When Dive Bombers Sank Aircraft Carriers at Midway
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00:00It's June the 4th, 1942, at 6.16 in the morning,
00:05and high above the Pacific, 72 Japanese bombers and their fighter escorts
00:11mercilessly blast through the defending American aircraft
00:14and barrel on towards their target.
00:16It's an idyllic atoll home to an important American air and naval base.
00:23The air raid sirens howl across the island.
00:25Its defenders look up to see Japanese fighters and bombers
00:29swarming from above.
00:30Bursts of flak blossom overhead, multiplying with each minute
00:34as the Americans rush to their stations and anti-aircraft guns open fire.
00:40Both sides know that the outcome of this battle
00:42will have far-reaching consequences.
00:45Today, the Japanese attack midway.
00:51Bombs and bullets rain down on the island airbase.
00:54Tracers zip skywards and targets are decimated one by one.
00:59The power plant, the oil storage facility, the seaplane hangar,
01:03and then the hospital alongside warehouses and the Marines command post.
01:07But the Americans put up a fierce resistance,
01:10bringing down at least five Japanese aircraft and damaging many more.
01:15Despite causing great destruction,
01:17the Japanese fail to neutralize US air power with the American runways remaining intact.
01:24From the cockpit of his SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber,
01:28Lieutenant Richard Halsey Best looks out across the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
01:33He's commanding a squadron of 15 Dauntless Bombers.
01:37In another plane, Earl Gallagher commands another 15 aircraft.
01:43Both squadrons are part of a flight of 33 bombers,
01:47led by Lieutenant Commander McCluskey.
01:51Thanks in part to the cracking of Japanese naval codes,
01:54American commanders are aware of some of the Japanese operation to attack midway.
01:59The only way to stop the Japanese is to find and destroy their most powerful assets,
02:04the aircraft carriers, known as the Kido Butai.
02:08The Japanese aim is to use these carriers to neutralize and capture midway,
02:13and then to use the island as a trap,
02:15luring in the last of the severely weakened American Pacific naval forces
02:19that have survived Pearl Harbor into a decisive battle.
02:24McCluskey leads the flight over the area he estimates Kido Butai to be,
02:28only to find an empty square of ocean.
02:31But that's not his only problem.
02:33He looks down at his controls to see his fuel levels are dangerously low.
02:37He presses on, determined that this flight will not be for nothing.
02:41He turns the formation to fly west, then to fly northwest,
02:44intending to conduct a standard box search.
02:48McCluskey grits his teeth, praying for a change in fortune.
02:52He spots a white streak in the ocean.
02:55The trail of the Japanese destroyer making at great speed.
02:59Its white wake paints an arrow in the blanket of the Blue Sea.
03:02I see them boys.
03:03I finally see them.
03:06The ship is clearly trying to catch up to the Kido Butai.
03:11Best, McCluskey and Gallagher feel a surge of optimism and McCluskey leads the flight north.
03:16As they draw closer and the dark shapes fade to the clear outlines of Japanese aircraft carriers,
03:22they know they've found the Kido Butai.
03:25But Best notices the impressive formation appears to be in some disarray.
03:30Far below its sea level, there are American planes already attacking the fleet.
03:35It's Len Massey's torpedo squadron from the Yorktown.
03:38Best room realizes it's a conclusion of a disaster.
03:42The slow and vulnerable TBD Devastators are no match for the defending Japanese Zeros
03:48and countless anti-aircraft guns.
03:50The TBDs are cut down mercilessly.
03:54And what's left of them flies in disarray with every man for himself.
03:57High above, McCluskey observes the four Japanese carriers.
04:04The southernmost and nearest is the giant Kaga.
04:07Two miles ahead of it and five to seven miles to the right is the Akagi,
04:12flagship of the Kido Butai's commander, Admiral Nagumo.
04:1714 miles beyond them is the Hiryu.
04:19Another six miles beyond her is the Soryu.
04:23Although the Japanese defense is impressive,
04:26the box formation of the Kido Butai has completely disintegrated.
04:30Each ship is several miles away from the next,
04:32having maneuvered to avoid the American torpedo attack,
04:36crammed with planes still being rearmed and unable to take off.
04:40McCluskey's American dive bombers have the crucial element of surprise.
04:45Not only that, but unknown to any in McCluskey's group,
04:48another dive bomber squadron from Yorktown has arrived on scene at the same time by pure chance.
04:55Both squadrons are unaware of each other's presence,
04:58and if they did attack the same ship, there could be mid-air collisions.
05:02Earl, you and I take the carrier on the left.
05:05Best, you take the carrier on the right.
05:08As luck would have it, McCluskey heads for the Kaga and Akagi,
05:12while the other squadron head for the distant Soryu.
05:15Although the Japanese are yet to spot the dive bombers,
05:18another problem threatens to throw away the advantage of surprise.
05:23Wade, I'm taking the left hand. Let's show them what we've got.
05:27Best doesn't hear McCluskey's command. Neither party hears each other.
05:31Both Best and McCluskey now prepare to dive on Kaga. Best prepares his squadron.
05:36They form an echelon, and the pilots prepare to dive by shifting to low blower and low prop pitch,
05:42opening their canopies in case they need to bail out. Best has no idea that right above him,
05:49McCluskey and Gallagher are doing exactly the same thing. Danger mounts as the two
05:54squadrons are now on a path for collision. Best eases forward entering a dive.
05:59Just as McCluskey and Gallagher's swarm of Dauntless barrel down in front of him,
06:06missing a catastrophic collision with him and his squadron by mere yards. Best reels backwards,
06:12stunned by the pure luck of his survival. But there's no time for him to truly digest what's
06:17just happened. He assumes McCluskey and Gallagher have decided to jump his target. Thinking quickly,
06:23he closes his flaps and waggles his ailerons to try and signal to the rest of his squadron to abort.
06:28But he's too late. Ten of his pilots join the cascade of dive bombers. Only Best's two wingmen,
06:35Ed Kroger and Ensign Frederick Weber, are close enough to see his frantic signals and hold up.
06:43McCluskey, Earl Gallagher and 25 other Dauntlesses hurtle towards the Kaga. Lacking radar, the only
06:50warning the Japanese aboard the ship have is the thundering of planes as they turn their eyes skywards.
06:58The first three bombers miss, but the Kaga is plunged into chaos as orders are screamed across the deck
07:07for the men to crank every gun skyward. Earl Gallagher grips his sight, trained on the immense
07:13aircraft carrier. This has to be a hit. The ship's outline fills up his sights. As he gets closer and
07:20closer, he clenches his jaw and releases. The 500 pound armor-piercing bomb hurtles towards the ship
07:28and flams squarely in the middle of the flight deck. Bomb after bomb find their marks in succession.
07:35The next comes for the Kaga's bridge. It's obliterated by a direct hit, full of planes
07:41being rearmed and refueled. A chain reaction of catastrophic explosions rocks the ship. One carrier
07:49is down. From 12,000 feet above, Best watches the drama unfold. Single dive bombers from the American
07:58carrier Yorktown dive for another Japanese carrier, the Soryu. Hit after hit tears the Soryu apart, unleashing
08:09internal explosions that tear through the men and planes alike. The first two carriers are being
08:14pummeled at four or five second intervals, smoke pouring into the sky. Amidst the chaos, Best carefully
08:22plans his next move. With only two pilots having remained at his side, he leads the three-plane
08:27formation to bank right. Climbing back up to 14,000 feet, Best and his wingmen prepare to make an attack
08:33run on the Akagi, Admiral Nagumo's flagship. The Japanese are focused on the conflict
08:39at sea level, yet despite holding the advantage of surprise, Best is unsure of what he can do with
08:45just three planes. He can't divide them to attack at different angles with such a small number,
08:50and the dire fuel situation means he can't maneuver for a bow-on attack. Best and his wingmen must hit
08:57the ship across its relatively narrow 100-foot width rather than its 850-foot length. Even a small
09:06miscalculation could leave the bombs missing the hull. Memories of Pearl Harbor are fresh in his mind.
09:11Best is determined to give the Japanese a taste of their own medicine. He makes a decision.
09:17Let's get them boys! On his signal, the planes open their flaps and ease into a long dive.
09:23It was a calm and placid morning, he would later recall, thinking that it just felt like a regular
09:30individual battle practice drill. As they near the ship, Best puts his bombsite into the middle of
09:37the Akagi's flight deck. He watches one Zero fighter taxi and take off from the ship. He's determined to
09:44make it the last. Bombs soar towards the aircraft carrier as one bomb hits the bow, the other near the stern.
09:55At 15,000 feet, Best wrenches the release lever and his bomb lands square in the middle of the flight deck.
10:05As the plane levels, he can't resist to look back.
10:08A chain of explosions rocks the ship, igniting a flood of aviation fuel from carts and wrecked planes.
10:17Under most circumstances, a big carrier like this could be expected to absorb 4 or 5 bomb hits
10:23and still function. But Best's one bomb has just hit in the right place, at the right moment.
10:30The Akagi has been obliterated.
10:33Having descended to low altitude, Best and his two wingmen zip through the carnage of Zero fighters
10:39who continue to target the hapless Devastator torpedo bombers. Best resists the urge to dogfight.
10:45His job is to bomb the aircraft carriers. As Best turns for home, leaving the devastated Kido Bataille
10:51behind him, he spots a black shape looming on the horizon. His heart races and he speeds for home as
10:58fast as he can. Touching down on the Enterprise, Best sprints to the flag bridge to find Rear Admiral
11:05Raymond Spruance, Commander of the American Task Force. On his way, he comes face to face with
11:10McCluskey, who's just landed. Best notices that blood is running down McCluskey's arm and dripping
11:15onto the deck. McCluskey has parts of 5 bullets in his arm and shoulder. And before he can hear Best's
11:21news, he's rushed off to the sickbay. Best makes it to the bridge and quickly makes his case to Admiral Spruance.
11:27There are three carriers of flame and burning, but there's a fourth one up to the north.
11:31Permission to rearm and take off right away, sir? No. Wait for the orders.
11:36We will get them. Yes, sir. But Best has to wait several hours before he can take off again.
11:42At 2.45pm, a report comes in. Admiral, we have their position. One carrier, two battleships,
11:49three heavy cruisers, four destroyers, course north, speed 20 knots. The enemy ships bear 278 degrees from
11:57Task Force 16. The Americans immediately scramble what they have. The force is a shadow of its former
12:04South. Just 27 SBDs are available. With McCluskey staying behind due to his injuries,
12:09Gallagher is now in charge, leading six SBDs, with Best leading four and Lieutenant Dave Shumway
12:16in charge of 14 from Yorktown. Now it's 5 o'clock in the evening. They spot what remains of the KÄ«ru
12:22butai on the darkening horizon. Gallagher orders Shumway. Shumway, you take the battleships.
12:28Roger that. Leaving him and Best's 10 aircraft to take out the Hiryu, the last of the carriers.
12:35Although the Japanese have zeroes patrolling at altitude, it's only as Gallagher eases forward
12:40and plunges into a dive that they discover the Americans.
12:43Kyukoka! Kyukoka!
12:45For a second time today, the Japanese are caught by surprise. Yet, the Hiryu's guns put up an
12:52impressive resistance. Gallagher watches the fire from the anti-aircraft's muzzles
12:57light up both sides of the carrier as he fixes his bombsite. But just as he commits to his dive angle,
13:03the Hiryu turns sharply. She's surprisingly agile for a big ship and it catches Gallagher off guard.
13:10He's already committed to the dive. He attempts to compensate by pulling up as he releases a bomb.
13:17The bomb misses a stern and Gallagher wrenches his back pulling out of the hard Gs.
13:23After witnessing the next two bombs also miss the ship, Shumway decides to forget about the
13:29battleships and leads his squadron against the carrier. It's the right decision but it throws the
13:34pilots into confusion as Shumway's group and Best's four-plane section both dive on the
13:40Hiryu at the same time. Once again, Best finds himself having to maneuver at the last moment
13:46while he's preparing to dive. Turning to come in at a different angle gives the enemy Zero
13:51fighters a second chance to attack and Best and his planes hold their turn. He looks to his side
13:57to see bullets rake his wingman Fred Waver's aircraft. Best watches his friend hurtle towards the
14:04ocean. A wave of rage racing through him. He points his plane straight for the starboard bow.
14:12For the second time that day, Dick Best's bomb slams into a ship, striking her ford elevator and blowing
14:20part of it into Hiryu's small island. Three more bombs strike in succession, all in the same area,
14:28creating a single massive crater in her flight deck. From high above, it looks as if a giant's hand
14:34has reached down and scooped out the Hiryu's bow section, leaving a gaping cavern in its wake.
14:40Like her sister ships, she's been wrecked beyond recovery.
14:46Dick Best prepares to return to the Enterprise in a bittersweet victory, mourning the loss of Weiber
14:51and glancing down to suffer the devastation. In just a day, the Battle of Midway had been won.
15:04Thanks again to World of Warships. Check out the link in the description.