Torpedo Squadron 8 Story (VT-8) Redux 1080p

I recreated a dramatic interpretation of Torpedo Sqaudron 8's Battle at Midway with the most accurate and up to date planes and skins available to to the flight sim community today. This is a more accurate depiction inspired from an earlier video with the same name in 2011.


Victory at Midway came at a high price, particularly for Torpedo Squadron 8:

The USS Hornet launched 10 Wildcats of VF-8 (Lt. Cdr. Samuel Mitchell), 35 SBDs of VB-8 (Lt. Cdr. Robert Mitchell) and VS-8 (Lt. Cdr. Walter Rodee), and 15 TBDs of VT-8 (Lt. Cdr. John Waldron). Overall leadership belonged to Cdr. Stanhope Ring flying in SBD.
The USS Yorktown had to delay the launching of its air group until they recovered 10 planes of VS-5, and launched (beginning at 0845) 12 TBDs of VT-3 (Lt. Cdr. Lance Massey), 6 F4F-4s (Lt. Cdr. John Thatch) of VF-3 and 17 SBD-3s of VB-3 (Lt. Cdr. Maxwell Leslie). Planes of VS-5 were not launched into the attack.
As Enterprise's VB-6 and VS-6 left, Lt. Jim Gray and his VF-6 were taking off. Torpedo bombers of VT-6 were next, leaving at 0806.
On Hornet, John Waldron and his VT-8 were leaving at about the same time. In his group, flying the plane with marking 8-T-14 (fourteenth plane of VT-8) was Ens. George Gay. This was the first time he took off from a carrier with a torpedo. Neither Air Group knew what the other one was going to do. Enterprise bombers were going first, while fighters and torpedo bombers were chasing after them.

VT-6 and VT-8 were now going separately, but close to each other, their courses differed by only few degrees. Lindsey and his VT-6 were following the course of 240 degrees, while Waldron and his VT-8 were following a more westerly course, John Waldron following his intuition rather than calculations which took him straight to the Japanese fleet!
Jim Gray, leading VF-6 had a job of protecting both VT-6 and dive bombers of VB-6 and VS-6. Since the former flew low and latter flew high, it was decided to have fighters fly high, for it was much easier to dive down and help torpedo bombers than to climb up and protect dive bombers. However. Jim Gray mistaked VT-8 for VT-6 and went following them instead of VT-6. High above the clouds VS-8 and VB-8 flying together overtook Waldron's squadron, and continued on to the southwest. The rendezvous had failed. Soon afterward, Waldron noticed the Japanese fleet on the horizon, and started his attack run all alone. Gray and his VF-6 lost the Torpedo 8 due to the cloud cover. Fifteen planes had no fighter protection, but still they came in, at 0918. Outnumbered by Zeros, they stood no chance. One by one, the TBDs were all chopped up to pieces. Waldron directed his flight towards the Japanese carriers, but then, he was gone too. When George Gay, flying the last plane in the section, looked around he saw two other TBDs of his squadron, which were soon both picked out. Gay was now all alone. His gunner was wounded, so was Gay. More and more bullets hit his vulnerable plane, but Gay was finally close to its target: carrier Kaga. He launched his torpedo, and zoomed right over the Kaga, seeing "the Captain jumping up and down raising hell." He tried to shoot at them with his machine guns, but there was no response from them when he pulled the trigger. Zeros were still on his tail. Overwhelmed, his plane fell into the ocean. The fifteenth and last plane of VT-8 was gone. Gay managed to get out of the plane before it sank. Fifteen planes, thirty pilots and gunners, and only one survivor! He was pulled out a day later.

Music Score is Thomas Bergersen - Starvation. I do not claim to own it.
TBD-1 Skins by Hayate courtesy of Mission4Today
The map is bp_Midway listed at All Aircraft Simulations and skins of the Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu Zeros are available and courtesy of http://www.asisbiz.com/Zero.html
Thanks Team Daidalos and for ton414's post special Basic Mod Activator 0.001 Beta for 4.11m
Idea 4.11 SAS~CirX.
il2fb.exe and wrapper.dll files by QTim.
Generic Mod Enabler by JoneSoft.
Douglas TBD Devastator flyable. *ton414 made this aircraft flyable.*by "TD/Jason/ton414/Epervier"
Credits: Team Daidalos again thanks.
Shot with IL2 Sturmovik 1946 and edited with Sony Vegas 9