June 26, 2009
Train Derailment, One Week After
Last Friday,
Duckford had a Bad Day, culminating in the derailment of a freight train hauling 78 tanker cars full of ethanol. Some of the cars exploded, resulting in an evacuation of the surrounding area, though thankfully not of Pond Central, which is very near the accident location.
Now, a week further on, cleanup has begun and some interesting news has been coming out regarding the events of that day.
The Pond would be out of shot to the lower right-hand corner of this picture.
The biggest news is that this entire incident, which claimed one life and injured nine, could easily have been avoided. About a half-hour prior to the incident, four calls were placed to the local 911 center, warning of the high amount of water on the tracks. The 911 center then contacted Canadian National Railway, the operator of the train, to let them know of the hazardous conditions a full 20 minutes before the accident. Considering the communications equipment between rail operators and their trains are as complex as that between airlines and their planes, it would seem that there would have been plenty of time for CN to have contacted their crew about the conditions. The NTSB investigation of the incident has begun, and may take up to a year to release its final conclusions.
Meanwhile, the stretch of Mulford Road where the accident occurred remains closed, but is expected to reopen sometime next week. However, authorities appear to have opened part of it near The Pond as there are some businesses nearby, so I may be able to get some photographs. The rail line is going to require some major repairs, so may be closed for some time.
Finally, there has been a mysterious fish die-off in a small river downstream from the accident site. The EPA has said that they did not detect any substantial amounts of ethanol in the water, but they can't say for sure what the reason is.
I'll write about this event as more information becomes available in the coming days.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
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1
I hope they're not planning on leaving all those dead tank cars there. That's really ugly.
I wonder how much of the repair work is on CN's dime, and how much of it the people of Illinois will have to pay for.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 26, 2009 11:22 AM (+rSRq)
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I'm sure they'll be moved eventually, but I'm also sure that the NTSB is reluctant to move them more than they already have been, at least until they are done with that particular phase of the investigation.
And while I don't know for sure (I suspect nobody knows right now), the repairs to the roadbed and tracks are surely coming out of CN's pocket. I'll bet the damage to the street, however, will be repaired using my tax dollars.
From what I can tell, there was a lot of damage to the street, too.
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 26, 2009 04:43 PM (eVY9y)
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It's fortunate the entire area didn't burn down. But I guess the same water that caused the accident also prevented the fire from spreading.
I'm sure you're right about the NTSB.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 26, 2009 06:38 PM (+rSRq)
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June 20, 2009
Bad Day In Duckford (THIRD UPDATE)
So, the day started out with a severe thunderstorm here in Duckford. Well, sure, you have to expect that here in the Midwest at this time of year, right? Not like this. I made it about halfway to work before I came to a length of road between two hills... which had flooded high enough to be above the tires of cars stupid enough to give it a shot.
In 15 minutes. On one of the city's major streets.
Hm. This is different. So, I turn around, backtrack and cross to another street, called Mulford Road. On the way to Mulford, a lighting strike occurs about two blocks ahead of me, hitting a streetlight and blowing a transformer right in front of my eyes. Flash. Bang. Poof! Eventually, I make it to the parking lot at Duck U., break out my trusty umbrella (none of this "water off a duck's back" for me!), and hurry to the main entry for the building the Bookstore is in.
A maintainance guy is there, waving people around to the back entry. Seemed the front way is flooded, with water in the building. I still manage to open the store on time.
A half hour later, the power goes out, and stays out. Fer the luvva...
After closing the store and kibitzing in the dark with some of the Duck U. staff, I drive home on Mulford. Fast-forward to 7pm. A third severe thunderstorm comes through, and dumps four inches of rain in just over an hour on us.
Sheesh.
Around 830pm, I'm working on the previous post, when the power goes out. Lost it all, but I wasn't surprised by the power outage. Enough storms around here today, after all.
Turns out it wasn't (directly) because of the storms, though. It was because of this:
A Canadian National train, pulling 70-some-odd tanker cars and 40 other cars derailed at a road crossing. Twelve tanker cars carrying ethanol had tumbled and exploded, sending a fireball some 300 feet into the air. This picture was taken from the front lawn of a house, part of a 500-home residental neighborhood. Everybody within a half-mile of the crash site has been evacuated. Three casualties, people in cars waiting for the train to pass, have been reported, all with serious burns. One has been flown to a hospital in Chicago that's better equipped to deal with extensive burns.
Oh, that street? That's Mulford. I crossed those very tracks twice today. In fact, the site of the accident is only a mile or so from Pond Central, and I can see the fire's glow from my parking lot easily, and the smoke plume from the stairwell up to the third floor.
The cause of the derailment is currently unknown, seeing how there's a huge fire burning on top of the accident site. However, those particular tracks sit at the bottom of two gentle rises, and I've often seen water pooling there after decent rains. Four inches of rain, an hour before the train got there, is not just "decent." I'm guessing there was quite a lake there, or the rain had done serious harm to the roadbed nearby.
The authorities are letting it burn out, saying it should be done by tomorrow sometime... if the other 60 ethanol-laden cars don't ignite, that is. Fortunately, the engines on the train didn't derail, so they've already pulled many of the cars away.
A bad day in Duckford.
UPDATE @ 930am, June 20th: The fire is still burning, though its down to just two or three cars now. There's one confirmed fatality, but the cause of death is as yet undetermined because the body is too close to the fire. Authorities seem to confirm the washout theory; reports from witnesses said that the train cars were actually bouncing up and down on the tracks just before the derailment.
SECOND UPDATE @ 11am, June 20th: Bringing you they type of hard-hitting eyewitness coverage that you can only expect from The Pond, I took a drive past the accident site, in the guise of going grocery shopping. Cleverly going to a different grocery store than I usually do, I managed to drive around all four sides of the blocked-off area. Despite it being a lovely clear day here in Duckford, there's no visible evidence that anything occurred, even though I knew
exactly where it happened. The smoke plume is gone, and other than police cars barricading Mulford, and news trucks sitting in a church parking lot and a few camera crews shooting footage of... well, nothing, there's nothing to indicate that there's a major fire going on. Lemme put it to you this way: on a day like today, I can easily see the steam clouds rising from the cooling towers of the nuclear plant that's about 30 miles away, so if there was any smoke, I should have seen it. When I drove downwind of the accident site, about 3/4th of a mile, there was nothing I could smell to make me say "aha, there's something weird going on." Of course, there were a lot of trees and hills blocking direct line of sight to the location, so I couldn't actually see the incident. More when more is available.
THIRD UPDATE @ 4pm, June 20th:
Authorities say that there's still two tanker cars on fire. By some miracle and the heavy rain yesterday, the fire didn't spread to the nearby residences. Some of the evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes. The toll is one dead, nine injured.
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1
Wow! A lot of crazy activity out there in Duckford! Glad you managed to make it out okay! We have been having crazy weather, too. One thing about ducks and floods.....if your place floods, you will be able to find your ducks. They will float up
Posted by: Digicolleen at June 20, 2009 01:47 PM (G2gtL)
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It's not every day that national news happens in your backyard. Glad to hear you're okay.
Posted by: Andrew F. at June 20, 2009 04:42 PM (bSyOk)
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I am apparently TOTALLY oblivious to my surroundings, OR I am living in an alternate reality, which is highly likely.
Posted by: The Librarian at June 20, 2009 07:48 PM (HZNr0)
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OR I am living in an alternate reality, which is highly likely.
Look around. If you and all the women have bare midriffs and the guys have scars and/or goatees then yes you definitely are. However there are, in theory, infinite realities and so there are subtler clues, the presence of large numbers of zeppelins being high on that list.
I hope this helps.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at June 21, 2009 12:05 AM (V5zw/)
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OMG! When I heard that story on the news, I hoped it wasn't close to where you are. Just glad it wasn't any closer!
Posted by: Mallory at June 21, 2009 10:18 AM (WJ2qy)
6
Eep. Glad you're okay.
I followed the link to the newspaper. Great "everyday hero" story
here.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at June 21, 2009 04:58 PM (PiXy!)
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June 15, 2009
Success!
Ph.Duck's computer is once again running fine! Thanks go to
pxcasey for his tip on making Windows Installer work in Safe Mode, and
JP Gibb for his pointer to the Trend Micro Uninstaller Tool. Combined, the two things allowed me to go rid of the flawed install of TM Antivirus and allowed the laptop to function once again.
An install of the newest version of the antivirus suite works beautifully now.
Ph.Duck has asked me to give all who suggested tips and advice a profound thanks!
And I thank you all, too... you made me look like a genius for a few minutes there. Couldn't've done it without you!
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June 14, 2009
By Request
J2F Duck
TBD Devastator
Catgirl Maid.
(blame the Brickmuppet... it was his idea)
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A girl who can herd cats or a cat with opposable thumbs......which is scariers?
Posted by: toad at June 14, 2009 05:51 PM (qc1aJ)
2
You know, the problem with that first one is, once you're down, to rescue someone, where in hell do you put them? I think I'd prefer
a Catalina, myself. (And it had a galley. They used to serve a hot meal to any pilot they picked up.)
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 14, 2009 06:27 PM (+rSRq)
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Funny you should ask that, Steven! The Duck had a cabin built into the fuselage (presumably accessable from the cockpit) that could carry two people or one stretcher. In fact, a variant was used for executive transport that reportedly had quite the nice interior.
Hey, it's a Duck... I know all about ducks.
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 14, 2009 09:15 PM (hlGBx)
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In the future how about an Avenger. Those things were around for quite a while. Showing my age, but I once worked with a guy who was the rear gunner on one. I think the Avenger was the model that Saburo Sakai had his boo-boo with. From a distance and higher altitude they looked like Wild Cats to him IIRC.
Posted by: toad at June 15, 2009 12:11 PM (qc1aJ)
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I just looked him up in Wikipedia, and the report on his wound is very confusing. It starts by saying he was fighting against Dauntless divebombers, but then it starts talking about TBF's.
It also says that the bullet went through the left side of his brain, leaving him paralyzed on the left side of his body. That's not how it works. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. I think that article is due for some revision.
I'm more inclined to think it was an SBD-3 that nailed him than a TBF, because the TBF didn't look anything like a fighter, whereas the SBD-3 could be mistaken for an F4F if you weren't looking closely. Much more similar appearance.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 15, 2009 02:42 PM (+rSRq)
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I've four books that touch on Sakai's head wound. None of them state that "the bullet went through his brain." They all say that a bullet hit him in the head, blinded him in his right eye, and incapacitated his left leg and arm.
This picture of Sakai's flight helmet seems to indicate that the wound was on the right side of the head, which would jibe with the paralysis of the left side of his body.
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 15, 2009 08:32 PM (hlGBx)
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Those penetrations in the helmet look like .30 caliber to me. So that would rule out an Avenger.
I kept thinking the Cadin book said .50 caliber round were what made the hits so I was thinking the .50 rear turret on the Avenger????
Posted by: toad at June 15, 2009 10:17 PM (qc1aJ)
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I don't believe the bullets went through his brain, either, because the debilitating effects from a wound like that would be permanent, and Sakai eventually recovered enough to return to combat.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 15, 2009 11:59 PM (+rSRq)
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http://www.flyandrive.com/sakai02.htm
OK this Cadin connected source matches the Autobiography that Cadin sponsored as well.
From these source apparently he wasn't hit by any rounds directly but got torn up by fragments of the cockpit and possible spall from a round. The the planes are identified as Avengers. If he had taken a direct hit from a .50 it is doubtful he would have a head left IMHO.
Posted by: toad at June 16, 2009 11:49 AM (qc1aJ)
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June 13, 2009
Scratching Head
I'm a little overbooked at the moment. I've got a few ideas in mind, but each of them will take more time than I can devote to blogging at the moment. On the flip side, I've got absolutely nothing in mind that I can just plop onto the screen either.
So, um... hi! How are you? Everybody okay? Any requests? Can I refresh your drink?
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I'd like something with beefy-textured chestnut, roasted fig, bittersweet cocoa, and cheese flavors....something racy yet densely structured and lets notes of hoisin sauce and charcoal linger.
Posted by: Digicolleen at June 13, 2009 10:37 PM (G2gtL)
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How are things going with Ph.Duck's computer?
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 13, 2009 11:02 PM (+rSRq)
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Steven, work hasn't begun on it... there were some timing issues on Ph.Duck's end. The current plan is Monday evening, I'm heading over there to try some of the suggested tricks. If those fail, then the full re-install will soon follow.
Colleen, would you like fries with that?
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 13, 2009 11:29 PM (hlGBx)
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J2F Ducks
Devastators
Catgirl maids
(pick any two)
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at June 14, 2009 09:08 AM (YOPeE)
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Can I pick catgirl maids twice?
Posted by: ubu at June 15, 2009 06:00 PM (Ic2HW)
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June 10, 2009
Tech Help Requested
Okay, so here's the story... Ph.Duck's laptop has something very strange occurring to it. About two weeks ago, he installed an update to his antivirus program, then shut down the computer. The next day, he booted up fine, but if he doubleclicked on anything other than the "my computer" icon, nothing happens. Opening the "my computer" folder works, but he can't do anything in there.
When booted in Safe Mode, programs and folders can be opened (limited, of course, to what safe mode allows), and files can be moved to a flashdrive.
As it stands, the plan is to dump as many of his important files and pictures as we can to a flashdrive or two, then do a full reinstallation.
A Windows system restore to a date before the antivirus update failed to fix the problem. The sad thing is that if I could get into the antivirus program, I could roll it back easily (we use the same program), but I can't. The program won't open either.
Anybody have any advice? He's using XP Media Center, with SP3 installed.
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I would suggest that the first thing to try is to use safe mode to uninstall the antivirus program. Then see how things go.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 10, 2009 09:55 PM (+rSRq)
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Alas, I tried that. No dice. Safe Mode deactivates the "add/remove program" program... and the program's integrated uninstaller as well.
Surprised the hell outta me.
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 10, 2009 10:24 PM (hlGBx)
Posted by: pxcasey at June 11, 2009 12:15 AM (vN9ed)
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Safe Mode deactivates the "add/remove program" program... and the program's integrated uninstaller as well.
That doesn't sound right. Add me as a vote for nuking it from orbit.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 11, 2009 04:08 AM (+rSRq)
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pxcasey, the antivirus program is
Trend Micro Antivirus plus Antispyware. If they have a standalone uninstaller for their products, I can't find it on their website.
I'll give that second one a try... anybody else have any thoughts?
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 11, 2009 06:29 AM (hlGBx)
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Have you tried
this?
Also, sounds a lot like Trend released a bad update
again.
Posted by: JP Gibb at June 11, 2009 08:06 AM (en+Q1)
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Gee, whenever I ask for suggestions with a Windows problem, I always get something like this for an "answer":
"Delete windows and install Linux"
You're lucky to have intelligent readers.
Posted by: Ed Hering at June 11, 2009 09:12 AM (MIDbt)
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I don't have many readers, Ed, but those that I DO have seem to be above-average in all respects.
JP, I haven't tried the uninstall tool, mostly because I couldn't get ANYTHING to run, let alone an internet connection. I have it on a flashdrive, though, and when I get to spend some quality time with Ph.Duck's computer (in a small room, with a single lightbulb dangling from a cord, and a length of rubber hose in my hands), I may as well give it a shot in safe mode.
Who knows? It may even work.
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 11, 2009 06:13 PM (hlGBx)
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I wonder if it would help to run "System Restore" and to retreat to an older restore point.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 11, 2009 08:23 PM (+rSRq)
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I mentioned that towards the bottom of the post; it didn't help.
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 11, 2009 08:42 PM (hlGBx)
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 11, 2009 10:27 PM (+rSRq)
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 11, 2009 10:39 PM (hlGBx)
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June 07, 2009
Rubber Duckie Saves Woman's Life
Shirley Madsen, 90, returned home from a night at the casinos and decided to take a bath before bed. She didn't expect to be too weak to get out when she was done.
Her hands too small to cup enough water to sustain her, she turned to her rubber duckie collection for survival. "
I have this collection
of rubber duckies. There is a fireman, a policeman and others," Madsen
said. "I jokingly tell my friends that I am going home to take a bath
with the boys." One of her new duckies, a gift from a friend, had a hole in the bottom and couldn't float. It did make a perfect cup, however, and kept her from dehydration.
Rescued after three days in her bathtub, she had to spend a short time in the hospital recovering from her ordeal. "I will never get in another bathtub, ever," Madsen said.
With a laugh, she further advises: "Get a bunch of rubber duckies and make sure one of them can't swim."
(Thanks to insidebayarea.com for original story)
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June 04, 2009
What If #3: Midway... Timing Is Everything
In the previous post,
reader Toad asks:
If the American torpedo and dive bombers had managed to make a coordinated attack per doctrine how much difference would it have made if any on the number of Japanese carriers sunk and damaged?
It would, indeed, make a difference, but perhaps not the way you may be expecting.
As in life, love, baseball and comedy, the Battle of Midway is all about timing. Disrupt the timing of the American attacks, and you disrupt the outcome. Throughout the morning of June 4th, 1942, American planes ran in on
Kido Butai. At no time during the day, until the famous plunge of the Dauntlesses, were these attacks coordinated or in greater than squadron strength. Also at no time during the day, until the big attack, were American fighters effectively on the scene (there were Wildcats on the scene when VT-6 made its run, but they were high above the fight waiting for a radio call on a different frequency from a different squadron).
The easiest way to describe the effect of all these seperate attacks had on the Japanese fleet is to borrow a phrase from land combat:
suppressive fire. The carriers were too busy "keeping their heads down" and tossing the occasional grenade (or Zeros, in the case) at their attackers from behind cover to launch their own attack on the US carriers.
The sequence of events went like this:
Shortly before 6am, the Japanese carriers were spotted by Midway-based PBYs.
*Around 620am, the Japanese strike on Midway Island began.
*At 7am, TF16 (
Enterprise,
Hornet) began launching their strike against the Japanese.
*Between 705am and 730am, the VT-8 detachment flying from Midway and a handful of B-26s carrying topedoes attack the Japanese carriers. During this time, Admiral Nagumo, commander of
Kido Butai, orders that his reserve force of carrier planes be rearmed for land attack.
*Around 745am, Tone #4, the infamous late scout plane, discovers and reports the presence of American carriers. Nagumo reverses his rearming order.
*At 755am, two unrelated attacks on the Japanese carriers come in. First, a flight of B-17s arrive overhead. At the same time, a green squadron of Dauntless dive bombers from Midway, led by Major Lofton Henderson, begin a glide bombing attack. This attack is dealt with sternly, and is over by 815am or so.
*At 8am, TF17 (
Yorktown), which had been in charge of scouting for the morning, launches its planes.
*At 805am, the Midway strike planes return to
Kido Butai and wait for the American attacks to be driven off.
*Around 820am, a second group of dive bombers from Midway, this time
SB2U Vindicators, attacks and is beaten off.
*Around 835am, the SB2U and B-17 attacks come to an end.
*Immediately thereafter, recovery of the Midway strike force begins.
*Around 910am, the last planes from the strike force touch down.
*At 915am, VT-8 attacks. By 935am, all of the torpedo bombers are shot down.
*At 940am, VT-6 attacks. This attack is over by 1010am.
*At 1010am, VT-3 is spotted.
*At 1020am, VB-3 and VB-6 attack
Kido Butai.
*By 1030am, the
Soryu,
Kaga and
Akagi are mortally wounded.
*Around 1040am, VT-3's survivors make their torpedo attacks and leave the field.
From this timeline, it can be seen that the Japanese carriers had no time to even
prepare to launch an attack on the American CVs. The only open stretch available to them was between 835am and 910am, the time when the Midway strike force was being recovered. They could have spotted and launched an attack during this stretch of time (even though the re-rearming of the reserve planes wasn't yet complete), but only at the risk of losing many of the Midway strike planes to fuel depravation or pilot injuries. Japanese doctrine at the time did not allow for, say,
Hiryu and
Kaga to launch an attack while
Soryu and
Akagi recovered planes. Doctrine called for massed airpower using large numbers of planes in a balanced, coordinated attack. This would swamp the target's defenses and allow for maximum damage to be inflicted while minimizing casualties. There was never any thought to leaving the Midway strike dangling, because that's not how the Japanese carriers worked.
So, what would have happened if a coordinated American strike had been launched and all the attackers arrived on target at the same time?
The answer, as mentioned before, comes down to
timing.
more...
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Also IIRC the Japanese carriers were behind the curve on ship board fire fighting techniques and equipment. When the bombs ignited the ordnance and fuel of the aircraft, aviation gas fuel lines on the carriers were subsequently ruptured. Again IIRC they had no way to flood or purge with CO2. The disaster cascaded.
Posted by: toad at June 04, 2009 11:12 PM (WmNXR)
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Well, they did have a way to CO
2-flood the hangar decks, involving metal curtains that would divide each into three areas. The areas could then be flooded with CO
2. Unfortunately for the
Kaga and the
Soryu, based on where they were hit, bomb fragments almost certainly shredded the curtains, preventing the areas from being flooded.
The
Akagi was a different story. Her lone hit probably didn't damage the curtains, but it probably did blow her center elevator all the way down. The wreckage, and probably bomb fragments, almost certainly would have destroyed her CO
2 tanks. Oops.
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 04, 2009 11:22 PM (hlGBx)
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While the American attack could be called a piece meal commitment of forces it did result in a non-piece meal defeat of the Japanese.
Maybe Bismark was right, "God looks after drunks, children, and the United States of America."
Posted by: toad at June 04, 2009 11:26 PM (WmNXR)
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A Miraculous Day, A Tragic Day
June 4th, 1942.
Midway Island.
John Waldron, Commander of Torpedo 8, takes off from USS
Hornet around 7am.
Waldron's Torpedo 8 attacked the Japanese fleet at 920am. By 940am, all of the men in this picture save for Ensign George Gay (circled) were dead.
Their loss, along with the savaging of Torpedo 6 off the
Enterprise and Torpedo 3 from the
Yorktown, a total of 36 out of 41 TBD Devastators launched, prevented the four carriers of the Japanese force from launching their own airstrike. Then the Dauntless dive bombers of the fleet arrived... and the rest is history.
Japanese carrier
Hiryu, pummled by multiple bomb hits,
burns later in the day. She would sink shortly after this picture was taken.
The USN did not escape unscathed, however. The
Yorktown, hastily repaired after the Coral Sea, took multiple hits and went dead in the water.
On June 7th, after being torpedoed by a submarine, she went down.
The Battle of Midway, that "miraculous victory", was over.
The Japanese would not win another strategic victory for the rest of the war.
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Well I've moved and can't find the dang book,(or a host of other stuff)or remember the title, but it had an analysis of Japanese moves and motives leading up to the battle of Midway. One of the kickers that led to the Japanese charging toward Midway was the Doolittle Raid. Apparently Yamamoto felt that he had personally let the Emperor down by not preventing the Americans from getting close enough to launch the raid. Also the Japanese were still contemptuous of the Americans despite of what happened in the Coral Sea. Anyway that battle is fascinating because of all the ifa, coulda, shoulda, woulda, points in it.
Examples: There were people on the Japanese side that believed that it was time to change the codes just to be safe but were put off, "We don't have time for that now."
If the American torpedo and dive bombers had managed to make a coordinated attack per doctrine how much difference would it have made if any on the number of Japanese carriers sunk and damaged?
Posted by: toad at June 04, 2009 11:56 AM (WmNXR)
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All the Japanese carriers were sunk. Kind of hard to do any better than that, donchathink?
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 04, 2009 01:15 PM (+rSRq)
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The story of the torpedo planes at Midway always makes me sad. Brave, brave men flying obsolete planes, carrying defective torpedoes, making a hopeless attack and getting butchered.
The only reason their sacrifice wasn't a waste was because of sheer chance: they pulled the Japanese fighter cover down to the surface, leaving the sky empty when the dive bombers arrived.
And for Ensign Gay, he had the satisfaction of seeing three of the Japanese carriers get hit, and thus knew that his mates hadn't died in a losing battle.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 04, 2009 03:47 PM (+rSRq)
4
Toad, I think I'll have to make a full post specifically to answer your final question.
Steven, your comment about "pulling the Zeros down" is the commonly held belief, but it's incorrect. The time gap between VT-6's attack (VT-8 had already been hacked out of the sky) and the arrival of the Dauntlesses from the
Yorktown and
Enterprise was nearly 20 minutes, according to the available information.
That's more than enough time for a Zero to get back up to an altitude where they could deal with a dive bombing attack.
No, the sacrifice of VT-8 and VT-6 served a different purpose: it kept
Kido Butai cycling CAP fighters off and on the carriers, and prevented the counter-attack from ever getting spotted on deck.
But what about VT-3? More about them later.
Posted by: Wonderduck at June 04, 2009 06:39 PM (hlGBx)
5
Midway is the perfect demonstration of the military aphorism that in war both sides make mistakes, but victory goes to the side which makes the fewest and least important mistakes.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 04, 2009 09:17 PM (+rSRq)
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June 02, 2009
The World Needed This
They say that, on the Internet, you can find anything. One thing that you couldn't find, however, was a webcomic starring rubber duckies. I always hoped that there would come a day, however, when that lack would be addressed.
On Monday, June 1st, 2009, that day arrived.
May I have the pleasure of introducing
Quacked Panes, the soon-to-be breakout hit of the summer. Produced by occasional Pond commenter
GreyDuck, I think it deserves to be read. But don't mind Rusty... he's not known for his sense of humor.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
07:56 PM
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Post contains 92 words, total size 1 kb.
1
You flatter me, sir!
(That's not precisely a
complaint, of course...)
Deserves to be read? Perhaps. Time will tell. As for Rusty... we'll discover what tickles
his funny bone in due time. He's just opposed to puns, that's all.
Posted by: GreyDuck at June 02, 2009 09:01 PM (o5Lvb)
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at June 03, 2009 09:06 AM (+rSRq)
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