What really happened at the famous Battle of Midway? A survivor sets the record straight.
The Battle of Midway is considered the greatest U.S. naval victory, but behind the luster is the devastation of the American torpedo squadrons. Of the 51 planes sent to attack Japanese carriers only 7 returned, and of the 127 aircrew only 29 survived. Not a single torpedo hit its target.

A story of avoidable mistakes and flawed planning, The Unknown Battle of Midway reveals the enormous failures that led to the destruction of four torpedo squadrons but were omitted from official naval reports: the planes that ran out of gas, the torpedoes that didn’t work, the pilots who had never dropped torpedoes, and the breakdown of the attack plan. Alvin Kernan, who was present at the battle, has written a troubling but persuasive analysis of these and other little-publicized aspects of this great battle. The standard navy tactics for carrier warfare are revealed in tragic contrast to the actual conduct of the battle and the after-action reports of the ships and squadrons involved.

Despite being part of the "Yale Library of Military History," and having an authority like John Keegan label it "A Momentous Piece of Work," I couldn't quite bring myself to jump on board the bandwagon. Now, if this had been one of the first histories of the Battle of Midway I ever read, back in the 1980s, maybe I might have a whole different perspective on the battle. But today, this feels a bit like, "other survivors/participants have written their story, I need to get on board with mine as well." Especially in the last chapter, it feels like the only reason Kernan has bothered to publish this now (2005) is in response to the 1996 work of a Baltimore attorney who independently researched the end of one of the fighter pilots at the battle.
However, kudos to Kernan for having done his research, although details of the deficiencies of the planes and torpedos is hardly new information that has only recently come to light. And Kernan only deals with the pivotal hour when the torpedo squadrons were attacking the Japanese, nothing about the lead up to or denouement of the battle. Still, there was a point when I had to ask myself, "Is Spruance an ineffective commander?" "Instead of being unjustifiably maligned, did Fletcher deserve the criticism?" "Is everything we've been taught about this event incorrect?" In the end, I like this book as a companion to some of John Lundstrom's work. They help flesh out a picture of an American command that has some flaws, but is mostly doing the best they can and learning as they go. The truth of the matter is: the forces were so evenly matched, the Americans determined to transform their intelligence coup into a victory despite the inferiority of their equipment, and the Japanese so overconfident that the outcome was decided more on Nagumo's decisions and luck than anything else. ( )

If you don't already know the Battle of Midway, this book will leave it, er, unknown.

This isn't a book about the whole battle; it is quite specific to the air squadrons, especially the torpedo squadrons that were slaughtered at Midway. But this book offers a much better analysis than most about why it happened. It's not a pretty story. And it shows just how lucky the Americans were to win at Midway.

The book has another advantage, in that it is by an actual veteran of Midway, and one who was a member of the fighting squadrons, although he wasn't flight crew. It is a useful insider's view.

Most of the book is devoted to just how bad both battle tactics and tactical control were in the American forces at Midway -- poor in the Yorktown, the most experienced aircraft carrier; worse in the Enterprise, which had been in service for a while but had never been in battle; worst of all in the still-new Hornet, where the air squadrons were totally mishandled and only one of the four, the torpedo squadron, managed to ever find the enemy fleet -- and lost every one of its planes and all but one of its flight crew (one, pilot George Gay, survived being shot down and was rescued).

The account of the torpedo squadron's destruction brings home something that isn't really clear in the typical, more chronological, account of the battle: Just how bad the Hornet planes' performances were. The Battle of Midway was won by the pilots from the Yorktown and the Enterprise; the Hornet added nothing except casualties. You can figure this out if you read the chronological accounts and take enough notes, but it's much clearer here where the emphasis is on particular air groups.

Author Kernan seems to focus most of the blame on the Hornet's air group commander, Stanhope C. Ring, whose name is almost never mentioned in other accounts. I can't verify this, but it makes sense.

All in all, this provides a good corrective to the common accounts which heap so much praise on the Americans. The Americans did have big advantages -- e.g. their knowledge of Japanese plans -- but it wouldn't have been enough except for their big dose of good fortune.

The book is short and a good read, although the handful of maps are very confusing. And, to repeat, it won't explain the Battle of Midway to you if you don't already know about it. But if you do, and want another perspective, this book will be a fine addition to your library. ( )

Nice little analysis of the first American carrier strike against the Japanese carriers at Midway. Short, concise, straightforward. Principal concern is with the details behind the narrative history, specifically how the American torpedo bombers were put in position to take the pasting they did. It happens that if one pays attention to the details of the narrative history – who did what when, got where when, that sort of thing – there are some glaring questions, like why 1/3 of the strike force (equivalent to one carrier's worth of aircraft) completely missed the attack, that are generally glossed over or given what are, if you think about it, pretty lame excuses. Kernan looks at these things. There are also nifty little facts that I've seen nowhere else, like what the Japanese carrier names mean in English (very different from American naming traditions). A fine little book. ( )