Requiem For Torpedo Eight-- Part 3: Battle of Midway the Turning Point of War in the Pacific

Soon after, SBD Dauntless dive bombers hit and sank three Japanese aircraft carriers, the Akagi, the Kaga and the Soryu -- the pride of the Japanese fleet, and later, the Hiryu.

Ensign George Gay was rescued the day following the battle and Torpedo Eight was later awarded the American Presidential Unit Citation.

This event was the turning point of World War II in the Pacific.  From that point on, Japan would be fighting a defensive war against increasingly powerful American forces.

--GreGen

Jim Landis' Pearl Harbor Plane-- Part 4

Continued from February 22nd.

After Midway, the shot up SBD-2 was sent back stateside, repaired and assigned to Carrier Qualification Training Unit at Glenview NAS in Illinois.  A lot of obsolete or heavily damaged planes were assigned to this site, which, along with pilot error (after all, they were learners) led to a large number of crashes into lake Michigan while attempting to land on the converted carriers.

On the morning of June 11, 1943, with Marine 2nd Lt Donald A. Douglas piloting, it too crashed into the lake during an errant approach to training carrier Sable (IX-81).

It was recovered from the lake in 1994.

This plane has a lot of history as a survivor of Pearl Harbor, two other air actions and the Battle of Midway and then training.  Without qualified pilots, the aircraft carriers were not of much use.

Its armament consisted of two forward-firing .50 inch machine guns and a rear-firing .30-inch machine gun.  Its crew consisted of a pilot and a gunner.  This would make sense of Jim Landis saying at Pearl Harbor that he had gotten a machine gun from the plane and used it to fire at the Japanese planes.

The plane can be seen at the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola NAS in Florida.

The Story of a Plane.  --GreGen

Salamaua- Lae: A Follow-Up

This past Feb. 22, I wrote about Jim Landis' plane at Pearl Harbor attacking the Japanese in March at Salamaua-Lae.  I had never heard of the operation, so Wiki here I come.

This was in connection with the Japanese invasion of Salamaua-Lae from March 8-13, 1942, while Japan was still on the offensive in the Pacific.  Their intention was to build a base and airfield there.

The March 10th attack from American carriers, one of the planes being Landis' (and, I'll finish that plane's history tomorrow), covered 201 miles.  The Lexington's SBD Dauntlesses hit at 0922.  The Japanese transports Kongo Maru, Tenyo Maru and Yokahoma Maru were sunk and several other ships were damaged..

GreGen

Jim Landis' Pearl Harbor Plane-- Part 3

On March 10, 1942, pilot Mark Whittier and radioman second-class Forest G. Stanley joined 103 other planes from the Lexington and Yorktown on an attack on Japanese ships at Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea for some payback.

On its return to pearl Harbor, the SBD-2 Dauntless 2106 (wonder what its name was) was again put ashore until it was transferred to Marine Scout Bombing Squadron (VMSB) at Midway Atoll and arrived there with 18 other SBD-2s on May 26, 1942 on the aircraft transport Kitty Hawk (APV-1).

On the morning of June 4, 1942, 1st Lt. Daniel Iverson and Pvt. First Class Wallace Reid manning the 30 caliber machine gun in the aft-cockpit were one of 16 SBD-2s to launch an attack on Japanese carriers west of Midway at the beginning of that turning point battle.

They dropped a bomb on the Hiryu aircraft carrier at 800 feet and weer chased by four Japanese fighters.  When they returned, Reid was wounded and 219 bullet holes were counted in the plane.  They were one of just eight to make it back.

More to Come.  --GreGen

Jim Landis' Pearl Harbor Plane-- Part 2: Left Behind at Pearl

From the Naval Aviation Museum website.

The plane in question at the Naval Aviation Museum was built by Douglas Aircraft Co. on its assembly line in El Segundo, California on in December 1940.  It was an SBD-2 Dauntless (Bureau Number 2106) and delivered to Bombing Squadron VB2 at NAS San Diego on December 31, 1940.

Starting the next year it flew with that squadron from the deck of the aircraft carrier Lexington (CV-2) and participated in military maneuvers in Louisiana.

In the first week of December 1941, the Lexington was ordered to deliver aircraft to the Marine Scout bombing squadron at Midway.  While at Pearl harbor, aircraft, including 2106, were offloaded from the carrier to make room for others and left behind on Ford Island when the ship left port for Midway.  That's where it was the day of the attack (and the lexington at sea heading for Midway.

It sustained no damage and was put back on board the Lexington when it returned.

That's Just the Beginning of Its Career.  --GreGen