CAPT Fleming vs. MIKUMA
5 JUNE 1942
CAPT FLEMING vs. MIKUMA
Under ADM Isoroku Yamamoto’s complex plan to capture Midway the four cruisers of RADM Takeo Kurita’s Cruiser Division 7 were tasked with a pre-invasion bombardment of the island. On June 4th these warships closed within 90 miles of Midway from the east. American scout planes sortying from Midway discovered Kurita’s ships that same day, however the Marine pilots sent to attack them were working at a disadvantage. They had not yet trained in their newly received Vought SB2U “Vindicator” dive bombers (an outdated design already being replaced in Navy squadrons). Thereby unable to employ the more accurate but more difficult technique of dive bombing, these pilots resorted to a gently sloping “glide bombing” approach. As one might expect, their accuracy was woeful on the 4th, and worse, the long, shallow glide made them easy targets for merciless anti-aircraft fire. Many did not return. But fortune smiled on their follow-up efforts.
The sinking of four of his carriers convinced Yamamoto on June 5th that the battle was lost. Kurita was recalled, but as his ships turned away from Midway the heavy cruiser MOGAMI collided with her sister MIKUMA, wrecking the former’s bow. MIKUMA was less severely damaged and lingered behind to assist. MOGAMI’s mangled bows limited the pair’s speed to 12 knots, and sensing the vulnerability of what had been mis-identified as two battleships, the Vindicator pilots from VMSB-241 took off in pursuit. The Marines followed the trailing oil slick and glided in. Yet again they were subjected to a murderous anti-aircraft barrage.
Leading the squadron was CAPT Richard Eugene Fleming, USMC, whose plane was already smoking as he initiated his glide. He steadied his aircraft regardless toward MOGAMI. In moments, black smoke and flames emerged from his engine cowling and the craft began bucking and pitching. By the time he reached his release point flames engulfed the cockpit. Burned himself, and now recognizing his Vindicator to be doomed, Fleming elected a final act of heroism. He coaxed his crippled plane into a dive for the bridge of MIKUMA. His suicidal crash impacted the cruiser’s after gun turret. Burning fuel spread across the deck and was sucked down the air intakes to the starboard engine room. The resulting explosions and fire killed everyone there. The two hobbled cruisers limped on but by the morning of the 6th had still not escaped the range of Midway’s planes. Subsequent attacks finished MIKUMA, the fifth enemy ship to be sunk in this pivotal battle. For his supreme sacrifice, Fleming was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was remembered later in the war in the naming of the destroyer escort FLEMING (DE-32).
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 10-14 JUN 22
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
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Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 2 “C-F”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1977, p. 414.
Fuchida, Mitsuo and Masatake Okumiya. Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1955, pp. 189-91, 194-97.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol 4 Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co., 1949, p. 145.
Prange, Gordon W. Miracle at Midway. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1982, pp. 322-26.
Taylor, Michael J.H. Jane’s American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century. New York, NY: Mallard Press, 1991, p. 316.
United States Congress. United States of America’s Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and their Official Citations. Columbia Heights, MN: Highland House II, 1994, p. 313.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: The Vought-Sikorsky SB2U “Vindicator” was one of several scout-bomber designs developed for the Navy in the 1930s. As only about 100 were manufactured and deployed between 1937-38, Vindicators did not see a great amount of action in the war. Its older design still called for portions of the fuselage to be fabric-covered, and the 14-cylinder Pratt and Whitney “Twin Wasp Junior” engine drove the bomber only to 235 knots. By the outbreak of WWII, Vindicators were already being replaced in Navy squadrons with the Douglas SBD “Dauntless.”
