Why British night torpedo doctrine differed from the US alpha strike

Would TBD Devastators at Midway have been better used as kamikazes because they were doomed?

No. Their loss without fighter cover illustrates an escort and doctrine problem, not a reason to adopt suicide tactics.

The answer rejects the suggestion that doomed TBD Devastators should simply have been used as kamikazes and turns to the doctrinal problem behind their loss. The Royal Navy expected too few fighters to protect daylight torpedo attacks and therefore invested in night flying. Early US thinking instead emphasized a very large alpha strike that sent almost everything, although practice evolved to leave fighters with the carrier. At Midway, the Devastators attacked without fighter cover, demonstrating the danger the British assumption sought to avoid.