Page 14 - Tron Warfare.pages

Marines, the F2A Brewster Buffalo was woefully inadequate at the Battle of Midway
and an entire Navy torpedo squadron, Torpedo-8 except for a single pilot, was killed in
combat.

However, independent of technological aircraft short comings, the aircrews of Torpedo-
8 did not die in vain, Ensign George Gay was the sole survivor, because all the Japanese
fighter were pulled down to sea level.

In searching for the main Japanese Carrier strike force LCdr. Wade McClusky leading
the USS Enterprise bombing group at altitude saw the wake of a Japanese Destroyer
and followed it to the enemy carriers. USN dive bombers could then concentrate on
their targets unimpeded by Japanese fighters.

With the entire world in combat and nations fighting for their very existence, aircraft
design teams pressed ahead with all the resources and intellectual vision they could
bring to the design table. What the U.S. air forces introduced during those years was a
steady introduction of type, model, and series (T/M/S) of always improving airborne
killing machines.

From the F2-A Brewster Buffalo to the F-4F and F-4U to the F-6 and at wars end, the F-8
Bearcat the Navy had a series of prop driven Fighters that mastered the Japanese Zero.
The Army Air Corps went from P-39 to P-38 Lighting, P-47 Thunderbolt to the P-51
Mustang with its wonderful bubble canopy to carry the fight to the heart of Germany.

Along the way emphasis was placed on pilot survivability by putting armor plates in
the cockpit and having self-sealing fuel tanks. Since the entire objective was to get first
“tally” and then out maneuver the enemy to kill him, the total design focus was to al-
ways improve a blend of speed, range, and maneuverability—better engines and
smarter airframe designs.

Of course, while the main effort was producing enough “motors and gun sights,” indus-
try and research lab efforts were underway to change yet again the technology of the air
fight.

Second Line of Defense December 2014

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