Chapter 2 - The Great Carrier War

(Part 6)

The Tide Turns

Admiral Yamamoto had originally wanted to mount an attack on Midway, in the central Pacific, before attempting the Port Moresby and Tulagi invasions. His objective was to destroy the American carriers. After he was over-ruled by other Japanese military leaders and the stand-off occurred in the Coral Sea, Yamamoto finally mounted his Midway campaign in June 1942. Yamamoto's plan called for a diversionary invasion of the Aleutians to draw the American carriers out to sea, where they would be met by a larger Japanese task force consisting of three units -- a carrier force consisting of the Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu; a Midway invasion force of 12 transports, two battleships, and the light carrier Zuiho; and Yamamoto's main task force of seven battleships. However, as at the Coral Sea, the United States decoded Japanese transmissions. The American carriers were positioned northeast of Midway to wait for the Japanese. The American task force included the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet, under command of Admiral Raymond Spruance, and the USS Yorktown (having been repaired in three days after Coral Sea), under command of Admiral Frank Fletcher.

On June 3, 1942, the decoy task force attacked Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians, but the American carriers ignored this diversion and remained on station near Midway. Early on the morning of June 4, a PBY Catalina patrol plane spotted the Japanese carrier task force about 200 miles northwest of Midway. The USS Enterprise and USS Hornet immediately set course to intercept the Japanese. In the meantime, the Japanese carriers launched their own attack on the island of Midway, not knowing that the American carriers were already at sea. The small Marine garrison stationed on Midway mounted a gallant defense in their 26 old Brewster Buffalo fighters. These slow planes were no match for the Japanese Zeroes, and 17 of the 26 were lost. However, Marine anti- aircraft gunners on the island managed to shoot down about one-third of the attacking planes.

Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, in charge of the Japanese carrier task force, had 93 bombers ready to attack the American carriers as soon as they were spotted. However, when the carriers didn't appear, he decided to rearm his planes for a second strike on the island. Later, when the American carriers were located, he ordered his bombers again rearmed for attacks against shipping. But before this could be completed, the first wave of aircraft began returning from their attack on Midway and had to be recovered.

At about the same time, the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet launched 67 dive bombers, 29 torpedo bombers, and 20 escort fighters, while the USS Yorktown launched another 17 dive bombers, 12 torpedo bombers, and 6 fighters. The first to reach the Japanese carriers were 15 torpedo bombers from the USS Hornet. Having been separated from their fighter escort, they attacked without any air cover and were all shot down. Torpedo bombers from the USS Enterprise and USS Yorktown met similar fates. But these daring attacks had diverted the attention of the Japanese to sea level and away from the following dive bombers. Forty-five dive bombers from the USS Enterprise and USS Yorktown hit the Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu, leaving them and their partially rearmed aircraft burning hulks. Because of poor visibility, the Hiryu escaped this attack.

The Yorktown-class sister ships Yorktown CV-5, Enterprise CV-6, and Hornet CV-8 sank . . .

. . . the Soryu-class sister ships Soryu and Hiryu at the Battle of Midway.

The Hiryu launched two waves of aircraft against the USS Yorktown, which, by this time, had been located. Although most of the planes in the first wave were shot down, three bombs got through to the USS Yorktown. The resulting fires were quickly put out, but the second wave of bombers from the Hiryu scored two more hits and she had to be abandoned. At about the same time, dive bombers from the USS Enterprise found the Hiryu and battered her so badly that she too had to be abandoned. Admiral Yamamoto's bold plan to destroy the American carrier fleet had backfired in the worse way possible. Instead, he lost four of his best carriers and over 200 aircraft and experienced pilots.

The Battle of Midway ended on June 6, 1942, with the sinking of the Japanese cruiser Mikuma and the crippling of the cruiser Mogami by the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet.

| Home | Intro | Ventures | Sea | Air | Space | SciFi | Racing | Movies | Art | Travel | Exit |

| Intro | Early Years | Carrier War | Changing Role | Ship Directory | Bibliography | Tour the Big E |

Last Updated: July 20, 2003