Battle of Midway 70th Anniversary

Midway Atoll

Monday, June 4, 2012 marks the 70th anniversary of the first and most dramatic day of the Battle of Midway.  During this battle,  the U.S. Navy inflicted the most devastating loss to the Imperial Japanese Navy in its history.  The U.S. victory at Midway is widely considered to be the turning point of the war against Japan a mere six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  The IJN suffered the loss of four fleet carriers.  These losses proved to be irreplaceable to the Japanese navy even though it continued to be a highly dangerous foe through the end of 1942 and its further loss at Guadalcanal.  The U.S. victory at Midway pointed the way to the ultimate defeat of Japan three years later.

Great Wall TBD Kit Box Art

This battle affords the modeler ample opportunities to replicate the ships and aircraft which participated on both sides.  Most of the aircraft are or have been available in 1/72 and 1/48 scales, although only a few in the larger 1/32 scale.  The most recent example is Great Wall Hobby's 1/48 TBD-1 Devestator.  Almost all the Japanese ships involved have been done in 1/700 scale while the major U.S. types are represented.  1/350 ships are not as well represented but many are available.  If you like the larger scale like me, be prepared to lighten your wallet.  These projects can be expensive, but they are more involved and require more time to complete so they end up being good values.

Hasegawa 1/350 IJN Akagi

References for the battle are also plentiful.  Numerous overall studies of the entire battle have been written over the past 70 years.  There are also books on specific aircraft and ship participants to aid the modeler in building accurate models.

Walter Lord

I read Walter Lord's classic book on Midway Incredible Victory when I was 13.  I'll be 50 this year and still have that old paperback edition on my shelf.  I probably bought it after watching Charlton Heston in that classic 1976 movie Midway.  Since then I've collected and read many more books on the subject and have attended several history symposiums where I've met veterans of the Pacific war.  I've also had the opportunity to meet many of the authors who have written about Midway including Walter Lord.  I was blessed to visit with him for about 30 minutes during a break at a 50th anniversary symposium commemorating the attack on Pearl Harbor back in 1990.  I'd have to credit Incredible Victory as one of the books that ultimately inspired me to earn my BA in American History.  I'll have to pull it off the shelf this weekend and revisit this old friend.

So if you're looking for some inspiration for your hobby this weekend,  you might want to revisit the Battle of Midway which began 70 years ago this Monday.

SBDs Strike at Midway