Chapter 35 Chapter 31 We only have the Flying Dragon left

At 10:50, Abe quickly and decisively ordered Yamaguchi to attack the enemy aircraft carrier; Yamaguchi immediately responded with a signal: All our planes are taking off to destroy the enemy aircraft carrier. [Note: Narration in Japan, page 21. 】 The current situation is a good time for the pretentious Yamaguchi to show his talents.Turning defeat into victory, they immediately dispatched planes to beat up the U.S. special mixed fleet that dared to get involved in the First Air Fleet, fought alone, and tried their best to save the defeat of the Battle of Midway Island. When returning to Japan, the dramatic scene of letting Nagumo follow behind in desperation is really justified. Zhongshankou's arms. [Note: Hashimoto's statement. 】

While the misfortunes of Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu terrified the staff of the Second Aircraft Carrier Squadron, Yamaguchi remained calm.He said: Now we only have the Dragon.We will sacrifice ourselves to destroy this damned enemy.The sailors standing on the battle positions below the deck did not see the battle on the sea. The intercom system explained to them that the other three aircraft carriers were severely damaged, especially the burning situation of the Soryu. Say loudly: Now it is up to the Hiryu to continue to fight and bring glory to Great Japan. [Note: Letter from the Commander of the Pacific Fleet to the Chief of Naval Operations, June 28, 1942.Content: Report on the interrogation of the Japanese prisoners of war picked up from the waters of Midway Island on June 19.Hereinafter referred to as the interrogation of Japanese prisoners of war. 】

General Yamaguchi and Captain Tsutomu Kalai shook hands with the pilots on the bridge.Captain Calais said a word or two now and then.Equipment management staff officer Takeo Kuma, Major Navy Major, couldn't hear what the captain said, but he could hear the sincere emotion in the words: I won't just let you sacrifice.Lieutenant Michio Kobayashi was so excited that his teeth were chattering.Kuma knew that this was not because Kobayashi was afraid, but reflected his determination to complete the task.Jiuma said: I have never seen such a touching scene. [Note: Takeo Kuma's reply to the questionnaire by Lieutenant Commander Kuma Takeo.Hereinafter referred to as Kuma's reply. 】

At 10:58, the eighteen dive bombers and six fighter jets under Kobayashi's unified command had all taken off.The dive bombers were evenly divided into two groups, led by Lieutenant Kobayashi and Yamashita Tuji respectively. Among the six fighters, Lieutenant Shigematsu Yasuhiro took the lead.In this force, the proportion of bombers is too large. This top-heavy formation was put together in a hurry by Yamaguchi.Since Tomonaga's first wave of planes was preparing to attack Midway again, Yamaguchi could not send more planes for a while.In order to clear the runway for the returning planes attacking Midway Island, Hiryu had to push the second wave of attacking planes as far as possible to the bow of the flight deck, or send them into the hangar below the deck.The work of refueling and overhauling the aircraft on the ship has not yet been completed, and the US carrier-based aircraft struck.Therefore, when Abe ordered the attack, Yamaguchi could not send torpedo planes to form a suitable attack force with dive bombers.He didn't waste time, and immediately dispatched all the planes he could dispatch. [Note: Narration by Japan, page 8; statement by Hashimoto; "Amazing Victory", page 94. 】

[J Note: There are also doubts about the narrative here.The Japanese aircraft carrier will definitely clear the deck when the plane lands, and the maintenance work will also be in the hangar.What if the landing plane has an accident, and the final safety net fails, and the whole plane crashes into the plane full of fuel bombs in the bow?No captain in his right mind would take such a risk.According to the flight records of the Flying Dragon, it released a batch of Zero aircraft at 10:13.So when the other aircraft carriers were bombed between 10:20 and 25, its flight deck was supposed to be empty as well.And if counting from 10:30 a.m. to 10:55 a.m. in the twenty-five minutes, it can only arrange twenty-four planes for them to take off. It can be seen that the five-minute theory of fate is completely wrong. reliable.Moreover, these 18 dive bombers (Type 99 ship bombers) were originally part of the second attack team, and Hiryu sent 18 level/bombers (Type 97 ship attack ships) in the first wave of attacks on Midway Island. ), it is too late to complete the preparation after recovery. 】

At 11:00, Abe ordered the No. 3 and No. 4 reconnaissance planes on the Chikuma to report the position of the enemy aircraft carrier and lead the way for the attacking troops.Ten minutes later, the No. 5 reconnaissance plane on the Chikuma reported: The enemy is located at a bearing of 70 degrees, 90 nautical miles away from our fleet.Yamaguchi waited until 11:30 and saw that there was no new report, so he impatiently sent a signal to Abe: Please send a water reconnaissance plane and take effective measures to grasp the whereabouts of the enemy aircraft carrier. [Note: Narration in Japan, page 21. 】

This contact is interesting for two reasons.First, the reference to the aircraft carrier that Yamaguchi used contradicts those references to the aircraft carrier that the two generals had used in an earlier call.This is also indicative of the extreme confusion that then prevailed in the Mobile Forces.Second, the phrasing is the tone of the one calling the shots.Regardless of whether Yamaguchi's position is higher than that of the other party, he is doing it for him.He has the amiable face of a detective, but inside his sausage-like body lurks a volcano of eagerness and ambition.In fact, for some time after that day, the mobile force did not have a unified command.Abe only served as figurehead commander for forty minutes.On the 30th of the 11th, Nagumo continued to exercise his authority on the Nagara. [Note: Same as above, page 22. ] But because he was busy drawing up battle plans, Yamaguchi became the de facto air combat commander.

Nagumo and his staff have no intention of admitting defeat.They decided: to protect the Flying Dragon with all their strength and prepare for the final battle.The enemy was not far away, and Hiryu's remaining aircraft might be able to turn the tide of the battle and lure the Americans into a night fight. [Note: "United Fleet", 86 | 88 pages. 】 Hiryu's attacking force spotted the target at 11:40 and sent back a coded telegram.If this telegram is received immediately and translated immediately, Nagumo will clearly understand what kind of opponent he is fighting against.The telegram said: The core of the enemy's air power is three aircraft carriers.Escorting them were twenty-two destroyers. Although the scouts did not distinguish between cruisers and destroyers, the total number of ships reported was accurate.It took Nagumo fifty minutes to get this crucial information. [Note: Narration in Japan, page 22. 】

When Kobayashi's fleet spotted the U.S. fleet, Yorktown's radar also detected that the enemy fleet was flying towards Task Force 17 from a bearing of 250 degrees at a distance of 45 nautical miles.The Yorktown immediately sent a signal to all support ships to form an H-shaped formation to deal with enemy air attacks.The Astoria and the Portland accelerated to thirty knots and sailed to both sides of the flagship's bow, and the destroyers formed the outer layer of defense. [Note: Yorktown report; Astoria's logbook dated June 4, 1942; letter from Captain Hanman to Commander of the Pacific Fleet dated June 16, 1942, content: 1 June 4th, 1942 Operation report on the 6th.Hereinafter referred to as the Hanman report.After the ship sank, all materials were lost, so the captain of the ship wrote this report based on his memory. 】

Aviation fuel mechanic Oscar W. Miles quickly set to work cleaning the lines of high-octane gasoline and injecting carbon dioxide.This is a fire prevention technology invented by himself.Before the Kobayashi fleet was discovered, the oil pipeline was not in danger, and the gasoline sucked back into the tank was covered with a layer of carbon dioxide gas, which could prevent the extremely flammable gasoline gas from escaping.An auxiliary tank containing approximately eight hundred gallons of pure aviation gasoline had been thrown overboard. [Note: Yorktown report; "Battle of Midway", p. 182. 】

Lieutenant Commander Oscar Pedersen, the acting fighter commander, sent his twelve Wildcats into the air while requesting reinforcements from the fighter commander of TF Sixteen.Spruance sent six of his own sixteen combat patrol planes to support him. [Note: "Battle of Midway", page 183. 】The Japanese aircraft formation was still about fifteen nautical miles away, and the American planes rushed forward.What ensued was a spectacular air battle between the superior Zeros and the numerically superior Wildcats.The aerial combat was getting closer and closer to the Yorktown.By the time the planes of the two sides fought over the aircraft carrier, about ten enemy planes had been shot down. [Note: Yorktown report. 】 The bombers that had not been shot down were divided into several groups and began to attack the aircraft carrier.Three Japanese planes entangled Arthur J. Brassfield.The American pilot was a middle school teacher in Missouri before the war and shot down three enemy planes (a fighter, a bomber and a four-engine patrol plane) during the Battle of the Coral Sea. [Note: Budd interview with Brasfield, October 30, 1966; Enid, Oklahoma Morning Post, July 19, 1962. 】When he took off from the aircraft carrier on the morning of June 4th, he led a detachment of six aircraft, but after a scuffle with Shigematsu's Type Zero, when he came near the USS Yorktown, he found himself alone. He aimed at the lead of the three Japanese planes and pulled the trigger at a distance of three hundred yards.The enemy plane was hit by six rounds, and fell on fire while spiraling.Then he dodged to the left again and rattled the second bomber at a distance of one hundred and fifty yards.The enemy plane almost exploded before his eyes, and the blast shook his little Wildcat.The third Japanese plane hurriedly fled towards the clouds, but was shot down by Brassfield before it could escape. [Note: A.I. Brassfield's VF|2 Operations Report, June 4, 1942, which was sent to the VF|3 Squadron Commander.Captain Brassfield later gave Bard a copy of this report, hereafter referred to as the Brassfield Report. 】 Apparently, Kobayashi's bomber was one of the planes flying over the Yorktown, because Nagumo's battle log recorded a telegram from the Hiryu lead plane: We are attacking the enemy aircraft carrier.Nine o'clock sharp.A minute later, the team leader sent another signal saying: The aircraft carrier is on fire.It was nine past one.However, this extremely important report was sent to Nagumo after an astonishing fifty minutes delay. [Note: Narratives of Japan, page 22 | page 23. 】 Yorktown's gunners now assumed responsibility for self-defense.The dive bombers approached in a single plane in a curve, which made it difficult for the gunners to deal with.They didn't start shooting until the dive started.The cannons on the starboard side fired at the first bomber that screamed and dived. It was cut into at least three pieces and fell into the sea not far behind the starboard side of the aircraft carrier.But its bombs also fell, killing seventeen and wounding eighteen, striking within twenty feet of the No. 4 mount and about fifteen feet from the ship's side.Those who were not injured quickly replaced the casualties and continued to shoot, but the firepower has been greatly weakened. The bomb blew a ten-foot hole in the middle of the flight deck and fell into the hangar, setting three planes on fire.Two of these were Enterprise's damaged planes, and the other, Yorktown's own, was not only fully fueled but loaded with a thousand-pound bomb.Lieutenant A. C. Emerson, the officer in charge of the hangar, immediately turned on the fire sprinklers and quickly extinguished the fire. [Note: Yorktown report. 】 No sooner had the second plane finished its dive and dropped its bombs than it was shattered by accurate artillery fire.Bombs whizzed past the stern of the ship and exploded after entering the water.At this time, fragments of the bomber also splashed into the spray drawn up by the aircraft carrier.Shrapnel from the bomb killed several gunners of the rear port gun and caused several small fires on the quarterdeck.The artillery officer and the rest of the gunners quickly brought the fire under control. [Note: Same as above. 】 A team of Japanese planes rushed down from the left.Only one of the planes dropped a bomb and then crashed itself not far from the port side of the aircraft carrier.The Yorktown was lucky because the bomb had a slow detonation fuze.The bomb rumbled straight ahead on the flight deck.It passed through the vice-captain's office, and broke into the waiting room of VS|5.Flight Planning Staff Ensign Charlie N. Conast was busy in the waiting room.The bomb knocked out a large coffee pot that is part of every American office, and the refreshing coffee was spilled everywhere.The bomb blazed like a bamboo, and finally exploded in the funnel of the aircraft carrier's huge burning heart.The impact of the explosion extinguished the boiler, and also blew up all the rising flues of No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 boilers.The speed of the aircraft carrier immediately dropped to only about six knots.In less than twenty minutes, the Yorktown was motionless. [Note: Yorktown report; Bard's interview with U.S. Navy Captain C. N. Conaster, May 11, 1966. 】 At the same time, the third and final bomb that hit fell in the elevator shaft number one and exploded on the fourth deck below, causing a fire in the rag-stacked cabin next to the former gasoline depot and ammunition bay.Lieutenant Colonel Clarence E. Aldridge, the officer in charge of damage control, led firefighters to fight the fire.If the fire spread to nearby flammable objects, it would cause the Yorktown to catch fire and explode into the sky.The spigot flooded the ammunition bay with water, and it was only with the spigot and the fire ax that the fire in the rag bay was suppressed. [Note: Yorktown Report: Letter from the Deputy Captain of the USS Yorktown to the Captain dated June 16, 1942.Content: The deputy captain reported on the combat situation on June 4th | 7th.Hereinafter referred to as the report of the Vice-Captain of the HMS Yorktown. 】 The loss control personnel acted quickly, and the three bombs did not cause serious damage on the Yorktown.After a swift overhaul at Pearl Harbor, the aircraft carrier was dispatched to Midway.This time, after a little more than two hours of hard work, it miraculously went into battle again. Before, during those long days at sea, Captain Buckmaster always had his crew trained for every conceivable contingency, so now they all knew what to do.The carpenters rushed to the flight deck carrying heavy timber, and with their skilled skills and strong determination, it took only 25 minutes to repair the deck. [Note: Yorktown report. 】 Under the command of Lieutenant Commander John F. Delany, who was in charge of engines, the engineers and boiler workers also performed miracles.First Class Weapons Technician Charles Cransmith and his crew at Boiler No. 1 quickly burned enough steam to drive the auxiliary power, in the face of suffocating heat, choking smoke, and the danger of being blown to pieces at any moment. system.An hour and ten minutes after the bomb exploded in the funnel, the Yorktown lowered her fault flag and hoisted my signal flag at five knots.At this time, its escort ships surrounded it, and every ship burst into excited and friendly cheers, which warmed Buckmaster's heart.The steam pressure continued to rise, the repair work continued, and the speed of the Yorktown gradually increased.At 14:37, his speed reached nineteen knots, not fast, but respectable enough. [Note: Yorktown report; Yorktown vice captain's report "Turning Point", page 118. 】 Meanwhile, Fletcher decided to move the flag to the Astoria.Although the Yorktown was not in danger for a while, it was no longer suitable as a flagship.It was a smart decision and a very matter-of-fact one, in true Fletcher style.It was more suitable for all concerned that he and his staff should separate themselves from Captain Buckmaster and his crew in separate duties and without interference.Fletcher chose the Astoria over any other escort ship, partly because it was nearby, and partly because his chief of staff and close comrade-in-arms, Poco Smith, was on board commanding the cruisers. . [Note: Interview with Fletcher, September 17, 1966. 】 At 13:13, Fletcher's staff began rappelling down from the starboard side to the No. 2 motor lifeboat of the Astoria.Fletcher had just straddled a leg, then stopped and said to the bosun in charge, I'm a bit damn old for this, better hang me down with a rope.So the two sailors tied him like a big fish to the end of a single knotted rope and let him down slowly. [Note: Letter from the captain of USS Astoria to the Commander of the Pacific Fleet dated June 11, 1942, content: Report on operations in the waters north of Midway on June 4, 1942.Hereafter called the Astoria report; Tuliga, Thaddeus H., "The Climax of the Battle of Midway", p. 159.Hereinafter referred to as "The Climax of the Battle of Midway". 】 Eleven minutes later, Fletcher and his party boarded the Astoria, and then the lifeboat went to pick up the rest of the people. The second pick-up was just about to end, and the last person had just climbed the rope ladder of the cruiser. At this time, two SBDs Almost crash-landed next to the gangway.This is Leslie and Holmberg running out of fuel after attacking the Soryu.The two pilots and their machine gunner stepped deftly from the rubber raft to the lifeboat and climbed up the rope ladder. Their timing was excellent and their movements were extremely skilled, as if they had been practiced for weeks. [Note: Astoria report. 】 After the Dreadnoughts of VT|3 attacked the Soryu, they all flew away safely and returned to the Yorktown.All the planes met about halfway through the flight, and then organized into a neat and regular squadron formation, returning home like returning from shooting a target.As soon as they spotted the Yorktown, they received instructions from the ship to fly away to avoid the air attack that was about to start.The fifteen SBD planes circled in the sky and did not fly to the Enterprise until all the Japanese planes had left.The Enterprise didn't recognize it as its own aircraft for a while, and fired several shots at them, and the SBD aircraft had to evade.Leslie and Holmberg ran out of gas as they circled the area looking for the downed plane. [Note: Enterprise logbook, June 4, 1942. 】 Seeing a plume of smoke rising from the sky, Spruance sent the heavy cruisers Pensacola and Vincennes and the destroyers Benham and Balch to Fletcher's aid.Two minutes later, at 12:37, the Enterprise began recovering VB|3's aircraft.Together Enterprise and Hornet refueled and reloaded VF|3's aircraft.At the same time, the combat self-sufficiency of the Yorktown improved every minute, and it refueled and reloaded more than a dozen Wildcats. [Note: Logbooks of Balchi, Vincennes and Enterprise on June 4, 1942] The Hornet had a miserable day of setbacks.Its torpedo planes were lost.Dive bombers failed to join the battle at all, and fighter jets had to ditch at sea due to lack of fuel.Now, it is doing good and helping people, accepting refugees from the Yorktown, but it has suffered another blow.The pilot of a damaged Wildcat failed to engage the safety of his machine gun during the fall.The impact on landing triggered the machine gun.The bullet struck the superstructure, piercing through inch-thick steel plates and an I-beam.Stray bullets killed five people and wounded more than 20 others.Among the dead was the able and promising Royal R. Ingersoll II, son of the commander of the United States Atlantic Fleet. [Note: Logbook of the Hornet, June 4, 1942. 】 Admiral Ingersoll was a great man, though not of massive build, who always put the best interests of the Navy above personal feelings or desires.Not long after Pearl Harbor, a colleague overheard him telling his son that, now that the United States had declared war, real officers should not think about staying on land but serving at sea.Therefore, when he heard the sad news of his son's sacrifice, he felt a particularly heavy blow.In public, he was strong, but late one night, when he and his colleagues were alone in the office, he told his sympathetic friend that he was heartbroken when he suggested his son go to sea. Broken. [Note: Vice Admiral William R. Smedberg wrote for Prange, July 27, 1977, Commentary 3 on Admirals in the Pearl Harbor era, when Ingersoll was Assistant Chief of Naval Operations. 】The victory at the Battle of Midway was hard-won, and both senior generals and ordinary soldiers paid a huge price for it.