The Battle of Midway in the Pacific Nothing distinguished the dawn of June 2, 1942 from the countless other dawns that had descended on the small Midway Atoll in the North Pacific. Nothing, except the tension, the electric tension of men waiting for an enemy to act. On Midway's two main islands, Sand and Eastern, 3,632 members of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, along with some Air Force crews, stood at battle stations in and out of proximity of their fighters, bombers and seaplanes, waiting for the Japanese attack they had. I've been waiting for it for weeks. The battle behind Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Midway, one of the decisive naval battles in history, is well documented. But the role played by the Midway garrison, which occupied the atoll's naval air station during the battle, is less known. Midway is 1,135 miles west-northwest of Pearl Harbor, Oahu. The entire atoll is just six miles in diameter and consists of sand islands and eastern islands surrounded by a coral reef surrounding a shallow lagoon. Midway was discovered in 1859 and annexed by the United States in August 1867. Between 1903 and 1940, it served as both a cable station on the Honolulu Guam Manila submarine telegraph line and an airport for Pan's China Clipper American Airways (Miracle 5). . In March 1940, after a report on U.S. Navy bases in the Pacific declared Midway second in importance to Pearl Harbor, construction began on an official naval air station. Naval Air Station Midway was commissioned in August 1941. At that time, Midway's facilities included a large seaplane hangar and ramps, an artificial harbor, fuel storage tanks, and several buildings. Sand Island was populated by hundreds of civilian construction workers and a Fleet Marine Force defense battalion, while Eastern Island had a 5,300-foot airstrip. Commander Cyril T. Simard, a veteran naval pilot who had served as an air officer on the aircraft carrier USS Langley and as executive officer at San Diego Air Force Base, was designated commander of the atoll. Alongside the naval personnel manning the air station was a detachment of Marines. The first detachment belonged to the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion; it was relieved on September 11, 1941 by 34 officers and 750 men of the 6th Defense Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harold D. Shannon, a veteran of World War I and serving in Panama and Hawaii. Shannon and Simard immediately formed an effective team. World War II began at Midway at 6:30 a.m. on December 7, 1941, when the garrison learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. At 6:42 p.m., a Navy sentry saw a flashing light at sea and alerted the garrison. Three hours later, the Japanese destroyers Sazanami and Ushio opened fire, damaging a seaplane hangar, knocking out the Pan American radio direction finder, and destroying a consolidated PBY Catalina seaplane. The Japanese withdrew at 10:00 p.m., leaving four Midway defenders dead and 10 wounded. On December 23, 1941, Midway's air defenses were reinforced with 17 SB2U-3 Vought Vindicator dive bombers, 14 Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo fighters, and pilots and crews originally intended for the relief of Wake Island. The Buffaloes and Vindicators were derelict aircraft, having been replaced by Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless dive bombers and Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters on US aircraft carriers. The Buffaloes became part of the NavyFighter Squadron 221 (VMF-221), while the Vindicators were integrated into Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241), both constituting Marine Air Group 22 (MAG-22) under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Ira. B. Kimes. Midway has settled into a routine of training and anti-submarine flights, with little else to do but play endless card and cribbage games and observe Midway's famous albatross , nicknamed gooney birds, in action (Stevens56). Then, in May 1942, Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, developed a plan, called Operation Mi, to withdraw the American Fleet from the Pacific by attacking Midway. Using Midway as bait and assembling a vast naval armada of eight aircraft carriers, 11 battleships, 23 cruisers, 65 destroyers, and several hundred fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes, Yamamoto planned to crush the Pacific Fleet once and for all . Alerted by his codebreakers that the Japanese were planning to seize Midway, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Command, visited the atoll on May 2, 1942, to conduct a personal inspection. Following his inspection, Nimitz took Simard and Shannon aside and asked them what they needed to defend Midway. They told him their demands. "If I understand you all these things, will you be able to hold Midway against a major amphibious assault?" Nimitz asked the two officers. “Yes sir!” Shannon replied. This was good enough for Nimitz, who returned to Oahu (Robertson 58). On May 20, Shannon and Simard received a letter from Admiral Nimitz, praising their excellent work and promoting them to full captain and colonel, respectively. Nimitz then informed them that the Japanese planned to attack Midway on May 28; he outlines Japanese strategy and promises all possible help. On May 22, a sailor accidentally set off a demolition charge under Midway's gasoline supply. The explosion destroyed 400,000 gallons of aviation fuel and also damaged the distribution system, forcing defenders to refuel planes by hand from 55-gallon drums. Meanwhile, the Marines continued to dig gun emplacements, lay sandbags, and prepare shelters on both islands. Barbed wire has grown along the coral beaches of Midway. Shannon believed this would stop the Japanese like it had stopped the Germans in World War I. He ordered so much that one Marine exclaimed, “Barbed wire, barbed wire!” Cripes, the old man thinks you can stop planes with barbed wire. » (Miracle 27)! The defenders also had a large quantity of explosive gelatin, which was used to make anti-ship mines and traps. On May 25, while the work continued, Shannon and Simard received good news. The Japanese attack would take place between June 3 and 5, giving them an extra week to prepare. That same day, the light cruiser St. Louis arrived to deliver an antiaircraft battery of eight 37 mm guns from the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion and two rifle companies from the 2nd Raiders Battalion. On May 26, the ferry USS Kittyhawk arrived with 12 3-inch guns, 5 M-3 Stuart light tanks, 16 Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers, and 7 Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters, along with 22 pilots, mostly fresh . having left the flying school, May 29 saw the arrival of four Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers from the 22nd Bomb Group. These planes were specially equipped to carry torpedoes and led by Captain James Collins. The same day, 12 Navy PBY-5A Catalinas joined the 12 PBY-5s stationed at Midway. HASBeginning on May 30, Midway's planes began searching for the Japanese. Twenty-two PBYs from Lt. Cmdr. Robert Brixner's Patrol Squadron 44 (VP-44) and Commander Massie Hughes' VP-23 took off from Midway Lagoon, then headed in a 700-mile arc from Midway in search of of the Japanese. Midway received additional air reinforcement on 1 June when six new Grumman TBF torpedo bombers, commanded by Lieutenant Langdon K. Fieberling, arrived. None of the TBF pilots had ever been in combat, and only a few had ever flown out of sight of land before. The TBF would later be named Avenger in honor of his introduction to combat at Midway. By June 1, Sable and Eastern Islands were surrounded by coastal defenses. Six 5-inch guns, 22 3-inch guns, and four old Navy 7-inch guns were placed along the coasts of the two islands for use as anti-aircraft and anti-ship guns. No less than 1,500 mines and traps were placed underwater and along the beaches. Ammunition depots were placed all around the islands, along with food caches for pockets of resistance and an emergency supply of 250 55-gallon gasoline cans. Midway had almost everything it needed for its defense. In addition to the 121 planes that clogged the runways of the East Island, Midway had 11 PT boats in the lagoon to assist the ground forces with their anti-aircraft fire. A yacht and four converted tuna boats were ready for rescue operations, and 19 submarines guarded the approaches to Midway. Even with these preparations, there were problems. The air station's radar, an old SC-270 station on Sand Island, showed numerous echoes that were more often from albatross than from planes. Additionally, there was no plan to coordinate Midway's flight operations, which depended on a mix of Air Force, Navy, and Marine pilots and crews. With this in mind, Midway's commanders believed their only chance was to attack the Japanese carriers when they were located, hoping to catch them with their planes on deck. “That meant extremely precise timing, a monumental dose of luck, or both,” Admiral Nimitz explained. "Balsa [Midway's] Air Force must be employed to inflict rapid and early damage on the flight decks of Japanese carriers if recurring attacks are to be stopped..." June 2 , the Pacific Fleet's three carriers – Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown – were in position northeast of Midway, but only a few key officers knew they would support Midway's defenders. Navy pilots at Midway were told not to “expect any help from American aircraft carriers; They went to defend Hawaii.” Midway's only chance was for Nimitz's carriers to take the Japanese by surprise. Early on the morning of June 3, PBYs from VP-44 and VP-23 took off on their 700-mile search missions, joined by B-17 Flying Fortresses for their own search and attack missions. The remaining planes at Midway were armed, refueled, and awaiting orders to take off once the Japanese carriers were located. At 0904, Ensign Charles R. Eaton, patrolling 470 miles from Midway, sighted three ships and received a burst of antiaircraft fire for his trouble. Eaton quickly radioed Midway the first report of contact with an enemy ship of the battle. Seven hundred miles west of Midway, Ensign Jack Reid flew his PBY-5A over a largely empty ocean, nearing the end of the outward leg of his patrol. He didn't find anything interesting and startedturn around. At the same time, Reid saw dots on the horizon 30 miles ahead. At first he thought they were dirt stains on the windshield. Then he looked again and shouted to his co-pilot, Ensign Gerald Hardeman, “Do you see what I see? “You’re absolutely right,” replied Hardeman (Miracle 49). At 09:25, Reid radioed "Main body sighted" to Midway and began tracking the Japanese ships. Midway ordered Reid to amplify his report, and at 9:27 a.m. he radioed: "Heading 262 degrees, distance 700." At 10:40 a.m., he reported: "Six large ships in column..." At 11 a.m., "Eleven ships, course 090 degrees, speed 19." At 11:30 a.m., Reid received orders to return to Midway (Stevens 96). At 12:30 p.m., a flight of nine B-17 bombers, each armed with four 600-pound bombs and led by Lt. Col. Walter C. Sweeney, took off (Lucas 28). Three and a half hours later, the B-17s found the Japanese ships 570 miles from Midway and attacked from the sun. Sweeney reported seeing two ships burning after the strike. In reality, Sweeney's B-17s scored no hits on the Japanese ships, and the flight back to Midway proved just as harrowing as the attack itself. Their fuel almost exhausted, the B-17s came within sight of East Island at 8:30 p.m. The last flying fortress lands at 9:45 p.m. As Sweeney's B-17s returned from their attack, another strike by four Catalina PBYs, each armed with a torpedo and led by Lieutenant WL Richards, left Midway at 9:15 p.m. to attack the Japanese. The four PBYs returned safely, requiring three torpedo hits. A torpedo hit the bow of the tanker Akebono Maru, killing 13 sailors and injuring 11; the transport Kiosumi Maru lost some crew members to strafing. June 4 began for the defenders of Midway at 3:00 a.m. with a wake-up call. All firing positions on both islands were manned while pilots and crews stood by their planes. At 4 a.m., six F4F Wildcats from Major Floyd B. "Red" Parks' VMF-221 took off on a combat air patrol. They were followed by 11 PBYs from VP-44, searching for the Japanese carriers, and 16 B-17s led by Sweeney who were to attempt another attack on the Japanese transports. At 4:30 a.m., the aircraft carriers of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's first strike force - Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu - launched their planes. Fifteen minutes later, 36 Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers, 36 Aichi D3A1 Val dive bombers, and 36 Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters were en route to Midway. At 5:30 p.m., Lieutenant Howard P. Ady emerged from a cloud bank and spotted Nagumo's carriers. Ady radioed Midway: "Carrier 320 degrees, distance 180." Ady returned to the clouds and circled the Japanese fleet, radioing again: "0553, Two aircraft carriers and the main body of ships, aircraft carriers ahead, course 135 degrees, speed 34." Fifteen minutes after the Ady sighting, JG Lieutenant William Chase, flying south of the Ady sector, sighted a formation of Japanese fighters and bombers. Chase quickly radioed, "Many enemy planes are heading toward Midway, direction 320 degrees, distance 150." At Midway, Sand Island radar detected the approaching Japanese planes at 5:53 a.m. Air raid sirens screamed and all personnel ran to their shelters and artillery positions. Major Parks' 21 Buffaloes and six Wildcats took to the air, followed by Lieutenant Fieberling's six TBFs and Captain Collins' four B-26s. Major Henderson's dive bombers were the last to take off. By 6:16 a.m., all 66 of Midway's planes were airborne. While theAs bombers headed toward the Japanese carriers, Parks led six Buffaloes and three Wildcats to intercept the 108 oncoming Japanese planes. Captain John Carey, leading the three Wildcats in Parks' flight, was the first to sight the Japanese. "Tallyho! Falcons to the angels twelve!" Carey sent an x-ray. The Japanese bombers flew in a large V formation, followed by groups of zeros. Carey rolled his Wildcat and yelled into the V, blasting Kate with all four of his .50 caliber machine guns, then zoomed in for another attack. Japanese rear gunners raked his Wildcat, riddled Carey's legs. Second Lieutenant Clayton M. Canfield followed Carey in his attack, destroying a Kate. Canfield saw Zeros dive at him. A 20 mm cannon shell damaged his Wildcat, and he stopped in the clouds and lost his pursuers. Coming out of the clouds, Canfield joined Carey and brought him back to Midway. Captain Marion E. Carl, in command of the third Wildcat, was jumped by several Zeros after attacking the Kates and was forced to break off his attack. While the Wildcats fought for their lives, Parks led his six Buffaloes in an attack on the Kates. The Marines made one pass before the Zeros overwhelmed them. Parks and four other Marines were killed. Only Lieutenant Daniel J. Irwin survived. He managed to get his damaged Buffalo back to Midway with Zeros following him the whole way. “Their shooting was very good,” Irwin reported, “and I doubt that at any time they missed hitting my plane.” The 12 reserve fighters of VMF-221, led by Captains Daniel J. Hennessy and Kirk Armstead, also attacked the Japanese planes (Lucas 104). Hennessy's six Buffaloes crashed into the bombers and were jumped by the escorting Zeros, who destroyed four of them. Only two men from Hennessy survived. Armstead's Buffaloes intercepted the Japanese a few miles from Midway and shot down three Kates before the rampaging Zeros destroyed three. Observing the dogfight from the ground, Lt. Charles Hughes said the Buffaloes "looked like they were on a string while the Zeros were making passes at them." The Japanese pushed relentlessly toward Midway. To Marine Pfc Phillip Clark of Battery D on Sand Island, the Japanese formations looked like "three streaks of clouds far away on the horizon." On Sand and Eastern, Marines and sailors awaited the attack. One observer marveled at the “very calm… nonchalant air” with which the defenders awaited the strike, “as if they had experienced this sort of thing all their lives” (Stevens 98). “Open fire when targets are within range,” 6th Battalion Headquarters notified all weapons at 06:30. A minute later, Midway's guns opened fire. A Kate caught fire and dove straight down. A second Kate crashed into the lagoon, missing the PT boats. The remaining Kates struck Sand Island, destroying three oil tanks and burning a seaplane hangar. The attack on Eastern Island began with an unforgettable incident. “Suddenly the lead Japanese plane took off,” wrote an eyewitness. “It dove about 100 feet off the ground, flipped onto its back and continued to calmly fly upside down over the railing.” The Marines observed him for a few seconds, then opened fire and shot him dead. Val dive bombers struck VMF-221's weapons pit, killing four mechanics and detonating eight 100-pound bombs and 10,000 rounds of .50-caliber machine gun ammunition. Another Val demolished the Eastern Power Plant, disrupting the Midway Power and Water Distillation Plant. The effortsJapanese to render useless the Eastern tracks failed; only two small craters remained on the landing strips. Midway's defenders fought back with everything they had. Major Dorn E. Arnold of the 6th Defense Battalion fired a Browning automatic rifle at the enemy; a Sand Island sailor used a Colt .45. 2nd Lt. Elmer Thompson and another Marine fired a .30-caliber machine gun from a crippled SB2U. The Japanese attack ended at 6:48 a.m. The green light sounded on Midway at 7:15 a.m. and the process of putting the pieces back together began. Kimes ordered VMF-221's fighters to land. Six Buffaloes came staggering in. Of these, four planes landed during the raid, only 20 American fighters survived. Of these, only one Wildcat and only one Buffalo were fit to fly. Fifteen Buffaloes and two Wildcats were shot down and 13 pilots were killed. Fighters and anti-aircraft fire shot down eleven Japanese planes, while 53 were damaged. Colonel Shannon's trenches, bunkers and revetments proved effective. Only 11 of Midway's land defenders were killed and 18 wounded. None of Midway's planes were caught on the ground, except for an old utility biplane and a decoy plane made of boxes and a tin roof called the "JFU" (Jap fouler-upper)(Robertson). 15). While Midway repaired its damage and its defenders licked their wounds, planes sent to attack the Japanese carriers made contact. Lieutenant Langdon Fieberling's six TBFs reached the Japanese fleet at 7:10 a.m., dropped to low altitude, and headed toward the carriers. So many Zeros swarmed the vulnerable torpedo planes that the fighters got in each other's way. Two TBFs were destroyed in the first attack, followed by three others. Realizing he could not reach the carriers, Ensign Albert K. Earnest dropped his torpedo on a cruiser, then fled with two Zeros after him. Earnest took his TBF back to Midway, sailing “by guesswork and by God.” Just behind the TBFs, Captain James Collins led his four B-26 Marauders into a gauntlet of antiaircraft fire and six Zeros. Collins flew his planes up to 200 feet above the water and, followed by Lt. James P. Muri, headed for the aircraft carrier Akagi. Collins dropped his torpedo 850 yards from the carrier and moved away. Muri released his torpedo 450 meters away, then turned and flew into the middle of Akagi's flight deck. Once Muri's B-26 was away from Akagi, the Zeros attacked with a vengeance, injuring two crew members and riddled the landing gear, fuel tanks, propeller blades, radio and the top of a wing. Despite this punishment, Muri and Collins were the only survivors of the group of four B-26 planes. Then, at 7:48 a.m., VMSB-241's 16 Dauntless and Vindicator dive bombers led by Major Lofton Henderson followed the TBF and B-26 attacks. Henderson had divided the squadron into two flights; himself leading the SBDs while Major Benjamin W. Norris led the Vindicators. As Henderson led the squadron northwest, the faster Dauntless soon left the Vindicators behind. Henderson's SBDs got their first glimpse of the Japanese carriers at 7:25 a.m., and he radioed his Dauntless pilots: "Attack the two enemy CVs on the port bow." » Henderson had led his squadron up to 4,000 feet when the Japanese combat air patrol attacked. The Dauntlesses also encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire from the Japanese ships. Henderson's plane was hit and its port wing caught fire. He tried to keep his burning Dauntless in the lead, but eventually lost control and plunged into the sea. The captainElmer C. Glidden quickly took command of the Dauntlesses. “The fighter attacks were heavy,” he wrote, “so I led the squadron through a protective layer of clouds” (Stevens 102). The Zeros followed the Marines into the clouds. Glidden emerged from the clouds and found two Japanese aircraft carriers, Kaga and Hiryu, 2,000 feet below. The remaining 10 Dauntless dived to 500 feet or less before dropping their bombs, then fled at full throttle, chased by the Zeros. Three SBDs crashed into the sea near Midway. Their crews were then rescued. The remaining six, some seriously injured, reached Midway. Eight SBDs, including Henderson's, were lost, with the Japanese suffering no damage. Sweeney's 15 Flying Fortresses arrived above Nagumo's fleet at 8:10 a.m., just as the Dauntless were finishing 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 largest array of surface vessels we have ever seen – they seemed to stretch endlessly from horizon to horizon.” Each three-plane B-17 element attacked alone. Lt. Col. Brooke Allen's element unloaded its bombs on the aircraft carrier Soryu, but all failed. Sweeney targeted Kaga, circling her stern with, he believed, “a bomb hit…causing heavy smoke” (Robertson 22). Three Zeros ganged up on Captain Cecil Faulkener's bomber, riddled its fuselage and wounded the tail gunner. Another Zero fought against Captain Paul Payne's fortress but never got any closer. “The Zeros barely hit the B-17s,” reported Capt. Paul Gregory. “The enemy pursuit did not seem to want to get any closer to the modified B-17E” (Young 25). The B-17s completed their attack at 8:20 a.m. and returned to Midway. Sweeney believed his B-17s had hit at least one of the Japanese carriers. In reality, this was not the case. Shortly after the B-17s left, Major Benjamin Norris's 11 Vindicators arrived and the Zeros overran them (Miracle 45). Norris, with no illusions about his old “Vibrators,” decided not to head for the carriers. He led his men into clouds. Emerging from the cloud cover, Norris discovered a battleship below. It was the Haruna, believed to have been sunk in December 1941. "Attack target below," Norris radioed, and led the Vindicators into a high-speed glide. The anti-aircraft guns on Haruna opened fire with an “extremely heavy and troublesome but inaccurate barrage” (Stevens 121). Only two of Major Norris's Vindicators were lost in the attack. Three abandoned at sea near Midway due to 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 the Vindicators from VMSB-241, it would have been another victory for the Japanese. Midway had sent 52 planes against the Japanese and lost 19 without scoring a single hit. “From the time of the attack and the known position of the enemy carriers, we estimated that they would be back in three or four hours,” Kimes writes (Stevens 54). Only six Dauntlesses, seven Vindicators, one Buffalo and a single Wildcat remained to oppose the Japanese. Midway's defenders prepared for another air raid. Nothing happened. The only planes to show up were 11 Dauntlesses from the aircraft carrier Hornet at 11:00. Naval gunners, believing they were Japanese planes, opened fire on the SBDs before recognizing their silhouettes. The Dauntlesses were resupplied and back in theairs at 2:00 p.m. At 3:58 p.m., Midway's defenders received an indication that the Japanese were defeated when a PBY pilot reported "three ships on fire." At 5:45 p.m. he reported: “The three ships on fire are Japanese aircraft carriers. » The stricken ships - Akagi, Kaga and Soryu - were victims of the SBD Dauntlesses of the American aircraft carriers Enterprise and Yorktown. At the same time at sea, B-17s from Midway, along with six other Flying Fortresses from Hawaii, attacked. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay on the Japanese carrier Hiryu, which had been damaged and burned by Enterprise and Hornet dive bombers. The B-17s claimed to have hit the burning Hiryu, as well as a cruiser and a battleship, and sank a destroyer. In fact, the land bombers were no more successful in the afternoon than in the morning. With Nagumo's four carriers destroyed, Yamamoto decided he could not continue his plan to occupy Midway and ordered his fleet to withdraw. Midway's defenders, however, still expected a Japanese invasion. Captain Simard dispersed his PBYs, evacuated non-essential personnel, and warned his PT boats to expect a nighttime attack. At 1:20 a.m., the Japanese submarine I-168 opened fire on Midway with its 5-inch deck gun. Batteries B and E on East Island, as well as Battery D on Sand Island, returned fire with their 3- and 5-inch guns, dropping 42 shells at I-168, which returned eight. The brief exchange caused no damage to either party. Most of I-168's shells fell into the lagoon. The submarine submerged at 1:28 a.m., the Navy gunners stopped firing, and Midway settled back into uneasy silence (Miracle 68). June 5, 1942 began for Midway's defenders at 4:15 a.m., after Sand Island radio picked up a report from the submarine USS Tambor of a large enemy force possibly within striking range. The Midway garrison still had every reason to believe that an invasion was imminent. Within 15 minutes, eight B-17s took off from the East Island to counter the threat. Army pilots were unable to locate enemy ships in the early morning fog, and by 6 a.m. the B-17s were circling Kure Atoll awaiting information. At 6:30 a.m., a PBY based at Midway reported: "Sight 2 battleships at 256 degrees, distance 125 miles, course 268 degrees, speed 15." Two minutes later, the PBY added: “Ships damaged, spilling oil. » The Japanese ships retreated and the island's defenders breathed a collective sigh of relief. Marine Aircraft Group 22 sent two flights from VMSB-241, six Dauntlesses under Captain Marshall A. Tyler and six Vindicators under Captain Richard E. Flemming, to attack the two "battleships", actually the cruisers. heavy Mikuma and Mogami, damaged in a collision the previous night. Forty-five minutes later, Marine pilots spotted the oil slick left by the damaged cruisers and followed it to Mogami and Mikuma. Tyler led his six Dauntless in an attack on Mogami amid heavy anti-aircraft fire. The Marines dropped their bombs, scoring a few near misses. At 8:40 a.m., minutes after Tyler's attack, Flemming led his Vindicators out of the sun, through heavy antiaircraft fire from Japanese ships, against Mikuma. Captain Leon M. Williamson, pilot of Flemming's flight, saw Flemming's engine smoking during his dive. As Flemming retreated, his Vindicator caught fire. Flemming - whether by accident or design - crashed his blazing Vindicator against the turret.