Details

Written by: Spikes

Category: Pacific Theatre

Published: 01 July 2017

Hits: 16

Head On at Midway 1942

Introduction

At 0300 4 June, when reveille sounded on Midway, the Japanese Fleet was approaching its objective in two main forces, the Striking Force, commanded byAdmiral Nagumo, Chuichi, IJN; and the Occupation Force, under over-all command of Vice Admiral Kondo, Nobutake, IJN. The former unit, as we have seen, was composed of four carriers, plus an escort of battleships and smaller combatant ships; and the latter included a substantial portion of the Second Fleet: Battleships, cruisers, and the amphibious shipping necessary to mount the projected landing operation against Midway, the objective now designated by the Japanese code term as "AF." At this time the striking force was approximately 250 miles northwest of the atoll, engaged in making final preparations to launch planes which were intended to wipe out Midway as an effective air base and pave the way for its assault and occupation. The occupation force, which had been attacked from the air without appreciable damage during the day and night previous, was almost due west of Midway, approximately 450 miles away.

At 0430, only 15 minutes after an early dawn search group of 11 PBY's had been sent out from Midway to locate his Striking Force, Admiral Nagumo headed carriers upwind and launched the Midway Attack Force, composed as follows:

       First wave: 36 carrier attack planes.

       Second wave: 36 carrier bombers.

       Third wave: 36 fighters.

Meanwhile, after the PBY's had gone out, Midway devoted itself to final preparations for battle. Marines of the ground defense force were at general quarters, manning every weapon and warning device; the pilots and ground crews of MAG-22, which already had fighters aloft to cover the sortie of the PBY's, were standing by for orders. The latter were not long in coming.

At 0552, moreover, after apparently trying to get this vital message through for almost a quarter of an hour (see footnote 6), a PBY reported visual contact with two enemy carriers and the balance of the Japanese main body, some 180 miles from Midway, bearing 320 degrees. Three minutes later, at 0555, the 6th Defense Battalion logged a radar report, "Many planes, 89 miles, 320 degrees." Almost simultaneously, the Naval Air Station noted substantially the same contact. In a matter of seconds, the air-raid sirens were sounding, Condition One was set, and the pilots of MAG-22 were manning their planes. Within less than 10 minutes, both squadrons of the Marine Air Group were in the air and being vectored toward their respective targets. VMF-221 was to intercept the massed carrier air of the Midway attack force, and VMSB-241 would rendezvous 20 miles east of Midway, at which point further instructions would be issued. 

Commanded by Major Floyd B. Parks, VMF-221 was a squadron of mixed composition, being equipped mainly with Brewster F2A-3's, augmentedby a few F4F-3's of the type which had already drawn blood at Wake. On this morning, 26 airplanes were operational out of the squadron's 28. At 0616, approximately 30 miles from Midway, from an altitude of 14,000 feet, the pilots with Major Parks saw 2,000 feet below them a large formation of Aichi Type 99 (Val) dive bombers screened by several divisions of Zero fighters. Captain John F. Carey, leading one of Park's divisions in an F4F-3, gave "Tally-ho," and pushed over into a dive to attack the bombers, followed by his wingmen, Captain Marion E. Carl and Second Lieutenant Clayton M. Canfield. As Carey and Canfield commenced high-side runs on the bombers, Carl and other pilots of the squadron mixed it with a swarm of Zero fighters which, they noted, climbed astoundingly even in comparison to the Grumman's, let alone the F2A's. Inasmuch as only three of the original 12 Marine pilots of Major Park's group survived this unequal encounter, it is impossible to reconstructdetails of the melee, but survivors' accounts, together with evident results observed subsequently, indicate that the first attack took a formidable toll of the enemy bombers and even a few of the 36 covering Zeroes. 

Join the Aces High FSO Team as we present a different look a the Battle of Midway. That pits man a machine against each other in a desperate battle to  attack and defend above the Island of Midway.

Side Split

Axis 50%

Allies 50%

Planeset

Axis

Mitsubishi A6M2 (12) Min

Mitsubishi A6M3 Unlimited

Aichi D3A1 (12) Min

Nakajima B5N2 (12) Min

Allied

Brewster F2A (12) Min

Grumman F4F-3 Unlimited

Dauntless SBD-5 (12) Min

Grumman TBM-3 (12) Max

Ordnance Distribution (Loadouts)

Axis

Aichi D3A1 - 1x 250kg bomb, 2x 50kg bombs

Nakajima B5N2 - 1x 800kg torpedo or 3x 250kg (550lb) bombs

Allies

Grumman F4F-3 - 4x 50 Cal. only 

Dauntless SBD-5 - 1x 500lb bomb and 2x 100lb bombs

Grumman TBM-3 - 1x 2000lb torpedo or 4x 500lb bombs

Terrain

Special Event Rules and Ordnance Restrictions
 

• This is a one life event. Pilots may not re-plane at their home airfields.
• Ordnance for each aircraft will be set by the setup CM in the hangar.
• Aircraft may rearm and refuel at any friendly base. Aircraft should be landed before frame’s end at any friendly base.
• All assaults must be made by no less than 10 attacking aircraft.
• All destroyed objects stay down for the entire frame.
• All Hangars, Cruisers and Destroyers will have the same destruction weight of 2800 lbs.
• The Aircraft carriers will have a destruction weight of 5,000 lbs.
• Aircraft icons appear above 18k.
• Altitude CAP for aircraft carrying bombs will be 18k.
• Altitude CAP for fighters will be 23k.

Scoring
 

Single Engine Fighter - 1 pt.

Single Engine Attack - 2 pts.

Hangars =10 pts.

Ships = 10 pts. (Aircraft carries carry a 5 point bonus for sinking.)

Arena Settings

•Terrainmap: Midway

•Fuel burn rate: 1.0

•Anti-aircraft gun strength: 0.5

•Bombsight calibration: AUTOMATIC (MA standard)

•Icons: 3.0K yards (9,000 feet)

•Sector Radar ("bar dar"): OFF

•Dot Radar: OFF

•Fighter and Bomber warning range: 26,400 feet (5 miles)

•Tower range set to 26,400 feet (for display only, to match the above setting)

•Haze range: 12 miles

•Friendlycollisions: OFF

•Enemy collisions: ON

•Kill shooter: OFF

•Stall Limiter: Set ON (Players may disable)

Wind:

 Altitude    Speed      Direction

   00 - 02K      0         NO WIND

   02 - 10K      05        W -> E

   10 - 18K      13        W -> E

   18 - 26K      27        W -> E

   26 - 30K      38        W -> E

Arena Clock:

Frame 1        0930    (9:30 AM, Morning)

Frame 2        1100    (11:00 AM, Morning)

Frame 3        1400    (2:00 PM, Afternoon)

ACE MISSIONS

 Each side will have one mandatory Ace mission per frame. These frames will represent notable pilots of the time and theater. One pilot from each side will be designated an "Ace" Pilot. They must fly the Aces listed aircraft. The Aces must be relayed to the Admin CM before launch. They will be scored as follows.

  Ace Pilot = 20 Points (Opponent Score)

  Ace Pilot Kills = 20 Points

So for example if an Ace Pilot is shot down they are worth 20 points to the other side. Likewise, every victory an Ace Pilot lands they will be rewarded 20 points.

IJN/IJA

Frame 1 - A6M2 Zero - Shimakawa Masaaki was a warrant officer and ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific theater of World War II. In aerial combat over the Pacific he was officially credited with destroying eight enemy aircraft with 12 or 13 assists. Shimakawa was a member of the Tainan Air Group at the beginning of the Pacific War. Often assigned as a wingman to legendary ace Saburō Sakai, Shimakawa fought in the conquest of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies campaign. In April 1942, Shimakawa was transferred to the aircraft carrier Kaga's fighter group, with which he participated in the Battle of Midway.

Frame 2 - A6M2 Zero - Kaname Harada was a Japanese flying ace of World War II. He was credited with shooting down as many as 19 Allied aircraft between late 1941 and when he was himself downed in October 1942. During the Battle of Midway, Harada shot down either three or five American aircraft. After recovering from the injuries sustained in this incident, Harada served as a flying instructor for the remainder of the war.

Frame 3 - A6M3 Zeke - Iyozoh or Iyozo Fujita was a Japanese Lieutenant Commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II. He was credited with 11 to 42 victories.

USN/USMC

Frame 1 - F2A Buffalo - Charles Kunz was born on November 7, 1919, in Dixon, Missouri. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on November 15, 1940, and entered the Aviation Cadet Program on February 15, 1941. Kunz was commissioned a 2d Lt in the Marine Corps and designated a Naval Aviator on September 6, 1941, and then completed fighter training at San Diego, California, before joining VMF-221 at Midway in February 1942. Lt Kunz was credited with the destruction of 2 enemy aircraft during the Battle of Midway while flying the F2A-3 Buffalo on June 4, 1942. He was wounded in this action, and joined VMF-224 in Hawaii the same month. Lt Kunz deployed to Guadalcanal in August 1942, and was credited with the destruction of another 6 enemy aircraft in aerial combat flying the F4F-4 Wildcat before returning to the U.S. in November 1942.

Frame 2 - F2A Buffalo - Marine Lieutenant Colonel Marion Carl, one of the war’s acclaimed fighter aces in his own right with 18½ kills to his credit. The first of these came on June 4, 1942, when Captain Carl was assigned to Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 221 on Midway Atoll. He had arrived there on Christmas Day in 1941, flying an F2A-3 Buffalo from the carrier Saratoga (CV 3).

Frame 3 - F4F -3 Wildcat - Colonel James E. Swett United States Marine Corps fighter pilot and ace  during World War II. He was awarded the United States' highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for actions while a division flight leader in VMF-221 over Guadalcanal on April 7, 1943. Subsequently he downed a total of 15.5 enemy aircraft during the war, earning eight Distinguished Flying Crosses and four Air Medals.

Designer Notes:

Designed by – AKWarhwk June 2017