In 1942, US Commander Joseph J. Rochefort suspected that Japan was planning to take control of Midway, a small atoll in the Pacific Ocean. He confirmed this suspicion through intelligence gathering and the US was able to prepare for a major naval battle. The US won the Battle of Midway, which marked the beginning of the end for the Imperial Japanese Navy and World War II.
The code name was “AF”. The goal: halfway through. A tiny atoll in the Pacific Ocean, midway between the United States of America and Japan, Midway was the prize for which a major naval battle was fought during World War II. The victor took control of the Pacific Theater of Operations. The underdog would be on the defensive for the rest of the war.
In March 1942, four months after the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Navy’s Bureau of Combat Intelligence was sniffing something in the air. Although communications had gone black just before Pearl Harbor, Commander Joseph J. Rochefort and his analyst staff were once again reading the Japanese naval code, JN-25, and there was a lot to read. Radio traffic had increased significantly and although it seemed to indicate an operation to invade Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians, Rochefort had a suspicion that a larger game was afoot.
When looking at a map of the Pacific Ocean, it becomes clear to a viewer that there isn’t much to see between the United States and Japan. Why should the Japanese waste their formidable sea power at Dutch Harbor? It made no sense to Rochefort. However, he was a skilled analyst and his gift for seeing the bigger picture led him to the question: What if the Japanese intend to take control of Midway? It would provide them with a base 50% closer to the US, from which they could launch offensives against Hawaii and possibly towards the West Coast. He made perfect sense to Rochefort, but she was having trouble confirming his suspicions. All he had was a code name: AF.
In May, having already foreseen the battle of the Coral Sea, Rochefort relied on a little trick to eradicate the “AF” code. He had the American base radio operator on Midway radio in plain English for Hawaii that their desalination plant had broken down and they needed replacement parts. Then, they listened to Japanese traffic. A few days later, one of Rochefort’s staff intercepted the message that “AF” was running out of fresh water. Objective confirmed.
Rochefort’s intelligence gathering had already given Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific, enough to deploy his aircraft carriers to the Coral Sea. Although the United States lost the USS Lexington, two of Japan’s last aircraft carriers, Shokaku and Zuikaku, suffered heavy damage and their aircrews were decimated. Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet, thought the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown was too damaged in the Coral Sea to fight at Midway, but limped home to Pearl Harbor where a swarm of builders and fitters restored her to operational condition in about a week. The number of aircraft carriers was Japan: 4; US: 3.
The next problem was planes. The US war machine had not yet managed to produce a fighter to efficiently deal with the infamous Japanese Zero. The Zero was fast, maneuverable, and deadly against older, slower US fighters and their even slower dive bombers and torpedo bombers. However, all three carriers had full combat, bombing and reconnaissance groups. The carriers land at Point Luck, an unseen point in the Pacific.
On the morning of June 3, 1942, dawn broke over the US aircraft carriers. It was June 4th where the Japanese were, heading for Midway. Secondary attacks and diversions were launched into the Aleutians, but the US was prepared for these attacks and did nothing but damage the facilities. A US reconnaissance aircraft had encountered the Japanese battle fleet early that morning and radioed their location to the carriers. The critical element of surprise had been lost. Japanese reconnaissance aircraft had little luck spotting the US fleet, save for one, launched late. When the aircraft reported, the Japanese had already launched their first attack on Midway itself and although the atoll had sustained heavy damage, the Japanese carriers were fighting off waves of US bombers and torpedo bombers.
The deadly Zeros handled most of these aircraft, but were a nuisance and could not radio Admiral Yamamoto for instructions – the Japanese were maintaining strict radio silence – Admiral Chuichi Nagumo of the First Carrier Striking Force si found himself in an unenviable position. Those planes have to come from somewhere. But where? There was no way they were all stationed at Midway, and as far as Admiral Nagumo knew, the United States only had one operational aircraft carrier, which couldn’t account for that many aircraft.
The last reconnaissance plane gave Nagumo the answer, or what he thought was the answer. The reconnaissance aircraft reported a group of about 10 vessels. While this worried Nagumo, he felt the more important goal was a second strike against Midway itself. This has left him with a unique situation about carriers of him.
While Nagumo and his staff debated whether to send more bombers to find the US fleet or make a second attack on Midway, the flight crews suspended operations. Until they had made up their minds from the deck, they had bombers on deck: some armed with torpedoes and armor-piercing bombs to attack the ships, some armed with normal bombs for a second Midway attack. Bombs, torpedoes, fuel lines and tanks were scattered throughout the flight decks, instead of being stowed below, as was normal procedure. They were also in the process of recovering and refueling fighter squadrons flying air cover over the vulnerable flattops.
At about 10:20, for the umpteenth time that morning, Japanese carriers were alerted to the presence of US bombers. Previous attacks had been unsuccessful, as the Zeros had effectively engaged the aircraft, completely wiping out USS Hornet’s torpedo squadron. However, these planes were arriving at just the right time. Japanese carriers were floating incendiary bombs. The Yorktown and Enterprise carrier squadrons “pushed on” and by 10:30 the aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga and Soryu were on fire. The fourth carrier, Hiryu, was to the north of the fleet and escaped damage. Her turn would come later that afternoon.
Meanwhile, the other three carriers were being abandoned and Admiral Nagumo transferred his flag from Akagi to a nearby destroyer. Hiryu’s commander, Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, recovered many of the already airborne aircraft, refueled, and sent them after the American fleet. They found Yorktown and attacked.
Yorktown survived this hit with heavy damage and was ordered to abandon ship, but some repair crews remained and eventually restarted the engines. Yorktown task force commander Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher thought she could be towed to Pearl Harbor. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commander of the other task force with Hornet and Enterprise, ordered another attack on the Japanese fleet. A US reconnaissance aircraft found Hiryu and she was bombed. Although she was not immediately mothballed, the resulting fires soon proved too much for the crew and the vessel was abandoned.
The Japanese submarine I-168 found Yorktown towed to Pearl Harbor the next morning. A few torpedoes finally sank her. US aircraft also found the heavy cruisers Mogami and Mikuma and sank Mikuma. They returned to their carriers and Admiral Spruance turned east into the night, unwilling to risk a night engagement.
When the smoke cleared, the United States still had three carriers in operation. The Japanese had none, as those damaged in the Coral Sea were still under repair. The damaged Zero fighter captured after the attack on Dutch Harbor led to the development of Grumman’s F4F Hellcat, designed to exploit the Zero’s weaknesses. After the Hellcat began flying, the Japanese lost what little air superiority they had. The US now had the offensive advantage. The Japanese remained on the defensive for the rest of the war.
The United States had won its most decisive naval battle, one that goes hand in hand with England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada. The Battle of Midway was the beginning of the end for the Imperial Japanese Navy and finally, World War II.
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