Slow But Deadly, The Dive-Bombers of World War II (Traditional American History Series) by James M. Volo

Author:James M. Volo [Volo, James M.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2013-06-03T16:00:00+00:00

Scene on the crowded flight deck as returning pilots relate the destruction of a Japanese carrier.

Harold Buell’s indignation in writing about Coral Sea is apparent. Thirteen of the Dauntlesses lost during the engagement were assigned to the infamous “anti-torpedo patrol” set at low altitude to warn of incoming torpedoes. Zeros shot these down. Buell considered the use of SBDs as interceptors “a tactical error of grave and almost fatal consequences.” Although pre-war planning had envisioned such a role for the SBD, he suggested that the 23 Dauntlesses used as defensive fighters could have been used in their normal attack role to better effect against the IJN fleet carriers. He notes, however, that the American command learned from the battle, and this mistake was never again repeated in a major engagement. Instead AA defenses were upgraded; proximity fuses were developed for use against attacking aircraft; fire control was enhanced; and the number of fighters carried on board the flattops was increased.[55]

Adm. Yamamoto and his staff, failed to realize that the results of the Battle of the Coral Sea had rendered the concept of the battleship, as the primary weapon of the fleet, obsolete in the face of carrier-borne attack aircraft. Coral Sea had shown how much damage US aircraft could do and how quickly the damage might be inflicted. In the face of Yamamoto’s future decisions this significant facet of the engagement seems to have eluded him.

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