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If you haven't read it, I highly recommend "Shattered Sword", it answers all those questions and many more. But in essence, what you've just stated is part of the disruption that the IJN was suffering that morning which led to the SBD's pounding KdB before they could strike at TF16 and 17.How long would it take the Japanese to recover, rearm, and refuel after taking down the torpedo planes? All of those things would be factors, no?
The Zero/Reisen was one of the most maneuverable fighter of the war, no? I can't see how the Swordfish would have fared better. Heck, how would the Avenger have fared in that situation, being jumped on by multiple hostile fighters without an escort??So a few things (regressing back to earlier posts)
And before someone tries to say that the Swordfish was more maneuverable than the TBD and "could have" evaded better, the Japanese pilots flying CAP that day were the best in the world and I'm sure would have had no problem adjusting firing solutions for a target moving under 100 mph.
The Zero/Reisen was one of the most maneuverable fighter of the war, no? I can't see how the Swordfish would have fared better. Heck, how would the Avenger have fared in that situation, being jumped on by multiple hostile fighters without an escort??
Yes those factors were. There's a great set of videos that deal exactly with that. They're by Montemayor. It's called "Midway from the Japanese perspective" or close to it. He shows how the uncoordinated attacks kept Admiral Nagumo from being able to re-arm and launch later strikes much better than I could describe it.
The Zero/Reisen was one of the most maneuverable fighter of the war, no? I can't see how the Swordfish would have fared better. Heck, how would the Avenger have fared in that situation, being jumped on by multiple hostile fighters without an escort??
Yes those factors were. There's a great set of videos that deal exactly with that. They're by Montemayor. It's called "Midway from the Japanese perspective" or close to it. He shows how the uncoordinated attacks kept Admiral Nagumo from being able to re-arm and launch later strikes much better than I could describe it.
The problem with the IJN plans was that the USN never did what it was "supposed" to do.After reading Shattered Sword it's pretty clear the Japanese were beaten the moment they left port, they did not train to loose, they trained to win to the point the practice scenario's the pilots were taught heavily favored them so the training wasn't realistic, the CAP procedures/doctrine was based around the A6M's lack of 20mm ammunition which meant the decks were kept clear for them to rearm instead of launching bombers, the fire control damage control was centrally organised with a clear pecking order of who was in charge, when those central people were killed no one knew what to do, the ships themselves were poorly designed so when they were hit they burned out, the IJN was a strong force on paper but when the shooting started it had a glass jaw.
The problem with the IJN plans was that the USN never did what it was "supposed" to do.
I know, right?Enemies are annoying when they do that.
Wiki gives the endurance of a Swordfish as 5 hours, that his a long time to be looking at a radar set on a bi plane.
I dont follow?And that's just to get down to the 7-Eleven on the corner.
I dont follow?
Much smaller, intended for escort carriers. R-2800 vs R-3350We're getting pretty far afield now, but there was also the Kaiser-Fleetwings_XBTK, which made it to prototype stage but was cancelled in 1946. It looked _a lot_ like the Douglas Skyraider.
Kaiser-Fleetwings XBTK - Wikipedia