Why Jimmy Thach chose to escort Yorktown's torpedo bombers

Jimmy Thach recalled having too few fighters to protect both Yorktown's dive bombers and torpedo bombers at Midway. The squadron commanders initially tried to assign the scarce escort to each other's aircraft. Thach chose the torpedo force because he expected Japanese fighters to concentrate on an attack that had proved dangerous at the Coral Sea. The slow TBD Devastators lacked self-sealing fuel tanks and needed protection during their approach. He feared that a combined Japanese combat air patrol would heavily outnumber the escort and that the Zero's performance would prevent the Wildcats from using their better guns effectively. The expectation of tactical surprise nevertheless gave the pilots confidence before the attack.