Dr. DePue, thank you for all of your presentations over the years. You have provided an invaluable education to me and many others. You are a treasure to all who love military history.
Dr. Mark DePue, thank you very much for this presentation and all the others, I hope your plans include bringing many more to RUclips. I'm watching this in Edinburgh, Scotland ( a hopefully soon-to-be independent Scotland!)
Some historians write that the Japanese attack on the Aleutians meant as a distraction. They say that Yamamoto was against that attack, but he was told by Imperial Navy HQ that he wouldn’t be allowed to attack Midway unless the Navy also attacked those islands. The HQ wanted the Aleutian attack to prevent Americans from attacking Japan from those islands.
52:20 "The B-26s and B-17s are all flying high..." Actually the B-26's carried jury-rigged torpedo armament and consequently flew low. 1:00:05 "Some would day the foolishness of launching those attacks without being coordinated in the first place." But Waldron's attack WAS part of a coordinated attack, it just happened to be a coordinated attack on an empty stretch of ocean, which he'd abandoned in an act of insubordination.
It wasn't entirely the manufacturer's fault. Bu Ord ultimately had to do test firings, because the torp builders didn't have subs and torpedo tubes lying around. Bu Ord failed to properly test the torps because it was "too expensive". So for want of spending maybe 50 mill or so (pre 1941 dollars) to fully test the torps, 100s of millions if not billions of subs and sailors were lost.
They were defective by government design, not due to any failure by the torpedoes' manufacturers. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_13_torpedo#Wartime_development
I agree that the Japanese wanted the runways intact, but that is only a conclusion that I have reached because Tomomnagua's attack group did not hit them. What evidence do you have that there were actual orders not to hit the runways?
Just hit the right-caret until the introducer disappears. You might have to double-click "settings" to change the function of the key from increasing volume to causing 5-sec jumps. 90 sec isn't as bad a delay in reaching actual content as happens on some of these videos.
First of all pretty good presentation and the audio tapes of veterans was educational. I will be much criticized for saying it but I don't think that much of Lieutenant Waldron's decision to embark his group on an insubordinate venture without fighter cover no matter how incompetent his superior may or may not be. He can BS himself about how superior his inexperienced group is but the reality of course is going to cost his crew without any advantage having been bought for their sacrifice whatsoever. His group's attack did not, as legend has it, draw CAP out of altitude as it was 40 minutes earlier than any dive bomber attack. It was hidden by Hornet's only battle report and maybe understandably swept under the rug for national morale reasons. But maybe it's about time for a more sobering look at that kind of chaotic behavior in the middle of what should've been a coordinated military mission.
Your criticism is misplaced. ALL the attacks were uncoordinated and Waldron's at least COULD have contributed to the positive result had he not arrived too soon. It's the REST of the Hornet's attacks that were utterly doomed to be futile and useless, at high cost. MORE insubordination might have fixed that.
The sheer blind luck of the American Navy during the Battle of Midway boggles my mind! If those bombers didn't stumble upon the Japanese aircraft carriers who knows what could have happened.
Nonsense. The Americans flooded the air with aircraft. They were unlikely not to have found them. Not to mention that the Yorktown flight groups flew directly to the Japanese carriers. As did the Midway groups.
Recorded 4/23/21 in midst of covid, . Whether there was audience or just production crew,he erred on the side of caution and consideration for whoever was present at the time.
If the Americans had lost the Midway action, Japan could have sailed right to the North American West coast and blown it totally away. This would have destroyed all U.S. naval bases on the Pacific side and prolonged the war YEARS. This is why Midway is a "decisive" battle.
Nonsense. It is very dangerous to bring carriers within shore-based aircraft. In addition, single-engine carrier aircraft can do very limited damage to shore bases. And after Pearl, there were no longer to be any surprise attacks. Just at how little damage Dollittle did and that was a bomber attack.
Dr Depue thank you for all the brilliant presentations.
Ray Dublin Ireland
Dr. DePue with a brilliant presentation, as always!
Damn I would do anything to have depue do a civil war battle again
Dr. DePue, thank you for all of your presentations over the years. You have provided an invaluable education to me and many others. You are a treasure to all who love military history.
EXCELLENT presentation. Thanks very much. Greetings from Mexico City
Dr. Mark DePue, thank you very much for this presentation and all the others, I hope your plans include bringing many more to RUclips. I'm watching this in Edinburgh, Scotland ( a hopefully soon-to-be independent Scotland!)
Australia sent a few cruisers to help in the battle of the Coral Sea. DePue seems to have not noticed
Halsey may have been the “sailors admiral” but he abandoned a lot of sailors at Leyte Gulf when he went off in search of glory. Lacked greatness.
@gustavderkits8433 Halsey abandoned no one. He went north after the Japanese carriers long BEFORE the action off Samar took place.
Agreed, Halsey was not on the level of Mitscher or Spruance, let alone a Nimitz or King.
Some historians write that the Japanese attack on the Aleutians meant as a distraction. They say that Yamamoto was against that attack, but he was told by Imperial Navy HQ that he wouldn’t be allowed to attack Midway unless the Navy also attacked those islands. The HQ wanted the Aleutian attack to prevent Americans from attacking Japan from those islands.
Thank you.
52:20 "The B-26s and B-17s are all flying high..."
Actually the B-26's carried jury-rigged torpedo armament and consequently flew low.
1:00:05 "Some would day the foolishness of launching those attacks without being coordinated in the first place."
But Waldron's attack WAS part of a coordinated attack, it just happened to be a coordinated attack on an empty stretch of ocean, which he'd abandoned in an act of insubordination.
Roosevelt was under-secretary of the Navy.
What consequences were there for torpedo manufacturers?
Maybe that's where the saying " Good Enough for Government Work" comes from 🤣
It wasn't entirely the manufacturer's fault. Bu Ord ultimately had to do test firings, because the torp builders didn't have subs and torpedo tubes lying around. Bu Ord failed to properly test the torps because it was "too expensive". So for want of spending maybe 50 mill or so (pre 1941 dollars) to fully test the torps, 100s of millions if not billions of subs and sailors were lost.
They were defective by government design, not due to any failure by the torpedoes' manufacturers.
See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_13_torpedo#Wartime_development
I agree that the Japanese wanted the runways intact, but that is only a conclusion that I have reached because Tomomnagua's attack group did not hit them. What evidence do you have that there were actual orders not to hit the runways?
Watching from Baru, Costa Rica
Watching from Holland ( europa )
1:31
Thank you 👍
Just hit the right-caret until the introducer disappears.
You might have to double-click "settings" to change the function of the key from increasing volume to causing 5-sec jumps.
90 sec isn't as bad a delay in reaching actual content as happens on some of these videos.
North Carolina
It's not given the credit its do because it's a naval battle.
.
First of all pretty good presentation and the audio tapes of veterans was educational. I will be much criticized for saying it but I don't think that much of Lieutenant Waldron's decision to embark his group on an insubordinate venture without fighter cover no matter how incompetent his superior may or may not be. He can BS himself about how superior his inexperienced group is but the reality of course is going to cost his crew without any advantage having been bought for their sacrifice whatsoever. His group's attack did not, as legend has it, draw CAP out of altitude as it was 40 minutes earlier than any dive bomber attack. It was hidden by Hornet's only battle report and maybe understandably swept under the rug for national morale reasons. But maybe it's about time for a more sobering look at that kind of chaotic behavior in the middle of what should've been a coordinated military mission.
Your criticism is misplaced. ALL the attacks were uncoordinated and Waldron's at least COULD have contributed to the positive result had he not arrived too soon. It's the REST of the Hornet's attacks that were utterly doomed to be futile and useless, at high cost. MORE insubordination might have fixed that.
All the Hornet and Enterprise attacks were uncoordinated.
Yorktowns attacks were in fact properly coordinated.
Cepac. A drink nimtz made..
The sheer blind luck of the American Navy during the Battle of Midway boggles my mind! If those bombers didn't stumble upon the Japanese aircraft carriers who knows what could have happened.
Nonsense. The Americans flooded the air with aircraft. They were unlikely not to have found them. Not to mention that the Yorktown flight groups flew directly to the Japanese carriers. As did the Midway groups.
They were out there looking...you make your own luck
@garrisonnichols7372 Hardly blind luck. The Americans put large numbers of planes up at just the right time.
Why is that dude presenting wearing a mask.....when he is by himself???
Because he is a virtue-signaling idiot.
Recorded 4/23/21 in midst of covid, . Whether there was audience or just production crew,he erred on the side of caution and consideration for whoever was present at the time.
If the Americans had lost the Midway action, Japan could have sailed right to the North American West coast and blown it totally away. This would have destroyed all U.S. naval bases on the Pacific side and prolonged the war YEARS. This is why Midway is a "decisive" battle.
Utter crapulous nonsense.
Nonsense. It is very dangerous to bring carriers within shore-based aircraft. In addition, single-engine carrier aircraft can do very limited damage to shore bases. And after Pearl, there were no longer to be any surprise attacks. Just at how little damage Dollittle did and that was a bomber attack.