Реферат: The Battle Of Midway In The Pacific

near Midway. Their crews were later rescued. The remaining six, some badly shot

up, reached Midway. Eight SBDs, including Henderson’s, were lost, with the

Japanese sustaining no damage. Sweeney’s 15 Flying Fortresses arrived over

Nagumo’s fleet at 8:10, as the Dauntlesses finished their attacks. Seen from

20,000 feet, the Japanese fleet was “an astonishing sight,” recalled B-17 pilot

Don Kundinger. “A panoramic view of the greatest array of surface vessels any of

us had ever seen–they seemed to stretch endlessly from horizon to horizon.”

Each three-plane B-17 element attacked on its own. Lieutenant Colonel Brooke

Allen’s element unloaded its bombs on the carrier Soryu, but all fell short.

Sweeney targeted Kaga, bracketing her stern with, he believed, “one bomb hit?

causing heavy smoke” (Robertson 22). Three Zeros ganged up on Captain Cecil

Faulkener’s bomber, riddling its fuselage and wounding the tail gunner. Another

Zero dueled with Captain Paul Payne’s Fortress but never closed in. “The Zeros

barely touched the B-17s,” Captain Paul Gregory reported. “Enemy pursuit

appeared to have no desire to close on B-17E modified”(Young 25). The B-17s

finished their attack by 8:20 and returned to Midway. Sweeney believed his B-17s

had hit at least one of the Japanese carriers. In reality, they had not. Shortly

after the B-17s left, Major Benjamin Norris’ 11 Vindicators arrived and Zeros

swarmed over them(Miracle 45). Norris, with no illusions about his old

“Vibrators,” decided not to press on toward the carriers. He led his men into

some clouds. Coming out of the cloud cover, Norris discovered a battleship below.

It was Haruna, supposedly sunk in December 1941. “Attack target below,” Norris

radioed, and he led the Vindicators into a high-speed glide. Anti-aircraft guns

on Haruna opened fire with an “extremely heavy and troublesome but inaccurate

barrage”(Stevens 121). Only two of Major Norris’ Vindicators were lost during

the attack. Three ditched at sea near Midway because of battle damage. Despite

reports that they had scored two direct hits and three near-misses, the

Vindicator pilots had not even scratched Haruna. If the Battle of Midway had

ended with the return of VMSB-241’s Vindicators, it would have been another