Chapter 25 Chapter 21 The Eagle in the Angel Twelve

Tick, tick wait, watch wait, watch tick, tick Midway awaits.Midway was watching. As the reader may recall, it was mentioned above that eleven Catalinas were patrolling in the sky with two squadrons of six fighters each.Meanwhile, Sweeney's B|17 continued to attack Tanaka's troops.On the island, the anti-aircraft artillery of Shannon's 6th Marine Garrison Battalion had all moved into combat positions.Eight torpedo boats are moored at the pier, ready to rescue survivors at any time, and ready to attack enemy aircraft with machine gun fire.Four Army B|26 bombers and six Navy TBF torpedo planes of VT|8 Detachment were awaiting a call to action, eleven SB2U|3 Avengers of VMSB|241 Squadron and sixteen SBD|2 destroyed The fighter jets are also on standby. [Note: Ramsey Report: Letter from the Deputy Squadron Leader of the No. 1 Squadron of Torpedo Boats to the Squadron Leader on June 7, 1942.Content: Report on the squadron's participation in the Battle of Midway on June 4th-6th, 1942.Hereinafter referred to as the report of the deputy squadron leader of the torpedo boat. 】

The heaviest burden of defending Midway will fall on the shoulders of the pilots of VMF|221 Squadron.The minutes passed, indifferent to people's hopes and fears, and the pilots were as restless as everyone else.Major Floyd B. Parks, formerly their second-in-command, is now their new squadron leader.In the command post the night before, he had worked out the battle plan with his predecessor, McCall, and Captain Kemus. [Note: Unpublished doctoral dissertation by Bard under the supervision of Prange: Midway Island: Studies in Command Problems, 134 | 135.Hereinafter referred to as command research. 】

The command post on Sand Island had the characteristics of the type of bunker commonly used on Midway: rectangular planks covered with paper and bitumen as a substitute for waterproofing.The entire bunker was situated in a sand pit about four feet deep, and sand was dug from the pit to cover the roof.Cover with more sand if necessary.Then pile the branches that were cut down while building the runway on top.On the day of the attack, some bunkers had been covered with grass, forming a natural camouflage, which looked like a sand dune from the air. [Note: Interview with Kems. 】 The conferencing of the three Marine officers resembled pitifully three German housewives making strudels, trying to roll out the dough as thinly as possible without breaking it. The MAG|22 combat plan has been formulated long ago.First, as soon as the radar stations (one each on Sand Island and East Island) reported the approach of enemy aircraft, they let all the aircraft on the airfield that could take off go into the air.Second, when the radar station reported that the enemy was approaching, they would radio command VMF|221 Squadron to intercept the enemy plane without waiting for it to fly over the island.Again, VMSB|241 Squadron will assemble and stand by at a bearing of 90 degrees, 20 nautical miles away from East Island, and then search for and destroy the enemy aircraft carrier or track and attack the returning Japanese aircraft. [Note: Letter from the commander of the MAG|22 Battalion to the Commander of the Pacific Fleet dated June 7, 1942.Contents: Report on the Operation of Midway.Hereinafter referred to as the MAG|22 report. 】

Kems, McCall, and Parks now had to decide how to maximize the twenty-one F2A|3s and seven F4F|3s assigned to them.Engine failures have rendered one of each of the small, burly fighters inoperable.So Parkes had only twenty F2A|3s (the Navy called them Buffaloes, the Marines Brewsters, but both informally called Skycoffins) and six newer ones. , better performance Wildcat machine. After a long discussion, they decided to divide these planes into two groups in case the Japanese attacked from several directions at the same time.The first group consisted of four Brewsters from Parkes' 1st Detachment, four similar aircraft from Capt. Robert E. Curtin's 4th Detachment, and six Wildcats from Carey's 5th Detachment.So Parkes had fourteen planes.The remaining ten were divided equally into two groups: the second team was led by the deputy squadron leader, Captain Daniel J. Hennessey, and the third team was led by Captain Kirk Armistead.After the marines received the report on the location of the Japanese planes, the ten Brewsters would circle over the designated location to find out whether the incoming enemy planes were a group.Hennessey and Armistead were then notified by the appropriate radio order.It was midnight when they came to this decision, and they had been lying down for a few hours. [Note: Research on command issues. 】

Pilots who are unable to take off because of the plane try to do some necessary ground work.Ensign J. C. Musselman Jr. was one of the pilots who remained on the ground.He served as a duty officer of VMF | 221 Squadron. Second Lieutenant H. Phillips' F4F|3 aircraft failed, so he was in the standby tent with Musselmann.He was on the phone, and Musselmann walked around and helped. [Note: The conversation between Lieutenant J. C. Musselman Jr. and Lieutenant H. Phillips on June 6, 1942, hereinafter referred to as the conversation of Musselman and the conversation of Phillips respectively. 】In the command post of VMSB|241, Second Lieutenant Elmer P. Thompson also had no planes to fly, so he asked the duty officer to take off and fight, and took over for him on duty. [Note: A talk by Second Lieutenant Elmer P. Thompson of the US Marine Corps (Volunteer) Reserve on June 7, 1942, hereinafter referred to as Thompson's talk. 】

In the radio tent, although the radio operators tried their best to prevent the Japanese from interfering, they were still very worried.They estimated that the frequency they had used for a period of time had been mastered by the Japanese side, so in the past four or five days, they frequently changed the frequency of the station.They prepared four or five frequencies, and when radio silence had to be broken, they immediately switched to one that had never been used in the area.Do not use the so-called combat frequency unless it is absolutely necessary. In order to further confuse the Japanese, the operators also shuffled the logbook for the past two months, and then the duty officer read to the airport one or two random passages from the logbook at irregular intervals during the day.On the surface it looks like business as usual.These methods seemed to work well, because the Japanese were not disturbed throughout the day.In this way, the fighter commander temporarily set up in the command post can freely command the fighters in the air through the radio according to the information provided by the radar and patrol aircraft. [Note: Interview with Kems. 】

The radar stations on Shadao and Dongdao are ready for combat despite their obsolete equipment.The plotting equipment in the command post is a table with a bearing of 360 degrees and an area of ​​150 nautical miles marked on it, with an arm extending from the center of the circle, and the number of nautical miles is marked on the arm.When the radar captures the bearing and distance of the aircraft's bright spot, the plotter rotates the arm to coincide with the bearing, which automatically shows the location of the bright spot. [Note: Same as above. 】 The uninvited guests hadn't arrived after five o'clock.The Midway side got impatient, and the defenders started some activities.Ramsey flew the one B|17 that hadn't taken off to Pearl Harbor with a still faulty engine.The plane, which had been launched at about 4:20, was shut down, the fuel tanks were covered, and the pilots returned to the hangar. [Note: NAS Diary; Command Issues Research. 】

A few minutes later, Kems called and ordered the patrol fighters to return and land.For some reason, the detachment of Capt. Francis P. McCarthy and Capt. Roy A. Corey Jr. did not receive Kemus' call and continued to patrol the air alone.Then, as the Wildcats of Carey's unit taxied into the aircraft bunker to refuel, the plane of Carey's wingman, 2nd Lieutenant Walter W. Swansberg, slid off the wooden runway and sank its landing gear into the sand.Carey's Wildcats went from six to three in an instant. [Note: A memorandum from the commander of MAG|22 to the 2nd Marine Corps of the Naval Air Force in the Hawaiian area on June 8, 1942, regarding the initial preparations for the operations of MAG|22 on June 4, 5 and 6. Report.Hereafter referred to as Kems' report; Bard's interview with Carey, July 1, 1966. 】

At 5:20, Catalina 4V58 reported finding an aircraft of unknown origin.Even this report did nothing to break the uneasy silence on Midway.For Lieutenant Howard P. Eddy, the pilot of 4V58, and Ensign Miles Smith, the co-pilot, this was destined to be an unforgettable morning.As fate would have it, their search fan will go straight to the Nagumo fleet, and they may have spotted a Japanese search plane. [Note: Contact Report; Analysis of the Battle of Midway; NAS Diary; Honolulu Advertiser, June 17, 1942. 】 Ten minutes later, Midway received another telegram from Eddie.This time he reported that an aircraft carrier was found with a bearing of 320 and a distance of 180. [Note: Contact report. ] Midway took action.An exciting call rang in Thompson's reconnaissance aircraft waiting room, ordering all aircraft to be launched.The duty officer sent squadron trucks to fetch the pilots. [Note: Thompson's report. 】When the combat alert and operational orders reached the aviation personnel of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, the 6th Garrison Battalion also ordered its anti-aircraft guns to open fire on all aircraft identified as not our own. [Note: Letter from the Commander of the Sixth Garrison Battalion, Fleet Marine Corps, to the NAS Commander, June 13, 1942.Content: Report on the combat situation on the morning of June 4, 1942 and at night from the 4th to the 6th.Hereafter referred to as Shannon's report. 】

At 5:45, the crew members of each aircraft took their positions, turned on the radio, and completed the warm-up.At this time, what Nimitz called the most important enemy situation in this battle occurred. [Note: McCall's report; Nimitz's report, June 28, 1942. ] Lieutenant William A. Chase of 3V58 was flying close to Eddie's reconnaissance fan when his observer, Lieutenant W. C. Kerber, spotted two groups of forty-five aircraft approaching.The two scouts were very excited, but they also unequivocally believed that the race for speed and time was more important than secrecy, so they did not encrypt, and Chase directly reported the enemy's situation in plain language: many planes were flying to Midway Island, The bearing is 320 degrees and the distance is 150 degrees. [Note: Ramsey Report; NAS Diary; Honolulu Advertiser, June 17, 1942]

At the same time, Eddie, traveling through the rain squall over the area, turned the Catalina's nose.Through a gap in the clouds he saw a dreadful scene, and he felt he saw the curtain rising on the greatest drama of his life. [Note: News bulletin No. 56. ] What is deployed on the ocean below is not the entire force of Nagumo, but it is enough to make the eyes of the two young pilots widen in surprise.At 5:52, Chase reported that he had spotted two aircraft carriers and capital ships, with the aircraft carrier as the lead, heading 135, speed 35. [Note: NAS diary. ] While he was reporting, the Tone might have spotted it, and immediately sent a report saying: 45 degrees to port, enemy plane spotted, 32 kilometers away, flying very high.Fortunately for Chase and Kerber, a storm caused the Japanese to lose their target. [Note: Narration of Japan, p. thirteenth. 】 One minute after Chase's report, the radar tower on Sand Island spotted several enemy planes at a distance of 93 nautical miles, 310 degrees, and an altitude of 11,000 feet, and reported the situation to the battalion command post.In fact, there are more than a few planes.A few minutes later the report said there were many racks. [Note: Report by Shannon. ] Within minutes the air raid sirens sounded.Kems realized that the pilots might not have heard the alert from the command center due to the roar of the plane's engines.So he dispatched the truck with the command post to pick up the pilots and take on the role of contemporary Paul Revere. Riding straight to Boston, Massachusetts, with urgent military reports on the arrival of British troops. ] The portable siren on the character's car vibrated. [Note: Thompson's talk. 】 Parkes's first team took off immediately, followed by Curtin's fourth team.In actual combat, the combat plan carefully formulated the night before was not implemented.Parkes led six Brewsters instead of the planned four, and Curtin and his wingman, 2nd Lieutenant Darrell D. Owen, formed a unit of their own.Carey then took off with the rest of the Wildcats.Capt. Marion E. Carr and his wingman, Ensign Clayton M. Canfield, also took off.As they climbed, Carl felt that the speed of the plane was abnormal and asked Canfield to follow to support Carey. [Note: Conversation by Ensign C. M. Canfield, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, June 6, 1942.Hereafter referred to as the Canfield talk. 】 Before the Wildcats were out of sight of Midway, McCarthy's and Corey's two stray planes radioed that they were running low on fuel and begged to be let in.McCall told them that the enemy's attack was imminent and asked them to land quickly to refuel and take off quickly. [Note: McCall's report. 】 At the same time, Armistead has led the team's six P2A aircraft into the air, circling and waiting for orders. [Note: Conversation by Captain K. Armistead of the United States Marine Corps on June 4, 1942.Hereafter referred to as Armistead's Conversation; McCall's Report. ] At this time, from the radar that effectively tracked the Japanese plane, the situation became very clear.As Kems recalled: Through our radar equipment, it can be found that the enemy's way of attacking us is the simplest one.They fly very high, about eleven thousand | twelve thousand feet.Therefore, the large radar of Sand Island can easily catch them.Enemy planes approached the target in groups. [Note: Interview with Kems. ] So Midway ordered Armistead and Hennessey to turn 320 degrees so they could give their companions a helping hand. [Note: Armistead's talk; Keymes' report. 】 Carey's three Wildcats were the first to encounter the invading Japanese aircraft.Flying high and with sharp eyesight, Carey spotted the enemy first.At 6:12, he grabbed the radio and shouted: Target found!Eagle in Angel Twelve!This was telling the Midway station and the other American pilots that he had spotted the bomber at twelve thousand feet. [Note: Conversation by Canfield; The Unprecedented Battle of Midway, p. 56.] ] These Japanese planes may be high-altitude bombers of Hiryu and Soryu.There were eighteen planes when they took off from the mothership, but one of them was forced to return due to an engine failure.According to Nanyun, at 6:16, these planes were intercepted by enemy F4F planes for 15 minutes at a distance of about 40 nautical miles from Midway Island. [Note: Narration in Japan, pages 4 and 42. 】 Carey found that the enemy fighters did not clear the way for the bombers in front of the group, as people expected, but flew slightly higher than the bombers.This allowed Carey to quickly attack the bombers without being overtaken by the Zeros.He made a smooth roll of the Wildcat, then swooped down to gain speed.He had a firm grip on a lead plane in the sights.The windshield of the plane was cracked by bullets, but he ignored it and continued to attack, watching the enemy plane explode in front with his own eyes. Carey quickly pulled out of the V shape, rushed straight up, made a sharp turn on the outside, and flew towards the rear of the aircraft formation.As he flew back at high speed again, the plane was hit by an enemy bomber's tail machine gun, and steel shards flew into his legs. [Note: Bard's interview with Carey, July 1, 1966. 】 Canfield followed Carey all the way.He dealt with the number three of the enemy second team until it exploded and burst into flames.During the attack, he spotted several Japanese fighter jets swooping down on him from the left side.To get rid of the Zeros, he flew towards a large cloud about five nautical miles away.After flying around it, he looked back and saw a Japanese bomber burning on the sea with a long trail of black smoke.The enemy fighter was out of sight, so he overtook Carey, who was lurching in the general direction of Midway. [Note: Conversation by Canfield. 】 Carey's legs were injured, the pain was excruciating, and he could not step on the rudder normally.Canfield assumed leadership, leading his superiors all the way back under the cover of clouds.Carey's legs were bloodied, the pain was unbearable, and he almost fainted twice, but he continued to fly forward with tenacious perseverance.Canfield landed first.His landing gear broke on landing.As soon as the plane stopped taxiing, he jumped out and jumped into the trench bunker just before the Japanese air attack.Carey landed next, but when the plane landed he felt unable to steer it because he was unable to apply the brakes and both tires had been punctured.His Wildcat skidded off the runway and crashed into an aircraft shelter.Two men jumped on it and dragged him out of the plane and behind cover.No sooner had they got behind this ineffective cover than the bombs fell. [Note: Bard's interview with Carey, July 1, 1966. 】 At the same time, Karl opened fire on the enemy aircraft group.He wanted to look back to see how the record was, but found several Zeros trailing up.He was taken aback, quickly increased the accelerator, and dived straight down.The Japanese plane stopped chasing after reaching an altitude of 3,000 feet. Obviously, it was worried that if it could not resume level flight in time, it would be in danger of falling into the sea.Carl climbed again to 20,000 feet, but by then the fighting was over, so he flew back over Midway.He found three Zeros hovering at low altitude about two nautical miles from the base.He rushed towards these Japanese planes at full speed at 45 degrees.Carl got into a Zero's orbit, gnawed on it from behind, and fired a burst of bursts at the bandit, who fell sideways and straight down.The last time Karl saw it, it fell almost straight down, trailing a cloud of smoke. The other two Zeros rushed towards Karl, and Karl escaped into the clouds.One of the Japanese planes stopped pursuing.The other pressed on, firing heavily at the Wildcats.Karl saw that the Type Zero was catching up at high speed, and decided to use judo techniques to defeat the enemy with his own strength.He deliberately and suddenly slowed down to Wildcat speed and entered the taxi.The zero-type machine was extremely fast, and it jumped in front of him in one fell swoop, and was fooled.As it flew past Carl, Carl shot again and again.He tried again to knock the Zero down as it flew into his sights, but several of his machine guns failed.Being careful is being brave, and Karl escaped into the clouds again, so he couldn't observe any targets.He hovered at 10,000 feet until the end of the battle, only to land when he received a radio order. [Note: Conversation by Captain M. E. Carr of the US Marine Corps on June 6, 1942.Hereinafter referred to as Carl's talk. 】 If Parks knew that the Japanese had reported that Soryu's eighteen level bombers had encountered thirty or forty F4F|3s twenty nautical miles from Midway, he would have felt both elated and ridiculous. . [Note: Narration in Japan, page 43. 】No more than six Wildcats were launched by VMF|221 Squadron that day.Moreover, the well-trained Japanese pilots actually regarded the old-fashioned Brewster aircraft as the more advanced F4F|3, which is also a compliment to the technology and courage shown by the Parkes pilots. Sadly, the brave major was killed in this battle.Of the first unit he led that day, only Second Lieutenant Charles S. Hughes, who did not participate in the battle, survived.Hughes' engine began to fail at 5,000 feet, and at 16,000 feet, the engine started to rattle.Reluctantly, he came to the conclusion that insisting on going to war would be futile and tantamount to suicide.So he decided to go back to the bunker, hoping to get the trouble out of the way as soon as possible so he could get back into the fight.He returned to Midway at 6:25, a few minutes before the approach of the level bombers.As soon as he climbed out of the malfunctioning plane, the six Japanese planes began to drop bombs.The bomb landed very close to the bunker Hughes wanted to hide in. [Note: Conversation by Lieutenant Charles S. Hughes of the US Marine Corps Reserve on June 4, 1942.Hereinafter referred to as the Hughes talk. 】 While none of Parkes' 1st Squadron survived to report back, Curtin's wingman, Darrell Owen, did witness some of the action.After flying about twenty nautical miles, Owen spotted two Japanese bomber squadrons in huge V formations, each with seven or nine aircraft. [Note: Conversation by Second Lieutenant D.D. Owen of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve on June 9, 1942, hereinafter referred to as Owen's Conversation. 】It is almost certain that these planes are the level bombers of the Soryu led by Lieutenant Heijiro Abe.Parkes' five Brewsters were ahead of Curtin and Owen.Lieutenant Owen saw them approach the enemy from above, and later, unfortunately, as he said, never saw Captain Curtin, nor any of the planes of the 1st Squadron.While withdrawing he saw a bomber burning, presumably shot down by 1st Squadron.Behind Owen, a Type Zero machine followed closely like a tail that could not be shaken off.He climbed to about 16,500 feet and tried to dive to escape, but was caught by the Japanese plane, and most of the left aileron was knocked out by the Japanese plane. Owen could no longer control the plane to fight, so he flew towards Midway Island in a hurry.Along the way, the Japanese plane that was chasing after him, together with another plane that came to help, attacked Owen frequently.Each time they passed him, they made sharp flank turns, ready to attack again.Later, Owen praised objectively: Their shooting skills are very good.I'm sure they hit my plane every time.He was bitten tightly by the two Japanese planes, unable to turn around and fight back.All he wanted was to shake them off, or lure them into the AA barrage. Many times he heard bullets clang against the armor shield of the back of his chair.The guard was only shoulder height, he knew that.So he sat down as low as possible, and two Japanese planes were chasing after him. He retracted his head into the cockpit, braved the dive bombing of enemy planes, and landed at Midway Island at 6:50. [Note: Owen's conversation. 】 Hennessey led the second squadron of six fighters into the enemy formation.Captain Philip R. White found three V formations, each consisting of eight aircraft.After White's first attack, he found a Zero behind him and swooped down to throw it away.He climbed to 1,000 feet again and heard a radio report that a bandit was leaving the airspace in a direction of 310 degrees.After he found the enemy plane, he rushed up from a long distance at high speed.His short-bodied Brewster fired rounds, and the Japanese bomber wobbled left and plunged into the sea. White climbed up again and went into battle.He spotted another bomber looming in the clouds, apparently trying to return to the carrier.White cranked up the old Brewster's horsepower, got close and opened fire on the fleeing bomber.He thought that he must have damaged the engine of the enemy plane, because the speed of the enemy bomber dropped sharply.Once the speed of the Japanese plane slowed down, they had no choice but to sit still.But at this time White found that he had run out of ammunition and could not pack this bag. [Note: Conversation by Captain P.H. White of the US Marine Corps on June 6, 1942.Hereafter referred to as White's talk. 】This Japanese plane may be piloted by Tomonaga, because Nagumo received a report from Tomonaga at 6:58 that I was hit and that the squadrons were ordered to fight independently. [Note: Narration in Japan, page 14. 】White hurried back to Midway, replenished ammunition and took off again.But before he had time to attack the invading enemy plane again, he received an order to return all of them. [Note: White's talk. 】 Of the second unit, only White and Captain Herbert T. Merrill survived.Merrill spent so much time in the injured plane that he suffered severe burns to his face, neck and hands, and survived by parachuting into a lagoon. [Note: Bard's interview with Carey, July 1, 1966. 】White witnessed the sacrifice of many comrades-in-arms, so his evaluation of the Brewster aircraft was particularly harsh.He said: F2A｜3 is not a fighter at all, the Japanese Zero fighter can fly around it in circles In my opinion, when the commander orders the pilot to fly the F2A|3, he should think that the pilot is dead before taking off [Note: White's talk. 】 Armistead's third team had better luck.Upon hearing Carey's call to spot his target, Armistead climbed up.He spotted the enemy buzzing forward at fourteen thousand feet, about two miles to his right and five to seven miles from Midway.He turned to fly at 70 degrees, and continued to climb, hoping to reach the top of the enemy, and then rush towards the enemy in the direction of the sun.He failed to reach his intended destination in time and had to dive from 17,000 feet to attack five V formations of five to nine bombers each.As he swooped down, he saw five of his fighters closely following him, and he also saw a Wildcat follow.It's Swansberg's wildcat style.The problem with his plane had been fixed, but it was too late for him to get in touch with Carey. The target chosen by Armistead was the fourth detachment of five Japanese aircraft.He rushed straight down from a high altitude to the Japanese plane.He saw his incendiary bombs start in front of the lead plane of the Japanese formation and hit the left flank of the V-shaped formation all the way.He looked back and saw two or three enemy planes caught fire and fell. When he jumped to 14,000 feet, three fighters followed him all the way.They climb at steep angles and at suspicious speeds.When the nearest plane was only five hundred feet behind him and below him, he realized that they were Zeros.He swerved sharply and rolled one and a half, but his Brewster had taken a lot of bullets from the Japanese, about twenty 7.7mm rounds on the left aileron. Armistead continued to dive at full speed.His plane went into a left spin due to a damaged aileron.He desperately managed to get the plane out of the spin and regained level flight at about 500 feet.Then he turned around and flew back over Midway.He radioed that the plane was injured and requested to land.The airport replied: Understood, wait a minute.He was hovering about fifteen nautical miles above the outlying island.He saw that the island was being violently attacked, so he chose a direction against the sun and hovered until the air raid was over and the base telegraphed all fighters to return to refuel and replenish ammunition. [Note: Armistead's conversation. 】 Capt. William Humberd, captain of 2nd Squadron of 3rd Squadron, followed Armistead about thirty to thirty-five nautical miles from Midway when he shot down a bomber.Then he made a sharp turn and flew to the other side of the Japanese plane formation, hoping to shoot down another enemy plane.At this moment, he heard a loud rumbling noise. He turned his head on the seat and saw two Zeros approaching from 200 yards behind him.He dived immediately, and a Zero chased him almost to the surface.Humberd maintained full speed until he had flown a considerable distance before turning back his carbine and firing a burst of fierce bursts at the Japanese plane.The Japanese plane was hit, caught fire, lost control, and then fell into the sea. At this time Humberd was about forty miles from the point of initial encounter with the Japanese.When he re-climbed to 10,000 feet, he found that the fuel and ammunition levels were dangerously low, so he telegraphed Midway to request a landing.At this time, the airport was safe and sound, and he received a reply that he was allowed to land.When approaching the field, he found that the hydraulic fluid was gone, and neither the speed brake nor the landing gear could be put down, so he had to rely on the emergency system to fall.After quickly repairing the plane and replenishing fuel and ammunition, he took off again.But at this time Midway ordered all fighters to return. [Note: Conversation by Lieutenant W. Humberd of the U.S. Marine Corps on June 4, 1942. 】 Another of Armistead's pilots, 2nd Lieutenant Charles M. Kunz, saw two Japanese planes in the fourth attack V formation catch fire and go down.This, he thought, was probably shot down by Armistead and Humbard.He focused his attention on the last formation in the batch, the fifth V formation.He charged at one of the bombers, saw it burst into flames, and escape the formation. Kunz swooped down on the right side of one of the bombers and made a second attack from about 2,000 feet above the formation.He flanked the enemy, fired short bursts, and was again satisfied to see the target on fire, and he saw a pilot on the outside of the V pull the aircraft out of formation to make way for the injured aircraft.As soon as Kunz opened fire on the plane, a Zero flew at him.He saw tracer rounds fly over the cockpit and the wing was damaged by bullets.To escape its pursuit, he dived until he was only twenty feet above the water, then turned sharply.At this time, a bullet flew from the diagonal stab and wounded his head. This time it won't work.Knowing that his plane had been destroyed and he could no longer use it for combat, he circled over the airport and landed at 7:50.Feeling dizzy with a head injury, he rushed to the clinic.He doesn't think highly of his own plane either: as for the F2A|3 it should be used as a trainer in Miami, not as a fighter at the front. [Note: Conversation by Second Lieutenant C.M. Kunz of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve on June 4, 1942. 】 Humbold's wingman, Ensign William V. Brooks, had a particularly dangerous morning.After their team set the two Japanese planes on fire, Brooks and Armistead's wingman, Ensign William B. Sandoval, rushed to the right side of the bomber formation.One of them hit another Japanese plane.Two Zeros immediately pounced on Brooks, and Brooks hurriedly flew over the 6th Battalion's anti-aircraft artillery group to seek cover.Sure enough, the two enemy planes were driven away by anti-aircraft fire.Brooks wanted to land because his Brewster had taken too many hits, and the tabs, instruments and cockpit were riddled with bullet holes. At this time, he saw two planes fighting to the east, so he hurried over to help his partner in distress.But when he flew close, he found two planes rushing towards him at the same time, and he was shocked.Just because of the sunlight, he was dazzled. It turned out that the two Japanese planes pretended to be fighting to lure the American plane into being fooled.Under these circumstances, Brooks fired at full throttle and flew toward Midway with a clear conscience, taking many bullets along the way.He dodged one of the enemy planes coming at him head-on and opened fire on the other.The Zero quickly fled to the north.Brooks not only hopes but also believes that it will never fly back to the mother ship. When Brooks circled again to land, he saw two Zeros dealing with a Brewster.This time he was right.Although his three machine guns jammed, out of the collective sense of honor of the Marine Corps, he flew over Midway again to fight with only one machine gun.He was deeply saddened that he did not arrive in time to rescue his comrades from danger.The hit Brewster spiraled into the sea.With a heavy heart, he flew back to Midway and landed.While inspecting the plane for damage, he found seventy-two bullet and shell holes in the plane, and he suffered a minor injury to his left leg. Brooks wrote in the combat report: "Ensign Sandoval and I, one of the two, shot down an enemy plane on the first attack.My desire is clear, that the credit for shooting down that enemy bomber be credited to the deceased. [Note: Conversation by Second Lieutenant W.V. Brooks of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve on June 4, 1942. ] What a heroic, faithful, generous young man!What a heroic gesture! McCarthy and Corey returned late from early patrol.It took them ten minutes to refuel and ammunition the Wildcat, [Note: Musselmann's conversation. ] But it was impossible for them to catch up with the other planes of Kaili's team.At 8,000 feet, eight Zeros came down on the two Marines.So they split quickly to meet the four-to-one challenge.Corey saw McCarthy shoot down a Japanese plane almost in the blink of an eye, but his own plane caught fire and went down.Corey shot down one of the four enemy planes, avoided the other three, and bought enough time to take a short burst of fire on a bomber that had completed its mission and flew off East Island.The enemy plane rolled and fell into the sea.At this point Corey's fuel tank was leaking badly, but by his own words, the Zeros were still firing at him very effectively.他貼近水面作超低空飛行，終於把他那體無完膚的野貓式機安全地飛了回去。 科里稱讚零式機是目前機動性能最好的飛機。我們正在使用的戰鬥機無法和它相比。但他也認為敵戰鬥機並非不可戰勝。如果你走運，能充分發揮機槍的作用，日機似乎就顯得不堪一擊了。【註：一九四二年六月六日美海軍陸戰隊預備隊少尉Ｒ‧Ａ‧科里的談話。】竅門在於要逮得住它們。