Pacific Payback by Stephen L. Moore

Author:Stephen L. Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2014-06-02T16:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

The Deadly Flights Home

The Dauntless aviators had wrecked three enemy flattops in a five-minute span, and now, as they raced back to their own carriers, they could only hope that the Japanese aviators had not played equal hell in their absence.

Max Leslie’s Bombing Three had an easier escape than any of the other units that attacked Nagumo’s Kido Butai. Leslie was unaware of any Japanese planes following him as he flew toward Yorktown. Some sources would later claim that another strike from Hiryu followed VB-3 toward home, but postwar analysis would show that Hiryu’s strike did not launch until nearly 1100—a full half hour after Bombing Three pushed over.1

Lefty Holmberg led the procession back toward Yorktown. In his excitement, he began pulling ahead at a fast clip. Lieutenant Syd Bottomley opened up on the radio and snapped at him, “Dammit, slow down!”2

Holmberg had reason to hurry. Fluid was spilling into his cockpit from shrapnel damage he had incurred during his dive. Oil splattered on his goggles and around the cockpit, causing him concern that a broken oil line would soon cause his engine to seize up. He was elated at getting a bomb hit, but felt like a football player who breaks his leg scoring the winning touchdown in a big game. He called back to George LaPlant to assess the damage. LaPlant guessed that it must be hydraulic fluid, as their oil pressure was remaining steady.3

Ensign Bob Elder spotted a Japanese floatplane after completing his dive and momentarily began a pursuit to attack, but his better sense took over with one sobering realization: I don’t know the way home. Elder turned about and chased after his squadron mates, who were retiring to the northeastward. Bud Merrill, flying tail-end Charlie with Dave Shumway’s third division, was unable to locate any Yorktown aviators. He found comfort in a small group of Enterprise SBDs making their return flight. Any port in a storm! he thought.4

Bill Esders and Harry Corl were the only Torpedo Three pilots to survive the slashing Zeros and deadly AA fire from the Hiryu. Corl’s engine was spewing oil badly, and his throttle functioned only at the cruising speed of 2,100 rpm. Mike Brazier in Esders’s rear seat was critically wounded. Corl’s gunner, Lloyd Childers, had also been hit several times by Japanese bullets. In spite of his wounds, Childers had fired twice at Zeros with his .45 Colt pistol after his .30-caliber machine gun froze up. It would be a trying flight home for both TBD pilots as they hoped to haul their wounded radiomen to safety.

Unknown to these four VT-3 survivors, one more of their own was still alive. Ensign Wesley Osmus was spotted bobbing in the ocean that afternoon by the Japanese destroyer Arashi. The destroyer lowered a boat and brought the American swimmer aboard. At first he was treated well, yet his captors felt less gracious when Commander Watanabe Yasumasa brought Arashi within sight of the three blazing, wrecked carriers. He had his prisoner interrogated and managed to extract the composition of Task Forces 16 and 17, including the names of the three U.

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