Talk:Miles Browning

message: This is the article's 'Trivia' section - it was removed in accordance with Avoid trivia sections in articles. I put it here so the sourced statements can be worked into the text. The 'urban myth' at the bottom needs to be sourced before it can be put into the article. KrakatoaKatie 02:59, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  old trivia section 

message: The proper page for this content is the talk page, which is why I've moved them here almost intact. It's inappropriate to add three large sections from one source with comments such as "these accounts were wrong, as we shall now see" and "so let it be written, so let it be done". First, the Manual of Style is an excellent guideline for article and section structure; I've taken these headings down two notches from major headings to minor headings for the purposes of this section. Second, our job is to cite, not analyze and take sides in the text. Here, on the talk page, we can take whichever side we want – but not in the article itself. 
I agree that Browning's roles at Midway and Guadalcanal were magnified by Morison and some others. I've read several books that differ with Morison's conclusions, and I've participated in forum discussions about the reality of the situation vs. Morison's glorification of the battles. That said, Spruance's biography should not be used as the sole source for such a large chunk of text in the Browning article, especially since identical text was added (by the same editor) to the Spruance article.
Let's agree on the basics to add, if any, instead of this text. - KrakatoaKatie 00:14, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Katie, my magazine article noted under Unused Resources should provide enough properly cited material to resolve these and many other problems with the article. ARems 98.169.179.8 (talk) 16:32, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

text: agree with morison as a somewhat less than reliable source. 46.138.77.215 (talk) 11:17, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Buell additions moved here for discussion 

message: Half an hour into the launch, only half completed.  
The first-launched aircraft circled, burning fuel, waiting for others so that it would be a coordinated attack, bombers first, then torpedoes, all protected by fighters.  At the same time, the distance to target lengthened due to the winds.
Here is Spruance’s second critical, vital decision.  Proceed to target.  Proceed with the bombers then aloft.  Torpedo planes would follow when they could.  
          Buell, p. 147.
Not until an hour and six minutes after launch had begun did the last torpedo plane lift off Enterprise’s deck.  Hornet, following Spruance’s orders, had launched and gone.  A report that a Japanese scout plane had sighted them had come in, but Spruance was unaware of this until nine minutes later, according to Lundstrom, The First Team (Naval Institute Press 1984).
None of the key decisions had been made by Miles Browning.
: agree with morison as a somewhat less than reliable source. 46.138.77.215 (talk) 11:17, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Midway: Proceed to Target

message: Pls check the distances in the Midway section.
The distances are stated in land miles and not nautical miles.
A nautical miles over 200 metres longer than a land (statue) mile. --78.54.222.198 (talk) 00:09, 9 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Range 

message: Lead is praise not reflecting the article and historians have major disagreements over his role at Midway. Doug Weller talk 16:11, 29 September 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: Heartily agree. See next entry. ARems 98.169.179.8 (talk) 21:19, 20 October 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Npov 

message: Many points can be corrected or expanded upon by reference to my article about Browning in the April 2016 issue of Naval History Magazine titled Out of the Jaws of Victory-
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2016/april/out-jaws-victory 
Particularly significant, as Doug Weller correctly observed above, it is very doubtful if Browning deserves praise for his performance at Midway. Spruance refused a medal for Browning's performance which involved multiple serious errors that deserve mention - including a pilot revolt over assignment on what would have been a suicide mission had Browning not been overruled by Spruance. The article dissects the words of the citation and includes noted historian Craig Symonds opinion that such praise was unmerited. Many specific examples are given in the article underlining Browning's recklessness throughout his career, such as a hair-raising risk he took with his squadron to excel at the 1936 National Air Races. The article makes clear that Browning was not given command of the Hornet for merit, as might be assumed from the entry, but as a device by Navy leadership to force Halsey to give up someone they regarded a bad influence. This quote from King is worth including:  "Browning was no damn good at all. He had no brains and no understanding." As it comes from King, expect no POV problem. Also, the article variously says he was married either three or four times. According to his last marriage license available at Ancestry, he was married four times. Found in Ancestry, and not mentioned in the article, was birth of a son in the mid-1930s. ARems 98.169.179.8 (talk) 21:16, 20 October 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks. Doug Weller talk 15:12, 21 October 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unused Resource 

message: As it stands, the section on Midway is seriously deficient. Most of the material involves the general situation during the battle. There is no recognition of the several serious errors committed by Browning that caused Spruance to deny an award; and for Symonds to state that the award, conferred at the insistence of Halsey who was not present during the battle, was unmerited. Much more than Browning's abrasive personality was involved. Also, it was circumstances of the unfolding battle that caused the defending Japanese aircraft to be out of position when the American dive bombers arrived, not the genius of Browning as indicated by the article wording.  As already urged, use should be made here and elsewhere of the information in my magazine article about Browning, as cited above under Unused Resource. ARems 98.169.179.8 (talk) 00:14, 27 October 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Midway