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This is Volume One of The Army Air Forces in World War II, titled Plans and Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, edited by Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate. The University of Chicago Press first published it in 1948, and the Office of Air Force History reprinted it in 1983. The front matter explains how the AAF historical program was set up during the war. The index covers Pacific, Atlantic and European operations, and nothing in the text concerns unidentified aerial phenomena.
“The Invaders”15 pages
T H E A R M Y A I R F O R C E S I N W O R L D W A R I 1 been demonstrated repeatedly that damage to carriers is particularly difficult to assess from the air. With this in mind, it would seem that the first attack produced a probable hit upon one transport, causing a small fire which was extinguished without delaying the ship, but that the combat craft escaped damage in the attack.g5 T h e first blow had been struck without slowing the enemy; but out into the night four PBY’s moved toward the transports, found them by radar at 0130 on the qth, put one torpedo into the tanker Akebono Maru, and strafed the column of transports, causing some casual tie^.^^ T h e 4th of June was the day of the real battle. PBY’s were off early on their searches for the main enemy force, which had not yet been located; B-17’s were in the air; B-26’s, TBF’s, and MAG-22 planes were warmed and ready. At 054s the news was in: a patrol plane had sighted many planes heading for Midway at a point 150 miles to the north and west; radars confirmed the report. Seven minutes later, PBY’s sighted the enemy’s carrier force. Midway was ready. T h e four B-26’s led by Capt. James F. Collins, Jr., and the six TBF’s were off to attack the carriers, Marine dive bombers and fighters were sent aloft, and the flight of 14 B- 17’salready in the air and on its way toward the transports was diverted north a a i n s t the carriers. At 0705 the B-26’s and TBF’s sighted the carriers with their supporting heavy ships; they attacked through heavy fighter defense and flak with no fighter sup- port of their own, only to lose two of the B-26’s and five of the Navy’s new Grumman torpedo planes. Lt. James P. Muri and Captain Collins brought their badly shot-up planes home to Midway after their gallant attack, but they had scored no hits, nor had the TBF’s; on this point enemy survivors are u n a n i m o u ~ . ~ ~All the Japanese carriers were ham- mered by the B- I 7’s and by dive and torpedo bombers from the three U.S. carriers, and one by one the ships caught fire and sank. T h e Soryu had been hit heavily by dive bombers, then was torpedoed by the submarine Nautilus at 1359, sinking at 1610.’~T h e Kaga, too, went down a few minutes later, while the Hiryu) escaping the earlier attacks, was caught by dive bombers from the Enterprise and the Hornet late in the afternoon. T h e ship sank early on the sth, together with the Akaga, but not before it was found by six B-17’s en route from Oahu to Midway. The bombers attacked from 3,600 feet at 1610, then strafed the carrier’s decks, and claimed hits upon a d e ~ t r o y e r . ~ b. 458
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