ORIGINAL: Halsey
This is also the case regarding Midways airfield. The designers stated that they made it a level 6 because B-17's flew from there. As we all know now, B-17's CAN fly from a level 4. With the extended range bombload of course.[;)]
Well, there were a number of B-17 flights off Midway to be concerned with. The problem is which account to believe.
According to one report, on 4 June 1942 16 B17s took off at 0400 loaded with 4x 500 lb bombs and extra fuel to attack the troopships, then were subsequently diverted toward the Japanese carriers around 0800. They found nothing.
On 6 June 1942 another 12 B17s headed out optimistically at 0815 with 4x 500lb bombs to attack the two Japanese cruisers
Mogami and
Mikuma which were wallowing along at reduced speed due to their collision.
Let me now digress for that cockup.
Mogami had collided with
Mikuma. This is what happened.
Early in the morning on 5 June 1942 lookouts on flagship
Kumano had spotted the surfaced USN submarine
Tambor and so ordered a simultaneous 45° turn to port to evade torpedoes. The third ship in line happend to be
Mikuma which for whatever reason misinterpreted the order and executed a 90° turn to port instead. Unfortunately,
Mogami, trailing directly behind
Mikuma, followed her orders to the letter and so duly executed the 45° turn to port. Everything might have still worked out okay had the navigator aboard
Mogami, Lt. Cdr. Yamauchi Masaki (he was later promoted to captain! [8D]) was watching
Suzuya, which was the second ship in line, instead of the ship immediately ahead of him! And so
Mogami just steamed blithely on to ram poor
Mikuma below the bridge portside, which caved in the bow of
Mogami.
Mikuma had her portside oil bunkers ruptured in this incident, but she was otherwise still seaworthy.
Mogami, however, could only proceed at reduced speed. Rear Admiral Takeo Kurita (Close Support Group, Comcrudiv 7) then ordered
Mikuma and destroyers
Arashio and
Asashio from Desdiv 8 (previously escorting AO
Nichiei Maru) to escort
Mogami. This formation then proceeded on a westerly course at 12 knots.
I love that story! [:D]
Back to our B-17s: as I said, these reports tend to vary. Just for example, another report by the Japanese stated that that only 8 B-17s arrived over the stricken crusiers, not 12 per the report above, and at 0534, when above we find a departure time for that flight of 0815 hours.
Morison has it this way.
On 3 June 1942 Captain Simard on Midway ordered 9 B-17s to fly off in seach of troop transports in response to a sighting by Ensign Jack Reid in a PBY some 700 miles out from the atoll, first sighting 0900 hours, reaffirmation of this sighting at 1100. At 1624 the same day these B-17s found and bombed these transports from altitude 8,000 to 12,000 feet and reported hitting "two battleships or heavy cruisers" and two transports. (Following this strike, four amphibious PBYs armed with torpedoes went out in search, and at 0115 the following morning these planes made radar contact with the enemy task force. At 0143 three torpedoes were dropped and one of these fish hit the oiler
Akebono Maru. I mention this with respect to the game's night-naval-attack model. This action, by the way, was confirmed after the war in the combat report of
Argentina Maru and the testimony of Japanese officers then present, including Capt. Toyama and Lt. Cdr. Yunoki.)
Fifteen Flying Fortresses in command of Lt. Col. Walter C. Sweeney took off from Midway before dawn 5 June 1942 to attack the Occupation Froce, then were diverted in flight toward the Japanese carriers instead on Captain Simard's command. These bombers found the enemy flattops at 0810
and dropped 8500 pounds of bombs per plane from 20,000 feet. These pilots pulled away at 0820 and claimed four hits on two carriers, but nothing was actually better than a near miss.
There's more. Major Blakely ran some more B-17s out after the burning carriers later in the afternoon, etc.
Re the pursuit of
Mogami and
Mikuma: Captain Simard ordered the Forts out again at 0430 on 6 June 1942, but at 0615 they reported back that they could find no targets. This was in response to the original sighting by
Tambor at 0215, 90 miles due west of Midway.
The charmed
Mogami, though heavily bombed on 6 June 1942 by the USN carrier force, eventually made it safely back to Truk. The very much less fortunate
Mikuma didn't make it. A sort of happy ending.
Anyway, the point to all of that was I'm not sure whether the B-17s off Midway needed to fly with reduced loads or not
if they weren't carrying extra fuel.
