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As a wingman on an “Alpha strike” to targets in North Vietnam during Linebacker I in 1972 – with 30 -40 A-7s, A-6’s, F-4’s, bombers, fighters, Iron-Hand, MiG Cap, tankers, Electronic Warfare birds and an E-2 control, inbound was both a time of anticipation and building tension, and additionally, a period of just waiting and thinking. Over several dozens of these Alphas in an 11 month cruise, I don’t think I ever did not think about what it must have been like on the 4th of June 1942 for my former ops boss at Point Mugu, LCDR Pat Patterson as a 19 year old petty officer radioman/gunner in the backseat of a Bombing 6 (VB-6) Dauntless – and indeed, all those guys from Enterprise, Hornet and Yorktown doing the same thing – looking out over the partially cloud covered Pacific Ocean on their way to the most significant naval battle of World War II.
I first wrote about those reflections 10 years ago -“And so today -4 June 2015 – for me “officially” becomes thefirst remembered sky day.” I try to write something each year with different context. Last year in Battle of Midway – the Legacy,I discussed the issue of a decisive battle in terms of 1) the overall Pacific war outcome itself, and 2) the impact of carrier warfare for the future by ushering in a major change in warfare.
Indeed as noted by John B. Lundstrom in Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal… a fundamental transformation in naval power had just taken place. Carriers usurped the prime strategic role of battleships in that their principal opponents were their enemy counterparts, and they should only to be committed to battle in the proper circumstances.
But along with that change with all the conundrums and paradoxes , there is also the lasting paradox brought about by Midway:
the emergence and continuation of the aircraft carrier as a flexible dominant maritime threat and resource as compared to
its potential vulnerability and significance of loss.
Next I have repeated from the original Rememberedsky Day post the final words from Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower, by Thomas Wildenberg. A well researched and excellent reference for naval aviation from 1925 through the Battle of Midway June 1942, there are intriguing comparisons for reflection on future airpower.
Finally below that are the links to past postings and multiple highly regarded and recommended references on this day in history .
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Chapter 20:
Reassessing Naval Aviation’s Contribution to Victory
Wildenberg, Thomas (2013-04-08).Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower. Naval Institute Press.
PRIOR WORKS DISCUSSING the events surrounding the Battle of Midway have largely ignored the importance of the aerial doctrine developed by the navy during the interwar period. With few exceptions, most authors (and perhaps many historians as well) have led the public to believe that the U.S. Navy— outnumbered four carriers to three— was lucky to have won such a decisive victory, given the poor quality of its aircraft relative to that of the enemy.
Though the gods of war certainly smiled upon the navy’s airmen that day, I feel strongly that the demise of the Japanese strike force was a direct result of the navy’s efforts to perfect dive bombing as the central component of its aerial doctrine. The simultaneous arrival of three squadrons of heavily armed dive bombers over Nagumo’s ships when they were most vulnerable was certainly fortuitous, but not unpredictable, given the nature of seaborne flight operations and the U.S. Navy’s insistence that its own carriers launch their strike groups as soon as possible.
Too much emphasis has been placed on naval aviation’s shortcomings in the early months of World War II, particularly with regard to the deficiencies of its torpedo bombers, and not enough on its successes. It is certainly true that the slow, vulnerable TBD-1 Devastator was obsolete, but its successor— the TBF-1— had already entered the pipeline. A few of the new planes even participated in the Battle of Midway, albeit the TBF-1s deployed from Midway’s airstrip fared no better than their elder brethren! 1 The real problem with U.S. torpedo doctrine lay in the inherent vulnerability of these planes in the face of large numbers of enemy fighters— a situation which had not been encountered before, and one which could not be avoided given the limited number of VFs available and the need to throw everything we had at the enemy. The extremely poor performance of the their torpedoes— a fault that can be attributed directly to the Bureau of Ordnance— only ensured that no hits would be achieved by the few VTs that did get through.
Likewise, many have touted the performance of the Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero while ignoring the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat. Although the latter was somewhat slower and less maneuverable than the Zero, the F4F-4 had better armament and could take much more punishment because of the self-sealing tanks and armor— features that enabled Jimmy Thach and his men to give as good as they received.
Not enough credence is given to the Dauntless SBD dive bomber, an exceptional aircraft that was a generation ahead of its famous rival, the Aichi D3A Val. Its ability to remain perfectly stable in a dive contributed to the remarkable accuracy obtained by its pilots on that fateful day. These SBDs were armed with a 1,000-lb. bomb fused to go off a fraction of a second after impact so that it would explode just under the flight deck, causing the maximum amount of damage possible with regard to disabling further flight operations.
No one factor determined the outcome of the battle. The navy’s successful effort to break the “Purple Code” of the Imperial Japanese Navy was certainly crucial, as was Nimitz’s decision to take a “calculated risk.” One must not discount the herculean efforts by the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor to repair Yorktown, either, but only dive bombers and the aerial doctrine under which they were deployed were ultimately responsible for sinking the enemy ships of the Imperial Navy’s First Carrier Strike Force.
Vegetation fires, or wildland fires, are the closest thing to military aerial combat a civilian pilot will ever get.
Thanks to Ray “Drifty,” DiLorenzo, a former California fire pilot now living in Montana. And to Skip Leonard for the post in his daily “List.” This is a unique and most important story telling about a different kind of flying than those of us he and I mostly write about – fast mover aviation by Navy, Marine and Air Force fighter/attack/strike fighter pilots. This type of ” Attack” down in the weeds and canyons with high gust winds in a big mutha like a DC-10 is a tale worth knowing about. Hat tip, for sure! Continue reading →
Over the last 32 years I have asked my students of all ages what happened on this day in History and I have found that as the years went by fewer and fewer of them knew what this date meant or even what Pearl Harbor was all about. Very discouraging. History is something that you need to remember so you will not make the same mistakes again. I fear we are still doing that today. Skip Leonard.. The List
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History
1941 – In one of the defining moments in U.S. history, the Japanese attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet and nearby military airfields and installations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and remove the U.S. Navy’s battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empires southward expansion. The U.S. is brought into the World War II as a full combatant.
As the Japanese attacked Midway Island, 1st Lt. George H. Cannon remains at his post until all of his wounded men are evacuated, though severely wounded himself. Because of his dedication to his men, Cannon dies due loss of blood from his wounds. For his “distinguished conduct in the line of his profession”, Cannon is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
On October 15, 2021 Commander Thomas ‘Boot’ Hill, Navy F-4 and F-14 fighter pilot, passed away from esophageal cancer. A-6 pilot Capt. Dave ‘Snako’ Kelly died from melanoma of the brain on 16 March 2014. Randy Anderson, Navy F-8, F-4, and Air Guard F-105 pilot died from Glioblastoma – brain cancer – 0n 4 Dec 2007.
Randy was my best friend out of college and roommate for the first half of flight school, until he got married and we went off to two different air stations for advanced flight training. ‘Snako’ and I were in the same airwing in Airwing Five on USS Midway for Linebacker I & II, he in Intruders and me in Corsairs – participants in many of the same Alpha Strikes into North Vietnam. Snako’s writing from his book Not on My Watch is an integral part of rememberedsky. I didn’t know CDR Hill, but after he was diagnosed with cancer, and began studying the connections of aviation and cancer focusing initially on Naval aviators, he eventually became involved with the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association (RRVA) and its Aviator Medical Issues Committee (AMIC). There he worked closely with a longtime friend and supporter of this website, retired F-15 pilot, Air Force Col Vince ‘Aztec’ Alcazar. Aztec is now the lead for AMIC. Continue reading →
Posted inPeople, Testimony of Pilot -Series|Comments Off on Fight’s On: The Aviator Cancer Examination Study (ACES) Act – H.R 4886 > H.R.530
… a fundamental transformation in naval power had just taken place. Carriers usurped the prime strategic role of battleships in that their principal opponents were their enemy counterparts, and they should only to be committed to battle in the proper circumstances .. Lundstrom, John B. Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway & Guadalcanal
Attack on the Akagi by R.G. Smith
On the anniversary of the Battle of Midway (June 4-5 1942) , Rememberedsky offers some reflection on the battle particularly in context of sea-based airpower given current tension and potential conflict in the South China Sea. Continue reading →
I’m 104 and the last survivor of the Battle of Britain – I want to live to 106 to see my crashed plane fly again.
Group Captain John “Paddy” Hemingway is the only surviving pilot of the 2,937 who helped to win the Battle of Britain.
Group Captain Paddy Hemingway.103, is united with a World War11 Hurricane at Casement Air base Baldonnel Near Dublin Ireland Paddy baled out of his Hawker Hurricane over the Thames Estuary After after a dog-fight with German Me 109 fighters. He landed safely near Pitsea his aircraft diving into Fobbing Creek Essex.
War and remembrance No matter the old, “smart” decision makers No matter the politics Or “statecraft” of the DC pundits It was our war We fought it Some lost years Some lost lives Some lost family As young’uns we never set out to buy but still … We own it Band of brothers and sisters WE SHALL EVER BE
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day is today, March 29th, and it is also the 50th Anniversary of this special memorial observance. This is the purpose:
“As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we reflect with solemn reverence upon the valor of a generation that served with honor. We pay tribute to the more than 3 million servicemen and women who left their families to serve bravely, a world away from everything they knew and everyone they loved. From Ia Drang to Khe Sanh, from Hue to Saigon and countless villages in between, they pushed through jungles and rice paddies, heat and monsoon, fighting heroically to protect the ideals we hold dear as Americans. Through more than a decade of combat, over air, land, and sea, these proud Americans upheld the highest traditions of our Armed Forces.Continue reading →
The A-7A/B should be recognized as the end of the linefor pure, iron bomb dive bombers including most famously the Dauntless and the A-1 Skyraider, and the A-7D/E as the beginning of a new era of attack a/c – same airframe and aerodynamics but with a major improvement in the systems/avionics. It is not unreasonable to state that the F/A-18 and F-35 have at their core a technical and operational capability that is Corsair II D/E in design concept technically and philosophically – what we now characterize as “strike fighter.” (F-16, F/A-18, F-35)
The story of the A-7 evolution is a central piece of RG Head’s book, reviewed in the previous post. The following is an excerpt by RG from that story.
The Navy developed the A-7 Corsair II in 1963 to replace the venerable A-4 (A4D). In 1965 the Air Force joined the program, and together they developed the A-7D and E with a revolutionary avionics/weapons delivery system. This is the story of that innovation. Continue reading →
The “attack” mission combines the capabilities and objectives of air interdiction, close air support, strike, and what has come to be known as strategic attack.
“This is a story about flying. It is told by naval aviators, Air Force fighter pilots, and the men who built the airplanes they flew. All served our country with honor. This narrative on attack aviation is a part of our history, an important link from those who were the pioneers of early aviation. They invented ways to use the airplane, built it, maintained it, extended its range, and made it lethal against America’s adversaries. … This story is told using a wide sweep of history over a century, but with concentrations on several case studies that characterize the evolution, technology, and tactics of the time. … The heroes in these stories are the aircraft and the young men (and now women), warts and all, who debated, built, flew, and fought with these aircraft.
These are their stories and their history. We owe them our freedom.” RG Head
Posted inAnalysis, Blown Slick Series, Book Reviews|Comments Off on Book Review: US Attack Aviation: Air Force and Navy Light Attack 1916 to the Present
A-7 Corsair II Association
The A-7 Corsair II Association’s mission is to document the history of the A-7 airplane and those who flew and maintained it, to be a repository and guardian of the extensive Corsair II legacy, and to facilitate contact among former members of the A-7 com
Linebacker II 12/72
On December 18, 1972 the strategic bombing campaign of North Vietnam began. During the 12 days that followed, over 1300 air strike sorties, including 729 by B-52s, pounded North Vietnam day and night. While Navy sorties were less, Carrier-based A-6s flew