Lots of Midway related artworks, models and story

[thegladiatorman]

Hi everyone I'm webmaster of the website MODELSSTORY.COM

Recently our website has finished a story of Battle of Midway, in where lots of nicely built models and Photoshop works

are used. All of you are invited to visit our site and see our stories by going to

http://www.modelsstory.com/warofmodels/miden/30.htm

Several artwork pics are attached for you to have an impression, any idea or critisism is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!=)

 

[syscom3]

Now thats something interesting.

Have you shown it to the admin for the nihon kaigan website?

 

[Crimea_River]

Great work!

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Excellent work!!

 

[R Leonard]

Well, okay, but only because you asked.

Just for the sake of accuracy –

None of the TBDs from any US carrier at Midway sported the pre-15 May 42 red white striped rudders.

Japanese flight decks did not have strikes spotted aboard when the SBDs of VB-3, VB-6, and VS-6 made their strikes; at best, there were but a very few A6Ms on each deck. Constant recycling of the CAP prevented bringing up strike aircraft, hence the devastating hangar deck fires resultant from the bomb strikes.

Dives being executed by Best, Kroeger, and Weber on Akagi are too shallow. That's not the way Dick Best described it to me one night over dinner.

Your comment on accidental loss of bombs by Leslie and other VB-3 SBD drivers vis-à-vis "a not-uncommon occurrence since the SBD-3 had changed the wiring" is not exactly true. The electrical arming system was an add-on kit supplied by Douglas just before the battle and was hurried installed aboard ship without proper testing. In the case of the planes which lost their bombs, the wiring was installed reversed. There is no evidence of reversed wiring on the other SBDs in the flight as none of the others lost their bombs. And, yes, I know that Leslie broke radio silence to tell his squadron not to use the electrical arming system, but some already had done so without bomb loss. Note that no other SBD-3s in the battle had this problem. Also factory equipped -3s did not have the problem, either. So, it was not a "not-uncommon" problem, it was, in fact, an unusual occurrence.

The incident of F4Fs taking off from Yorktown and shooting down attacking aircraft whilst still cranking up wheels did not occur during the dive bombing attack, it occurred during the torpedo plane attack. Thach, Dibb, Leonard, and Adams, the first four of the last six F4Fs to launch from Yorktown all found themselves in that position and all scored at least one, Thach got two.

Yorktown had but 8 F4Fs on the flight deck during the dive bomber attack. Six were spotted for launch, wings unfolded; two, red-tagged for damage sustained in the morning escort mission, were parked starboard side aft of the island, wings folded. No SBDs were on the deck nor was there a TBD poised in an operating elevator – in fact, at general quarters an elevator would not be in the down position or even in operation, SOP. Only TBDs still aboard were three hangar queens belonging to VT-5; they were never prepared for action and were eventually tossed overboard during the salvage attempt of 6 June. Dive angle for the D3A's is a little steep, should be more like around 70-75 degrees. Nobody is shooting back? I know of at least one VF-3 pilot who was banging away with his .45 at incoming dive bombers. You might want to check your sources on return AA fire. Yorktown flight deck is wrong color, should be Norfolk Blue stain (250-N), standard since July 1941.

Nimitz had little to nothing to do with the decision to strike Hiryu, or any other tactical decision on the scene, for that matter. US commanders on the scene knew what to do, and after Sam Adams located Hiryu, cobbled together a strike made of VB-6 and VS-6 remnants plus the VB-3 contingent for an ultimately successful strike. As usual, HAG SBDs had little to do with the outcome.

Angle of attack of SBDs on Hiryu is too shallow; should be more around 80 to 85 degrees, not the 60 to 65 shown. Dive bombing, not glide bombing.

If the SBDs over Mikuma are rolling in for an attack, they are far, far to low for a dive bombing profile or probably even for glide bombing.


Regards

 

[renrich]

Very nice work. I was going to comment of the deck load of the IJN CV but a real authority beat me to it. Did the F4F4 have the hand cranked landing gear?

 

[R Leonard]

Hand cranked gear - all of them, -3, -4, FM-1, -2 and anything in between.