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The Battle of Midway, fought in World War II, took place on June 5, 1942
(June 4 in US time zones). The United States Navy defeated a Japanese attack
against Midway Island, marking a turning point in the war in the Pacific
theatre.
Fought just a month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, Midway was the
first purely carrier battle. Skill, daring, and luck all played a part. The
attack on the island of Midway, which also included a feint to Alaska by a
smaller fleet, was a ploy by the Japanese to draw the American carrier fleet
into a trap. With the remaining American ships destroyed, the Japanese hoped
to invade Hawaii.
At dawn on June 4, Japanese carrier aircraft bombed and heavily damaged
the base on Midway. U.S. carrier forces, led by Rear Admiral Raymond A.
Spruance, had the advantage of knowing, through decryption of Japanese Navy
communications, what the enemy was up to. When the Japanese aircraft
returned to their carriers, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo decided to re-arm them
with bombs for a second strike at Midway. While being serviced, the waiting
American ships were detected. Nagumo eventually decided to change the arms
load for an attack against the American ships. With torpedoes and bombs
stacked, and fuel hoses snaking across their decks, the Japanese carriers
made vulnerable and highly volatile targets.
Spruance launched an attack from the carriers USS Enterprise and Hornet
against the Japanese carriers. Anti-aircraft fire and fighters shot down 35
of 41 torpedo bombers, including every plane of Hornet torpedo squadron 8.
(See George H. Gay) This action brought the Zeros down so low that the
American dive-bombers could attack almost without opposition. Five minutes
later, three Japanese carriers, the Akagi, Kaga and Soryu, were ablaze,
abandoned, or crippled.
Aircraft launched from the remaining Japanese carrier Hiryu struck the
USS Yorktown, which was severely damaged, but survived this and a second
attack, only to be sunk by a Japanese submarine on June 7. The same
submarine sank the destroyer USS Hammann which had been assigned to remain
with the Yorktown. Aircraft from the Enterprise in turn attacked the Hiryu
and set her ablaze, and damaged the destroyer Isokaze. After this, Spruance,
in concert with the forces on Midway, launched attacks that crippled and
destroyed the Japanese cruisers Mogami and Mikuma.
Having scored a decisive victory, American forces retired. The loss of
four carriers stopped the expansion of the Japanese Empire in the Pacific,
and put Japan on the defensive. It had been six months to the day since the
attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto had predicted to his
superiors that Japan would prevail for only six months to a year against the
United States, after which American resources would begin to overwhelm the
Japanese Navy.
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