SBD-3 BuNo 4618, Cdr. C. Wade McClusky, Commander of USS Enterprise (CV 6) Air Group, June 4, 1942.
Cdr. C. Wade McClusky played a major part in the Battle of Midway, with Admiral Nimitz saying McClusky’s actions in locating the enemy fleet “decided the fate of our carrier task force and our forces at Midway”. Much has been written about the actual attack and McClusky’s decision to have VS-6 dive on the Kaga and not the Akagi as U.S. Navy dive bombing doctrine would indicate. His decision led to 28 of the 31 Dauntless dive bombers sent to attack Kidō Butai all diving on Kaga, while only Lt. Dick Best and the two other aircraft of his section diverting from Kaga to attack Akagi. In the end, both Kaga and Akagi were destroyed so his decision did not adversely affect the outcome of the battle. McClusky was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the battle, and would eventually be promoted upon his retirement to Rear Admiral. To this day, the Wade McClusky Award is given annually to the most outstanding attack squadron in the US Navy.
Profile notes: At the time of the Battle of Midway, Enterprise SBDs had all switched to white cowl numbers, but the film of McClusky’s SBD shows no marking on the cowl. Also note that the fuselage national insignia is several inches forward of the standard position seen on other SBD-3s.
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