usertron2020
Donor
How about Hornets dive bombers actually finding their target, but they will arrive first since they had already turned for Midway when Enterprise found the japanese carriers. So what if Hornets dive bombers arrive at the same time as one of the torp squadrons or just before? Same result?
My scenario has everyone there at once. As you describe, the Hornet TP and fighters seemed to have stuck together. Going SE after hitting the rendezvous was the cautious choice, because it meant that they could land at Midway if they found nothing else. Fortunately, the DB commanders of Enterprise and Yorktown were made of sterner stuff. OTOH, the Hornet did have the greenest air crew in the fleet.
How the Hornet's DBs arriving in your scenario will depend of several factors:
Do their escorts, which should have been with the torpedo planes, stick with Hornet's DBs?
What is the exact timing for their arrival compared to all the other (historical) strikes?
Unless they turn NW before they reach the rendezvous point (ahistorical), but bollix up their navigation (VERY historical
Glad to see usertron is back.
Hornet's
air group can probably account for a carrier, maybe two depending. They will be followed closely by VT-6 and they may do better with the CAP being a bit easier. How things go depends on what carriers they get. If they get Nagumo's carriers, Yamaguchi is on his own and he just might decide to put priority into launching his carriers' dive bomber squadrons as quickly as possible. Good chance they get into the air before McCluskey and Leslie arrive.
Launching immediately, however his planes were armed, was what Yamaguchi had argued all along. Even to the point of signaling Nagumo to that effect. (1)
Now, in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, when distress calls were being sent by Kinkaid to Halsey-IN THE CLEAR!-begging for help against the entire Japanese battle line of Kurita's fleet? Halsey managed to convince himself that fleets hundreds of miles away at Surigao or coming all the way from Ulithi would be able to give Kinkaid all the help he needed. After all, Halsey had a far more important (and in a tactician's mind like Halsey's, ONLY important) job to do: SINK THE MOST ENEMY SHIPS!
It got to the point where desperate staff officers onboard Admiral Marc Mitscher's (the fleet air commander) flagship Enterprise woke him up to beg him to speak directly to Halsey to request the fleet turnaround. He responded: If Halsey wants my advice he can ask for it! And he promptly went back to sleep. IOW, you don't tell your superior officer he's being a doofus. Especially on a signal that will carry over the fleet!
1) And if was disrespectful to your commanding officer in the US Navy, in the Imperial Japan Navy it was suicidal effrontery! It showed how desperate things were that Yamaguchi was willing to throw his career away in order to impress upon his commander the dire nature of their circumstances. But instead, Nagumo seemed to reply to the professional insult by doing the exact opposite: Land all his planes, refuel them, rearm them for a naval strike, and then launch an attack with all massed might. But all this will take time. Precious time...