06/03/2026
On the morning of 4 June 1942, the fate of the Pacific War hung on confusion, split-second decisions, and extraordinary sacrifice. While the Battle of Midway is usually remembered for the destruction of four Japanese carriers, some of the most important events of that decisive day are often overshadowed by the dramatic dive bomber attacks that came later.
One of the least appreciated stories of June 4 is the sacrifice of the American torpedo squadrons. Before U.S. Navy dive bombers arrived overhead, three separate torpedo squadrons from USS Hornet (CV-8), USS Enterprise (CV-6), and USS Yorktown (CV-5) attacked the Japanese fleet at low altitude. Mostly due to a combination of poor coordination, communication failures, and the limitations of early-war carrier tactics, none of the torpedo squadrons arrived at the target with fighter cover.
Flying obsolete TBD Devastator torpedo bombers, they pressed home attacks directly into intense anti-aircraft fire and swarms of Japanese Zero fighters. Torpedo Squadron 8 from Hornet was virtually annihilated. Of the squadron’s 15 aircraft and crews, only Ensign George Gay survived. Torpedo Squadron 6 from Enterprise and Torpedo Squadron 3 from Yorktown suffered similarly devastating losses. None scored a confirmed torpedo hit. Yet their sacrifice forced Japanese fighters down to sea level, scattered the combat air patrol, and disrupted Japanese carrier operations at the exact moment American dive bombers were approaching arrived unseen from high altitude. Historians have long argued that without the torpedo squadrons’ devastating losses, the dive bombers might never have found the carriers so vulnerable.
This was also the combat debut of the TBF Avenger, with six aircraft joining the battle from Midway itself. The Avengers unfortunately suffered the same catastrophic fate as the Devastators. Five were shot down. The lone surviving aircraft, flown by Ensign Albert Earnest, returned riddled with damage, with one crewman dead and another wounded.
What makes the Avenger’s debut particularly tragic is that the aircraft itself was not the problem. The TBF was larger, faster, more durable, and far better armed than the TBD Devastator, but they arrived before the rest of the torpedo bombers, also without cover. Midway demonstrated that even a superior torpedo bomber was nearly helpless when forced to attack low and slow without adequate fighter cover against alert Japanese defenses.
