Any Midway surviors ?

[Glen]

Greetings
I was wondering are their any Suriving Aircraft from the Battle of Midway on either side ? I read some where that their was a Hellcat ??? or was that just wishful thinking .

[Steve Nelson]

Well, the Hellcat didn't enter service until nearly a year after the battle, so that's out.

I believe the only known survivor is an SBD, now in the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola FL. It was fished out of Lake Michigan in the '90s, after ditching while assigned to a training unit later in the war.

SN

[tom d. friedman]

an sbd dauntless survives. it was fished out of lake michigan some years back, after it was used in the great lakes carrier training program aboard the uss sable or wolverine. i think it is now restored. it was confirmed that this sbd is a midway veteran.

[Chicoartist]

Here's a few pics from my most recent (8/06) trip down to the NMNA ...










Wade

[Owen Miller]

Just about my favorite airplane in the world - 2106.....

[JDK]

Funny old word. I never noticed the 'painted over' rudder stripes (done in the restoration, when I was looking the aircraft over for our (then) forthcoming book. Just as interesting, and not in Wade's excellent photos are the couple of unrestored sections.





As to the aircraft's history, I has this from the NMUSNA historian Hill Goodspeed:

SBD-2 (BuNo 2106) Combat

Landbased at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941, this aircraft participated in the 10 March 1942, raid by carrier aircraft against Japanese shipping at Lae and Salamaua, where its pilot received credit for sinking a cruiser (postwar research indicates it was actually a near miss on a minelayer).
During this action BuNo 2106 was assigned to VB-2 in Lexington (CV-2). Transferred to VMSB-241 on Midway Island, the aircraft was one of sixteen squadron SBDs launched to attack the Japanese Fleet on 4 June 1942. Only half of this number would return, including BuNo 2106, which made a one-wheel landing on Midway scarred by 219 enemy bullet holes.

Hope that's of interest, excuse the plug - we've had some excellent reviews of the SBD Dauntless book.

http://mmpbooks.biz/books/y6123/y6123.htm

Reviews:
http://mmpbooks.biz/books/y6123/y6123r.htm

[Owen Miller]

If you look at the photo of Danny Iverson with 2106 taken at
Midway after the battle you will see the painted over stripes
on the rudder. Even NMNA had difficulty replicating the effect.
When 2106 was first put on display it had another SBD rudder
installed. After many attempts they were able to duplicate the
effect. The original rudder of 2106 was reinstalled showing the
"painted over stripe effect".

Darn good job y'all!!!!!!!!!!!

[JDK]

Thanks for that insight, Owen. What makes WIX great.

[muddyboots]

Now THAT is a bird we should never let go of.