What was midway

Japanese carrier and battleship task forces, waiting unseen to the west of the island, would fall upon and destroy the unsuspecting Americans. If successful, the plan would effectively eliminate the Pacific Fleet for at least a year and provide a forward outpost from which ample warning of any future threat by the United States would come.

On 7 May, Hypo provided a translation of the agenda for a Japanese aviation conference, which concerned tactics to be employed in obtaining air superiority over a target, assisting in amphibious landings, and bombing and strafing attacks to wipe out local resistance.

On 19 May, Commander Joseph J. Layton, the Pacific Fleet staff intelligence officer, identified Midway and Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians as specific Japanese objectives. On 22 May, following a radio deception operation, Melbourne completely confirmed that "AF" indicated Midway.

Hypo then discovered the date cipher used in Japanese message traffic. This meant analysts could determine exactly when the attack would take place. After examining previously intercepted messages, Hypo predicted an attack on Midway on 4 June.

Admiral Nimitz used this estimate to plan American countermeasures that included reinforcement of the forces already on Midway.

The next day, Japanese forces began getting underway for Midway. These forces were supported by 17 patrol seaplanes. Rear Admiral Raymond A. The three U. These were supported by fighters, bombers, and patrol planes at Midway. As part of the pre-battle disposition, 25 U. The presence of U. Although the Japanese could not visually confirm the departure of Task Forces 16 and 17 from Pearl Harbor; American preparations to defend Midway were more apparent to the enemy.

Japanese COMINT stations not only learned of carrier movements in and out of Pearl Harbor, simply by listening to increased air-ground radio chatter, but traffic analysis of "Urgent" radio messages coming out of Pearl Harbor suggested at least one U. Navy task force was at sea.

Incredibly, this information was withheld from the Midway strike force because of Yamamoto's strict radio silence restrictions. Dense smoke is from fires in her uptakes, caused by a bomb that punctured them and knocked out her boilers.

Man with hammer at right is probably covering a bomb entry hole in the forward elevator. Photo taken by Photographer 2rd Class William G. On 3 June, in the preliminary moves of the Battle of Midway, American land-based aircraft from Midway located and attacked Japanese transports about miles west of Midway Island. As part of the overall Japanese plan, planes from light carriers Ryujo and Junyo bombed Dutch Harbor. Just after midnight on 4 June, Admiral Nimitz, based on patrol plane reports, advised Task Forces 16 and 17 of the course and speed of the Japanese "main body," also noting their distance of miles from Midway.

Shortly after dawn, a patrol plane spotted two Japanese carriers and their escorts, reporting "Many planes heading Midway from degrees distant miles! The first engagement on 4 June, however, took place when the four night-flying PBYs attacked the Japanese transports northwest of Midway, with one PBY torpedoing a fleet tanker. Later that morning, at roughly , Japanese carrier aircraft bombed Midway installations.

Although defending U. Over the next two hours, Japanese fighter aircraft on combat air patrol CAP and antiaircraft fire from the Japanese fleet annihilated the repeated attacks by Midway-based Marine Corps scout bombers and Navy torpedo bombers.

Army Air Forces heavy bombers and torpedo-carrying medium bombers likewise bombed the Japanese carrier force without success, although without losses to themselves. Although nearly wiped out by the defending Japanese fighters and antiaircraft fire, they drew off enemy aircraft, leaving the skies open for dive bombers from Enterprise and Yorktown.

At , Hiryu , the one Japanese carrier that escaped destruction that morning, launched dive bombers that temporarily disabled Yorktown around noon. Three and a half hours later, Hiryu 's torpedo planes struck a second blow, forcing Yorktown' s abandonment.

Pearl Harbor is about 2, kilometers 1, miles east of Midway. American military and intelligence forces worked together to defeat the Japanese. Code-breakers were able to decipher Japanese naval code , allowing American leaders to anticipate Japanese maneuver s. The U. Navy was then able to launch a surprise attack on the larger Japanese fleet in the area. The Battle of Midway turned the tide of the war. Japanese and American naval powers were roughly equalized.

The war ended three years later, and today the battle is memorialized by such monuments as Chicago Midway International Airport and the Battle of Midway National Memorial. Pacific theater. World War II. After inflicting severe damage to the U. Shortly after that, just as his pilots informed Nagumo that another airstrike against the base would be necessary, U. As Nagumo was rearming Japanese planes for a second air attack, a Japanese scout plane spotted portions of the U.

Nagumo switched tactics, ordering planes that were still armed to prepare to attack the U. Meanwhile, a wave of U. Devastator torpedo bombers from the U. Unescorted by fighter planes, nearly all of them were shot down by Japanese Zero fighters.

But about an hour later, as the Japanese refueled and rearmed their planes, another wave of U. Though major combat in the Battle of Midway was over by the evening of June 4, U. The destroyer USS Hammann provided cover for the disabled carrier Yorktown during salvage operations, but a Japanese submarine arrived on June 6 and launched four torpedoes that struck both U. The Hammann sank in minutes; the Yorktown eventually capsized and sank the following day.

On June 6, Yamamoto ordered his ships to retreat, ending the Battle of Midway. In all, Japan had lost as many as 3, men including more than of their most experienced pilots , nearly aircraft, one heavy cruiser and four aircraft carriers in the battle, while the Americans lost the Yorktown and Hammann , along with around aircraft and approximately servicemen. As a result of the U. Pacific Fleet commander, to establish an ambush by having his carriers ready and waiting for the Japanese.

On 4 June , in the second of the Pacific War's great carrier battles, the trap was sprung. The perserverance, sacrifice and skill of U. Navy aviators, plus a great deal of good luck on the American side, cost Japan four irreplaceable fleet carriers, while only one of the three U.

The base at Midway, though damaged by Japanese air attack, remained operational and later became a vital component in the American trans-Pacific offensive. Naval History and Heritage Command.