Anonymous commented at 2017-01-03 00:19:14 » #2074680

These are actually TBD Devastator torpedo bombers, not Dauntlesses. Note the torpedoes under the bellies and the landing gear that didn't retract the whole way. They were sacrificial lambs at Midway; three squadrons attempted to attack the Japanese carrier force but without fighter cover they were sitting ducks. They suffered over 90% casualties without scoring a single hit; most planes never even got a chance to launch their torpedoes.

But the sacrifice was not in vain; the Japanese interceptors and AA gunners were so preoccupied attacking the Devastators that they never noticed American dive bombers approaching at higher altitude, giving the Dauntless squadrons free runs at all four carriers, scoring direct hits on Kaga (four bombs), Soryu (three bombs), and Akagi (one bomb plus a near miss) that resulted in fatal damage to all three. Hiryu escaped to launch a counterattack against the American carrier force, eventually resulting in the sinking of Yorktown by the submarine I-168, but Hiryu was found and sunk by Dauntlesses the next day.

Midway was the Devastator's last significant combat action; they were replaced by the TBF Avenger and SB2C Helldiver, and relegated to training for the remainder of the war.

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