Torpedo 8

Midway, 4 June 1942

Fifteen from Hornet, six from Midway,

  Torpedo 8 would have a rough day.

In a showdown with the Rising Sun,

  the USN would never run.

Rochefort broke the code, JN-95,

  soon Nippon would at Midway arrive.

They ready the fleet, time to avenge,

  surely this time they’ll get their revenge.

Torpedo 8 would lead the charge,

  straight into Hell they would barge.

The six Avengers were shiny and new,

  missin’ the Hornet, to Midway they flew,

Fourteen TBD’s, old and slow,

  off Hornet’s deck, into the show.

Commander Waldron takes up the lead,

  lookin’ for carriers runnin’ flank speed.

Up from Midway flew the other six,

  itchin’ to fight, to get in their licks.

With six Avengers, no fighter support,

  five went down says the squadron report.

Earnest and Ferrier are shot all to Hell,

  rear gunner’s dead within his nacelle.

The Hornet’s TBD’s are the next to attack,

  they found the fleet, they ain’t turnin’ back.

Zeros with meatballs adorned on their wings,

  dive from the sky, the cannon fire sings.

The squadron lines up, goin’ in slow,

  there’s no place to hide and no place to go.

Soon enough, the ships get the range,

  stayin’ the course, Waldron won’t change.

One by one, they all go down,

  Ensign Gay, the only one found.

Back at Midway, Earnest crash lands,

  grippin’ the stick with his bloody hands.

You might say this tale’s not so nice,

  Torpedo 8 paid a hell of a price.

But Admiral Nagumo had to rearm,

  then he got hit by a dive bomber swarm.

Four big flattops to Davy Jones’s Locker,

  must have been one hell of a shocker.

The battle was won, but the cost was high,

  when Torpedo 8 was shot from the sky.

LDT 4 Jun ‘22

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     The heroism and sacrifice of Torpedo 8 at Midway is legendary. Of 46 men of the squadron who flew that day, only 3 survived. Their lives were not wasted. Up to the point of their attack, the Japanese were only expecting land-based bombers, which were a minimal threat. Earlier that day, Army B-17’s and B-26’s had harassed the fleet, but scored no hits from high altitude. Once Torpedo 8 attacked, Nagumo knew that he faced a far more lethal threat from carrier-based planes. He put off further land attacks on Midway and rearmed his aircraft with anti-ship bombs and torpedoes. In the middle of this operation, he was struck by American dive bombers. Caught with their pants down three Japanese carriers were sunk within minutes. The fourth was bagged a little later. With their offensive power blunted, the Japanese Navy spent the rest of the war losing battles and retreating.

     During the Battle of Midway, six other crews from Torpedo 8 remained in Hawaii getting their new airplanes. Ensign Gay was rescued from the water the day after the battle. The survivors, Ensigns George Gay and Bert Earnest, along with Radioman 2nd Class Harry Ferrier, went on a highly successful War Bond Tour after the battle. The Avenger that carried Earnest and Ferrier safely back to Midway was so shot up it never flew again. It was crated up and returned to the Grumman factory to show the workers how tough their plane was.

     Torpedo 8 was reformed around the six aircrews that had been left at Hawaii. Eventually they wound up at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal as part of the “Cactus Air Force”. Bert Earnest and Harry Ferrier rejoined the squadron there. The squadron acquitted itself well against Japanese transport shipping and ground targets.  

     Though I didn’t know it at the time, I once crossed paths with Harry Ferrier, by then a naval officer. He was serving as a Maintenance Officer on the Helicopter Assault Ship, USS Princeton (LPH-5). I was temporarily assigned to a Marine Battalion Landing Team (BLT 1/9) aboard his ship in waters off Vietnam during the winter of 1964-65.

     CDR Ferrier died in 2016, the last surviving member of Torpedo 8 from that fateful day.

     Fair seas and following winds.

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