strategy, tactics and engineering. Essentially sharpening the sword between every battle. This offers an incredible advantage, as each soldiers feels more of a sense of ownership over their actions in combat. This is in contrast with the Red Army or Japanese Imperial Army following orders to the letter. Including whole units marching into a river, suffering 100% losses, simply because the river bank was 200 yards short of where they were ordered to set up their position.

[@markgranger9150]

The B 26 was a bomber that was fast. and accurate. We know now that our torpedoes were shitty. I think if the B26's were armed.with.bombs they would.have hit a ship.I'm sure they would have caused damage. They did make a contribution to the battle. They kept the Japanese carriers. Dodging.and.prevented them from turning into the wind keeping them from air ops. The 2 B 26's that did get back to midway were damaged so bad they were written off.

[@PsychoticSicarius]

Yorktown wasnt the only American carrier involved at midway, enterprise and hornet were also involved at the battle of midway

[@T1625-w7d]

Ford was tipped off that something was going to happen at Midway. When arrived he was informed there was going to be a battle for the island. The short film he made about Midway won him another Oscar. I can not see any film maker today doing something like that.

[@TomZart]

MIDWAY- 1942** It was June the 4th 1942 As I was floating in the ocean alone The ship I had sailed on, sank to the bottom And I thought I would never again, see home. The Japanese fleet had steamed in from the east With the intentions of capturing Midway. Though they were stopped by American war ships Whose guns, bombs and torpedoes planes saved the day. All night long, I watched the fireworks of war And on the second day we turned up the heat. As big bombers from Hawaii dropped their loads On Japanese ships who soon chose to retreat. An imperial pilot came floating close by Who had been chewed on by the beasts of the sea. I couldn't help but feel passion for this is man Who had answered his call just like me. When it was over, I was plucked from the deep By men in a lifeboat just after the dawn. For two days I had watched the battle for, Midway Now it's quiet and the enemy has gone. By Tom Zart Most Published Poet On The Web

[@druballard8929]

I thought I knew a lot about Midway. What an enjoyment to learn some new interesting and important facts! Great job!

[@TJ3]

Thanks :)

[@kdaleboley]

Incredible production! Well done.

[@JoshuaHistoryBuff]

Another entertaining and informative vid TJ keep up the great work my friend! God bless you and our veterans!

[@MusketeerTed]

I love your videos TJ! They are of an unbeatable quality and they belong in a museum! I wish you the best for the future!

[@TJ3]

Thank you!

[@kavajawa]

You missed Theo Osterkamp, who was 48 years old in combat, and actually shot 6 planes on Western front in 1940 commanding JG-51. That is a whole another level.

[@davidyoung5114]

One comment about the presentation of the two Japanese carriers at the Battle of Coral Sea....you often see carriers with the island on the port (left) side of the ship as they are going through the water; neither the Shokaku nor the Zuikaku had their islands on the port side! The only Japanese carriers which did have port-side islands were the Akagi and the Hiryu, both of which were sunk at Midway!

[@moonshineofthemoon8054]

Yes thank you TJ, I have been waiting for this! Keep at it TJ!!

[@TJ3]

Thank you!

[@rejoicemusicnet]

Just happened upon your video and was gobsmacked by all the great information and all the small details. Keep up your fantastic work!

[@TJ3]

Thank you!

[@roberthuff3122]

VT-8 “infamous”? Courageous, ill-fated, unlucky, but infamous? Never.

[@bigwoody4704]

He could have used a better term but that may have been directed at their fate not their character

[@TomP-nw4wu]

Good stuff. Swing and a miss regarding the diversionary attack in Alaska where the IJN lost an escort carrier.

[@jeffingram9916]

I was on Midway Island in 1960 and 1961. I was a crewman on Navy EC-121Ks that flew patrols between Midway Island and Adak, Alaska. The barracks were on the island in 1942. I remember looking up at the steel I beams that formed the skeleton of the barracks and seeing where the armor piercing rounds of the Japanese aircraft had passed through the I beams. The armor piercing rounds caused the I beam to deform downward as the round passed through the I beam. The Japanese hoped to take Midway Island and use it to launch attacks on Pearl Harbor as they sought to occupy Hawaii. There wasn't much on Midway except goony birds and sand.

[@thewey]

You made a glaring omission. The Japanese lost the escort carrier Shoho at Coral Sea. She operated with 30 aircraft, with the majority being Zeros used for CAP. Good call on the rigid structure of the IJN. They could have fielded at least the Zuikaku at Midway with a combined air arm from the three carriers. Big Mistake.

[@TJ3]

Didn't come across this in my research! Interesting.

[@gaoxiaen1]

@@TJ3 The Germans made the same kind of stupid mistakes. They didn't allow the commanders/troops at the front to make decisions, just like China right now. the ranking American officer/NCO/senior nonrate, is free to call the shots without wasting time on radio chitchat. By the time some flag officer or colonel makes a decision it's already too late.

[@chuckdargy5031]

Winning battles/wars often depends on who makes the least amount of mistakes, not always who is the best military.

[@petrstindl2703]

It is well known why VT-8 attacked without fighters escort - the rest of Hornet strike planes never found Kido Butai because of its commander wrong navigation. Waldron separated from this group so 29 aviators perished

[@Happy11807]

THE ENTIRE HORNET AIR GROUP WAS A WASTE,TORPEDO 8 AIR GROUP WAS SLAUGHTERED BECAUSE OF INCOMPETENT LEADERSHIP AND TACTICS!

[@enscroggs]

Regarding the "natives of Midway", before the United States annexed Midway Atoll as a coaling station for the Navy in 1867, the islands (there are three enclosed by a coral reef) never had a human population because there is no natural source of fresh water. In 1942, the Midway garrison was entirely dependent on a diesel-powered desalination plant for potable water. This fact, which was known to the Japanese, became an important component of the victorious battle. The Imperial Japanese Navy relied on an encryption system known to American military intelligence as JN-25. Thanks to the work of some brilliant codebreakers, American war planners could understand a portion of the intercepted Japanese radio traffic, enough to know that a major Japanese naval offensive was being planned, but the strategic objective was in doubt. Admiral King's intelligence staff worried that the target would be Pearl Harbor or even the West Coast or the Panama Canal. However, Admiral Nimitz and his intelligence staff thought otherwise. Japanese radio transmissions often referred to a location called AF in their JN-25 codebook, but what was it? Station Hypo, the signal intelligence unit based in Hawaii and commanded by CDR Joseph John Rochefort, believed AF stood for Midway Atoll based on traffic analysis, but could they prove it and relieve the fears of King's people in Washington? Rochefort suggested a ruse that hinged on the fact that Midawy has no fresh water of its own. The Midway garrison was sent a written order from Admiral Nimitz delivered by a PBY to transmit a report that Midway's desalination machinery was broken and inoperable. A Japanese signals intelligence outpost heard that signal and reported to its headquarters that "AF is short of water", thus confirming Station Hypo's theory and the focus of the coming attack.

[@f430ferrari5]

Yet another misleading vid. 1. You forgot to mention Carrier Shoho which was sunk at BCS. 2. Yes Zuikaku lost a good portion of her air crew but she could have easily taken Shokaku’s air crew plus there were enough A6M’s and pilots to simply load the carrier 2/3 fighters and provide CAP. And as usual this vid as most others never focus on what the US Naval War College stated as to what the IJN should have done. The IJN should have used their surface ships. Battleships should have shelled Midway to open the battle. It’s amazing how the lack of integrity and honesty is so widespread. It fits the popular theme though.

[@joelwalk3728]

Several other "what you never knew" facts could have added to the impact of this post, 1. six months earlier the attack on Pearl Harbor was to damage the Pacific carrier strength (priority) but as is common knowledge the carriers were NOT in Pearl, instead ferrying aircraft to Wake Island (and possibly Midway) and on the way back to Pearl a weather front (the same system the IJN used to approach Pearl) was battering the smaller escorts thus the carriers slowed to aid the smaller ships thus keeping them from the date with infamy, 2. Japan believed their conquests of the Philippines and Indonesia and New Britain (Rabaul) and the Carolines and Gilbert islands and even Wake Island gave them protection in the western Pacific but then a man named Doolittle bombed Tokyo and that caused repercussions in the IJN so Midway became a priority, 3. the reason the battle of the Coral Sea was a strategic victory for the U.S. was due to the fact the IJN was attempting to secure Port Moresby on New Guinea to blockade Australian shipping but the subsequent assessment after Coral Sea left the IJN depleted to the point that Port Moresby was abandoned by the IJN (which did more damage to the U.S. for a tactical victory), 4. the USS Nautilus on her first patrol to support the Midway operation fired upon some of the attack fleet and took evasive action from destroyers with IJN Irashi then speeding back at flank speed to the catch the IJN fleet and was followed by dive bomber VB-6 led by McClusky, 5. in actually Midway was an additional flight deck, one that could not be sunk, and this was a concern for Nagumo causing all the issues with rearming (attack Midway or carriers) and recovery of strike forces (A6M zeros)--thus it was really 4 v 4 flight operations (3 U.S. carriers and Midway)

[@rudyvasquez9343]

I’ve been playing war thunder for two years!! 👌💯

[@slimeydon]

Dusty Kleiss should have been given a MOH, he scored hits on two carriers on June 4th and another on one of the Japanese cruisers on June 6th. The only pilot to score hits on 3 different ships during the battle.

[@danielchipman8967]

You could make a similar argument for Richard Best. He didn’t hit a third ship, but he also hit two carriers, including sinking the flagship Akagi by himself.

[@lonniemcclure4538]

15:12 - "A story that sounds like its from a movie". So much of what happened at the battle of Midway fits that mold.

[@sailboat908]

Gotta say, wanting to keep flying to try out your new ammo belts is absolutely a War Thunder moment!

[@marvinfrankel9019]

Little know fact about midway. Fred Bates an SBD pilot at Midway had a piece of the the flight deck of the Shokaku because he dropped his bomb so low that the plane caught debris from the bomb dropped ahead of him.

[@4dmind]

Yes, I have stood on the wing root of CAF's Dauntless - that is a gorgeous plane - restored in period camo. I used it as a reference for a model. CAF is a great organization - I would encourage everyone who is interested to get out there and support them.

[@lajinmark2084]

I was hoping that you would mention Hornet skipper Marc Mitchner sending his air group on the wrong course of 265 instead of 240 as he was ordered to do by Spruance. Waldron would have been on the right course and would have been with his entire air group and that would have made the difference. Letting Mitchner off the hook by failing to mention his insubordination is more than neglectful. Mitchner was pissed off because he was passed over by Nimitz and felt he knew carrier opps better than Spruance. The Hornets flight group never made a single contribution to the battle of Midway!!!! It was ALL Yorktown & Enterprise that did the real damage even sinking cruisers days later. Pete Mitchner should have been relieved but for Nimitz giving him a second chance or he would have been. Performance of the Hornet battle group was beyond terrible because of command decisions!!!!! Waldron actually committed mutiny because of his commander Stanly Hope Ring and broke away from formation under protest from Ring. Had Waldron not been killed, he would have been charged with mutiny by useless Stanly Ring who never accomplished anything as a pilot. Nothing!!!

[@GregDaniels-yo4od]

Just when you think you know everything there is to know about Midway, some smartass comes along and provides a fascinating addition to your knowledge. Well done!

[@rbob4931]

A good production. But there is an error in recreating the Yorktown entering Pearl after the battle of Coral Sea (9:52). In your video you’re showing the type of carrier similar to the USS Saratoga and USS Lexington. USS Yorktown had similar super structure (the island) as on the USS Enterprise and Hornet. Since you praised yourself for having nice graphics, and they are nicely done. Better if they are historically accurate. Keep up the good work.

[@richm896]

I second this. That is definitely Lexington Class carrier. Not a Yorktown Class. Also you left out that the US sunk the light carrier Shoho in the Battle of Coral Sea.

[@DBCuzitis]

I heard speculation that the IJN could have combined the remaining flight crews from both carriers and sent the undamaged aircraft carrier out and boosted their offensive punch at midway. They chose not to (or didn’t consider it). Things could have been different if they had.

[@TJ3]

Yep

[@dongilleo9743]

I've read somewhere that Japanese carriers considered their air group as an integral part of their crew. The idea of mixing survivors of various squadrons from different ships together went against their standard operational procedure and mind set. In some ways, this makes sense. It's not just the planes and crews that are important. It's trained and experienced squadron and air strike leaders who can plan, organize, coordinate, and carry out a mission.

[@professorsogol5824]

The question you thought was the hardest I found the easiest: Midway was and is home to Laysan albatrosses (mōlī in Hawaiian, Phoebastria immutabilis in Latin). Wisdom, the oldest known wild bird, nests on Midway and is at least 72 years old. She and her mate last fledged an egg in 2021, but her mate did not return to Midway in 2022

[@THE-HammerMan]

My dad was a Navy Corpsman stationed with a MAWS(Marine Air Wing) and said Okinawa was the nastiest of them all. To a man, all the other dad's in our neighborhood agreed. Tough birds, those generations back then! One of my grandfathers got mustard gassed in WWI and lived to his 90's... REALLY TOUGH BIRDS back then. Really tough.

[@enscroggs]

Really outstanding video. One criticism, however, your depiction of the attack on Mikuma seems to use a War Thunder model of the older Sendai-class light cruiser with four smokestacks. Mikuma was a Mogami-class heavy cruiser with a single raked-back smokestack.

[@TheMichaelScholtz]

Well done! Thank you for this excellent video!

[@zelphx]

Great job. As a retired History teacher, I can say you could easily be one as well.

[@johnboomerboy3042]

❤ this vid. The Battle of Midway has been object my attention since I was boy and my father, a Pacific Fleet tin-can sailor, told me it was the turning point of the war.

[@scotto7924]

Good video. On another for the first time I learnt that after the Yorktown was damaged they flew out key personnel and equipment. Ships with more equipment met them at sea so by the time they reached Pearl Harbour a lot was known.

[@dwightburns6699]

thanks TJ this is the best recreation on KZbin

[@petestorz172]

Coral Sea led to the cancellation on an invasion aimed at Port Moresby. Thus, Coral Sea was a strategic victory. Both the USN and IJN forces conducted air operations around the Solomons over several days prior to the main battle. Losses in these operations - combat and operational - depleted Sho's and Zui's air groups (including some air crew losses) to a greater degree than USN air groups. The main battle further depleted the IJN air groups. Hypothetically, the two air groups could have been combined to allow Zui to participate at Midway, but that was against IJN doctrine of the time.

[@deanbuzzell233]

Damn, dude. Your elocution is SUPERB. It's interesting to watch you speak in real time in the same manner that you speak as you narrate the video. Great job!

[@TJ3]

Well thank you!!

[@deanbuzzell233]

@@TJ3 I understand just how difficult it is to speak in the measured cadence required for video narration - it's SO difficult to keep any emotion from leaking into your commentary. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this video, and a large part of that was how you narrated it. Just an amazing job; literally a master class for aspiring KZbinrs. Well done. SO well done!

[@haroldbenton979]

I had a relative that served on the Lady Lexington at Coral Sea then after she was sunk was transferred to the Yorktown for Midway after she was sunk got assigned to the Hornet all as a20mm gunner after she was list he was assigned to the Essex. He was like i lost 3 carriers and i wasn't going to lose that one come hell or high water.

[@TJ3]

Is he alive?

[@haroldbenton979]

@@TJ3 passed away in 2003.

[@carlwessels2671]

I'm glad he came back and had a life after the war.

[@reielpena1696]

This channel deserves million subs.

[@michaelwade7552]

I thought the oldest combat pilot was Charles Lindbergh who was 42 when he engaged in dog fights in the south pacific. Also President Roosevelt absolutely forbad Lindbergh from having anything to do with aviation in the war because he (Lindbergh) previously been pro Nazi. Lindbergh showed his fellow fighter pilots that they could get far more range if they set their gas mixture at almost full lean for which he was much thanked. Roosevelt had no idea that Lindbergh had breached orders not to go near military aviation during the war.

[@db5757]

Although I don’t believe he flew combat missions, another older pilot during WW2 was Eddie Rickenbacker the WW1 ace. They should do a movie about this guys life. He was all over the place. In the pacific his B17 went down in 1942 and was adrift for like 24 days. Went on a mission to Russia in 1943 I think. Between his WW1 and WW2 experiences, dude had a full life.

[@dutovdevlich3781]

​@db5757 there's reasonable stories that he did fly some combat and may have even had a kill or two while working with the P38 squadrons. Not hard evidence since he wasn't supposed to be in combat.

[@martinbunchdd412]

Uhhh???? Shoho? Totally overkilled and very much sunk!

[@jorgea.villalon9684]

Thank you for sharing this great story with videos, JV

[@JUNKERS488]

You did it Again TJ you somehow topped yourself again. Great Video. Well worth the wait. I think I'm going to download War Thunder Now. The planes and Ships all look so good I can't wait to try flying some of them myself. I also can't wait till your next Video. Have a good weekend buddy and Please Keep 'Em Flyin.

[@Lexington101]

Love your videos! Keep up the great work.

[@Acme1970]

I couldn't believe it when i saw a Midway video posted this morning because i was just watching the 1976 Midway movie the night before.

[@em1osmurf]

my father was a USMC AA gunner aboard USS Pennsy. i get a rip out of watching this. good vid, TJ.

[@FINNIUSORION]

This is great. Anyone can repeat the same dates and facts over and over but it takes some effort to put forth some often missing perspective and more minute 'my-noot' info.

[@vicdibujante52]

Awesome! Now I got new information about this, man thank you for all of this information, you`re doing a great job, keep doing it!

[@TJ3]

Thank you!

[@johnharris6655]

I wish the new Midway movie had just concentrated on Midway. We all know about Pearl Harbor and the Doolittle Raid.

[@robertstroud5750]

Outstanding video!

[@jimpowell2296]

I don’t know what I don’t know, but there are two things for sure that I do know about the battle at Midway. I had two uncles that fought in that battle.

[@The1trueJester]

Woohoo! The GOAT dropped another masterpiece! Happy Friday yall

[@TJ3]

Wooo!

[@frederickguerra9999]

Our country was thrust into the War with the attack on December 7, 1941, against Pearl Harbor. Our tactics were not developed but the bravery of our sailors and soldiers were unprecedented!!

[@billt6116]

The Lexington was not scuttled, she suffered a thermobaric explosion internaly when Avgas fumes in the vent system reached onboard fires. You can see in the pictures, it looks like she was blown nearly in two.

[@Renshen1957]

No mention of the USAAF 4 B-26 torpedo attack? The B-17 high altitude bomb run?

[@petestorz172]

Re Major Henderson, pre-war, promotions came slowly. On another tack, the strung out waves of attack from Midway and the three carrier torpedo squadrons kept the IJN CAP busy fighting off a wave, getting ammunition and gas, re-launching, fighting off another wave, rinse-and-repeat. This prevented the spotting and launching of the IJN strike against USN carriers, and the IJN enclosed hangar decks plus all those gassed and armed planes made for the conflagrations that wiped out damage control parties and plane technicians and handlers as well as dooming the three carriers.

[@liyuanqian9143]

Thank you for clarifying the reason for the staggered arrivals of the American warplanes to engage the Japanese carriers. I didn't know that was the cause, but I observed that the staggering seemed to actually worked out to the advantage of the Americans, notwithstanding the high bloody price they paid. This sequence of events caused the IJN to deplete their fighter planes providing air cover for their carriers, and, affected the launching of their attacking force. When the later waves of American planes engaged with the IJN carriers, they met with far less resistance. The sequence also forced Nagumo into wasting crucial time vacillating between arming the next wave between bombing Midway or torpedoing American carriers. If the American planes had all converged the IJN simultaneously as planned, the outcome might not have been the same. If the IJN knew what they were up against at that stage, it was possible that they might choose to retreat and not lost all 4 carriers. The Americans were still relatively inexperienced then. Even in subsequent naval engagements, they couldn't quite prevent IJN warships from escaping in open seas.

[@gmnotyet]

I was always amazed that the IJN did not send the Zuikaku to Midway with the Shokaku's air group.

[@jiyuhong5853]

that would have been good but unfortunately IJN carrier doctrine didn't allow for that

[@gmnotyet]

@@jiyuhong5853 I understand that but that is inflexible.We did not operate that way, air groups were assigned to carriers as needed. Zuikaki with Shokaku air group sure would have come in handy at Midway. Hiryu took out Yorktown and maybe Zuikakau could have taken out Enterprise and/or Hornet.

[@dongilleo9743]

I've wondered the same about the Zuikaku; why not load it up with whatever planes and crews that were available, and send it out to help at Midway? From what I've read and studied, Japanese aircraft carriers considered their air group personnel to be an integral part of the crew. The idea of mixing together survivors from different squadrons from different ships into an ad hoc air group went against their standard operational procedure and mind set. In some ways, it makes sense. It's not just planes and air crews that are important. You need trained and experienced squadron and air strike leaders to plan, organize, coordinate, and carry out an effective air mission.

[@gmnotyet]

@@dongilleo9743 It is strange to me because that was not US doctrine. Our air groups are INDEPENDENT of the carrier so each carrier has in fact TWO captains: a captain of the ship and a captain of the air group. I think in one of the Pacific battles a carrier had the Saratoga's air group because the Saratoga was not available.

[@WizardsBear]

I actually think though Claire Lee Chennault would be deemed the oldest combat pilot of WW2

[@johnparsons1573]

An absolutely fantastic video. Thank you very much for your time

[@pharmbear]

Not even one second in and I know you slayed this video. Keep it up!

[@TJ3]

Thanks bear!

[@oceanhome2023]

You are not only a good storyteller but truly an artist ! And you dress like an artist !!

[@benjaminrush4443]

Really good Video TJ. Thanks.

[@garylewis3641]

I like your jacket, good video!

[@TheNextGoogification]

One of the things that further complicated the battle for the Japanese, was they had set their bombs for land targets - then they wound up bombing ships, and the thing was the detonators would not detonate on ships not as firm as land

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

Close, the difference is that the anti-ship bombs are armor piecing with a slight delay. The land bombs are contact fused.

[@mikaelcrews7232]

John Ford won his first Oscar for the documentary of Midway! He was already awake shooting footage of the island before the raid was carried out on the island! Lt. Commander Waldron was in his early forties when leading the fateful torpedo squadron 8! At the Battle of the Coral Sea the Japanese list the Shoho! Which was 8 years old when the battle took place.

[@russellmoore1046]

Wade McCluskey the leader of bombing 6 from the USS Enterprise had just turned forty a few days before the battle had started. So he was even older than major Henderson.