Miracle at Midway by Gordon W. Prange

Author:Gordon W. Prange
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781480489455
Publisher: Open Road Media

* The same officer whom Nimitz had decorated on May 27, 1942.

CHAPTER 28

“They Were Almost Wiped Out”

Although Waldron did not know it, he had a fighter escort, quite by accident. Gray’s Wildcats of Enterprise’s VF-6 were so much faster than the TBDs that they had to swing back and forth in “S” turns to keep the torpedo planes in view. About halfway to his tactical height of 22,000 feet, Gray became confused. He followed VT-8, the advance squadron, mistaking it for Lindsey’s VT-6. At approximately the spot where Waldron turned off toward Nagumo’s carriers, Gray momentarily lost sight of the TBDs. When he picked them up again, several dozen fighters had already jumped his charges. Gray was in an unfortunate spot. He had lost VT-6 and it was too late to do anything for VT-8; McClusky’s dive bombers were not yet in sight. For all Gray knew, he might have lost the entire attacking force.

Evidently Gray decided that the best service he could render was to use his ten fighters as scouting planes, and he continued to fly over the area until he was dangerously low on gas. Then he radioed the task force at approximately 0952 that he was over the target, running short of fuel and would have to return to base soon. About ten minutes later he tried again: “There is no combat patrol over the enemy fleet. We have been flying over the enemy fleet for the past half hour. They are 8 DDs, 2 BB and 2 carriers.” Another report indicates that he included, “Course of enemy north.” To this Enterprise fighter base shot off an uncompromising, “Attack immediately!”1 According to both Morison and Lord, the voice urging attack was that of Miles Browning, and McClusky, leading the dive bombers, assumed that the message was meant for him.2 It would have been quite in character for Browning to thus exhort any and every aircraft within reach of voice radio.

This exchange may be the origin of the famous incident which naval expert Fletcher Pratt recounted—that VT-8, having found the Japanese fleet but being low on fuel and lacking fighter cover, requested permission to withdraw and refuel. Spruance is supposed to have flashed back, “Attack at once!”3 Such a request would have made no sense in view of VT-8’s mission and Waldron’s character, but it was logical for Gray under the circumstances. Either because he failed to receive this transmission, or because he could not comply, Gray ushered his fighters safely home to Enterprise for refueling.4 Irony piled on irony as, in scouting the Japanese, Gray missed the unit he was supposed to escort. It so happened that the agreed-upon signal, “Come on down, Jim!” would never have been sent in any case, for Lindsey was one of the first shot down.

VT-6 was a much more experienced unit than VT-8, consisting of veterans of the Marshalls, Wake, and Marcus campaigns. Its newest member had racked up more than 2,500 hours of flight time, most of it in torpedo planes.

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