The air smelled of salt as the waves crashed against the Enterprise’s hull. The ship gently rocked in the waves. The ocean was calm, the conditions were excellent for flying. The cloud cover was thick to conceal the planes but high enough to make takeoff and landing relatively safe. On the flight deck men scrambled to prepare aircraft for launch. Torpedoes were drug to each of the waiting eight TBF Avenger bombers. In front of them ten Helldivers awaited their 1000lb bombs. Next to the island, the tall superstructure on the side of the flight deck, the Hellcat fighters sat patiently. The men worked quickly but with precision. A poorly hung bomb could come off in flight or during takeoff and damage the Enterprise itself. Within the next hour the planes would leave for a raid on a Japanese fleet.
Ryan took a deep breath. He looked down at his checklist. He had done this so many times it was practically unnecessary. When he completed the checklist he hooked it next to the picture of his wife. He sighed, missing her. Every night he went to sleep knowing he may not see the next day. That he would leave her and his two kids alone in the States. His two kids that he dearly loved. His oldest would be starting kindergarten soon. The other was only a few years old. Ryan had been unable to spend much time with his younger child, he had to leave his family not long after her birth due to being commissioned as a Navy aviator.
Ryan looked back up waiting for the all clear. On the island signal flags were raised to convey the Enterprises intention to turn into the wind and launch planes. The Enterprise spat black smoke as the ship accelerated and turned into the wind. By supplying the flight deck with a direct headwind the heavy aircraft were able to take off in a shorter distance reducing the chance of them dropping into the ocean. With the newfound wind, the signal flags flapped wildly in the wind. Once the turn was complete the aircraft in front of him began their takeoffs. Beginning with the Hellcats each plane taxiing up and unfolding it’s wings out into the flight position.
By the time Ryan had permission to taxi, 27 aircraft had already left the carrier. To his right a sailor directed him forward. In the runup position Ryan lowered the wings into their flight position and did a final check of the controls. On the all clear signal, Ryan set the throttle full and held the brakes. Given the go ahead Ryan let off the brakes and allowed the plane to pull itself forward. As the plane rolled down the runway the tail wheel lifted. Gradually the Avenger became lighter and lighter on the runway until it lifted off at the very end. Ryan took one last look at his wife’s picture before tucking it away in his pocket and settling in for the flight.
After two hours Ryan spotted his target. The battleships Fuso and Yamashiro, as well as the heavy cruiser Mogami appeared on the horizon. As Ryan looked to the Left he saw his wingman give him a curt nod. Ryan began to prepare for combat. In order to drop a torpedo, the Avenger must fly level at a low altitude and combined with it’s large size it was an easy target. However a successful torpedo hit was devastating. This made the Avenger a priority target for enemy anti-aircraft gunners. Due to all of these factors, flying the TBM Avenger was an extremely dangerous task. The pilots of these aircraft became well practiced and efficient in diving out of the sky dropping their torpedoes and then fleeing before the enemy gunners could clip their wings. All of this had to be done in formation while performing evasive maneuvers.
At five miles out, the formation of eight bombers split into two groups of four in order to attack the Fuso from both sides. The three ships had been sailing in a wedge formation, with the Mogami up front and the two Fuso class battleships following behind. However when the air group was spotted, the ships increased the distance between them to increase the room for evasive maneuvers. The largest threat to the airgroup was the Mogami’s 127mm dual purpose armament. A single hit from one of these shells could tear an aircraft into piece. Each shell was packed full of explosives that ran off a timer. When the guns were fired the fuse was armed. When the shell flew for a set length of time it would explode sending metal fragments in all directions. The battleships were also equipped with smaller caliber Anti-Aircraft guns. These consisted of heavy machine guns and low caliber autocannons.
As Ryan’s squadron banked left to circle north around the enemy fleet, they began to take fire from the large caliber guns of the Mogami. At the extreme range of the guns, the enemy fire was inaccurate and ineffective. As they began their dive, the smaller AA guns began to fire at the squadron as well. Suddenly the picture out of Ryan’s cockpit became streaked with yellow flashes and black clouds of smoke from the larger shells. Ryan began to maneuver the plane to avoid the flak. The planes danced as they avoided the incoming fire. The squadron broke apart and formed back together.
Suddenly Ryan’s plane began to shake heavily. Looking out the cockpit he discovered a large gouge in the wing where shrapnel passed straight through it. Fuel trailed behind the plane. With the fuel tank punctured there was little chance that Ryan would make it back to the Enterprise so he continued his run with the damaged plane. As Ryan neared the Fuso, the large caliber AA began to be replaced by smaller ones. It was at this point that Ryan began to line up his torpedo drop. The formation was tight. As soon as Ryan got to drop speed, the flight engineer behind him dropped the torpedo. With a splash, the torpedo hit the water and it immediately began steaming towards the battleship. Ryan accelerated over the Battleship only pulling back slightly on the stick until he was past it. If he pulled up to early, all he would do is expose more of his plane to the enemy anti-aircraft gunners. As he increased the distance, he began a lazy turn back towards the Enterprise. While he may not have enough fuel to make it back to the Enterprise he may get close enough for a rescue ship.
Ryan’s plane suddenly began to shake violently. Smoke billowed from in front of him and he played with the fuel mixture and throttle in an attempt to cool the engine. With a final puff, the engine of Ryan’s Avenger quit. He had taken more damage than he expected. Ryan immediately leveled his plane and pitched for glide speed. An anti-aircraft shell exploded next to him in a large cloud of black smoke. Looking to the side, Ryan watched his wing shear and fall off and the plane began to tumble. No matter how he tried, Ryan was unable to regain any sort of control. Resigned to his fate he took one last look at his wife and children. With a tear in his eye the plane crashed into the water.
