A note to Dave

[quincannon]

You may recall my mention of purchasing the two "First Team" volumes by Lundstrom. I stated then that I had not read them in a long time. In re-reading Part III of the first volume "First Team" I had forgotten just how much Lundstrum takes Stanhope Ring, CAG of Hornet to task for his performance at Midway, both before and during the battle. You cannot help to get the impression that Ring, was a petty little bastard, Custer like in many ways, that was only out for what benefited Ring, and not his pilots, or mission. I recommend the book to you.  

[dave]

QC
I will add this title to my future purchase list and I appreciate your suggestion. I agree that Ring was a modern day meme of Custer. A few comparisons I see are:

1) A lack of integrity, both men had no compunctions against using others to climb over on the way to bettering their careers or stretching the truth;

2) Incompetence was displayed by both during combat as one was remembered for leading his entire immediate command to death and the other for being the leader of “The Flight to Nowhere” which denied the Americans 2 squadrons of Dive Bombers and one of Fighters at Midway.*

3) Both men were protected by superiors from facing the consequences they deserved from their actions. Sheridan looked out for Custer and Captain Marc Mitscher covered for Ring after the Battle of Midway by submiting a spurious report and map;

4) Each of these men were inflexible and refused to listen to ideas, suggestions or options in completing their mission from subordinates;

5) Custer and Ring were courageous and professional warriors who could both be described by what my Mama used to say there was “a little something not quit right” about them;
Regards

Dave

*http://www.midway42.org/RoundTableBook/Update_Flight_to_Nowhere.aspx



A couple of books I recommend about Stanhope Ring and the Battle of Midway

The Last Flight of Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Junior, USNR by Bowen P. Weisheit Published 1993, second edition 1998. The Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Memorial Foundation

A Dawn Like Thunder:The True Story of Torpedo Squadron 8 by Robert J. Mrazek

Published 2008 (Little, Brown & Co.)

[quincannon]

Follow up:

There is no mention at all of Ring in the First Team - Guadalcanal volume, which picks up the day after Midway.

I think that Air Group 8's overall piss poor performance at Midway is, and will remain one of the "untold for purpose" episodes of that battle. Might be a book in there for some enterprising historian/author.

Had Hornet's air group been where they should have been, when they should have been we would have probably gotten Hiryu, and Yorktown would not have been attacked, which raises possibilities for the later Guadalcanal battles in October-November, where we might have gotten Shokaku and Zuikaku with the addition of another carrier in our force alignment.

Yorktown badly needed a west coast dry dock and complete refit and modernization post Coral Sea. Had she survived Midway she probably would have been dispatched to Puget Sound for that work and reappeared by late September in the Southwest Pacific as our most modern and well equipped carrier. There was an air group she could have picked up at Pearl.