7. The use of obsolescent aircraft was self-defeating
Following the debacle of the American torpedo planes suffered at Midway, the obsolete Devastators were abandoned by the US Navy, other than serving as training planes or for a time as anti-submarine patrols in the Atlantic. The Devastator was not the only obsolete aircraft deployed by the Americans at Midway. Others were used in the battle, and like the torpedo planes, the Japanese made short work of them. United States Marines flew the SB2U Vindicator, a dive bomber which was known officially as the Vindicator, but which its pilots referred to as the wind indicator. Vindicator’s flown by the Marines attacked Japanese cruisers on June 5 – the second day of the battle – but failed to score any hits. The Vindicator was even more vulnerable than the Devastator to fighter attack.
The Marines also flew the Brewster F2A Buffalo to defend Midway Island. Buffaloes had demonstrated their obsolescence in December, 1941, when Japanese Zeros destroyed aircraft operated by the British and Dutch seemingly at will. At Midway, 13 of 20 Buffalos were shot down by Japanese Zeros, though they did manage to destroy several Japanese Val dive bombers. The Marines referred to the Buffalo as a flying coffin. Midway was the last American use of the Buffalo as a front-line fighter. All Buffalos were recalled from the Pacific Theater and returned to the United States, where they served as trainers as they were gradually phased out of the Marine and Naval inventories. The respite won by the Battle of Midway allowed for new aircraft to enter the fleet.