Additional material is available for the Battle of Midway. |
Immediately after the seizure of the key objectives, the second phase commenced, in which Japan planned to seize additional outposts to guard the newly gained Empire against attack, to consolidate positions and to cut enemy supply lines. This phase included a plan to occupy Midway and the Aleutians in order to establish an outer defense line to the east and northeast of Japan. Occupation of these points was to be followed by establishment of air coverage from these bases to a radius of 1,300 miles, a radius which included the Hawaiian Islands.
The Japanese, aware of the fact that all available United States carrier strength had been present in the distant Coral Sea only three weeks before, designated 6 June 1942 as the date of occupation of Midway Island, and made the following estimate of the United States situation:
Relying on the line determined by our initial operational advance as his first line of defense, the enemy is growing desperate to check his decline as his outer shell crumbles under our successive blows, and as India, Australia and Hawaii become directly threatened. By strengthening and giving an active role to both his aircraft in the Australian theatre and his submarines, roaming under the seas which we command, he conducts guerrilla operations against us. With a striking force he reconnoitered the South and Southwest Pacific Ocean Area. Comparatively speaking, he is displaying remarkably vigorous activity. His morale was not at once shaken by his crushing defeat in the Coral Sea on 7-8 May 1942; and the last 10 days of May saw the sudden return of lively activity throughout enemy areas after our fleet sortie from Hashira Jima; he is paying singular attention to the Australian Area; the time is ripe to strike at Midway and the Aleutians.
As the Japanese Fleet advanced behind a submarine scouting line with island-based air coverage to the southward and westward, the United States Task Force took up a position to the northeast of Midway.
At 0545 the next morning (4 June) a flying boat reported an enemy air group heading for Midway from the northwest and shortly thereafter sighted the carriers of the enemy striking force.
In the meantime, a second aircraft striking group was launched by the enemy including all aircraft from the as yet undamaged Hiryu. This group attacked the United States Task Force, scoring three bomb hits on Yorktown which put her flight deck out of action, and forced her withdrawal from the battle. Three days later, while retiring to the eastward, Yorktown and the destroyer Hammen were sunk by torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-168.
During the afternoon of the 4th, aircraft from Hornet and Enterprise located Hiryu, the remaining carrier of the striking force which had attempted to escape to the north, and attacked scoring six bomb hits. Damage incurred in this battle by both Akagi and Hiryu was so great that these two vessels became unnavigable and were scuttled by their crews about 0500 on the morning of the 5th.
On the 5th adverse weather conditions prevented United States carrier groups from locating the retreating forces to the north and west of Midway, although a Marine dive bombing group from Midway located the crippled Mogami to the southwest and inflicted additional minor damage to this vessel and Mikuma .
No further contacts were made until the next day when dive-bombers from both Hornet and Enterprise attacked and sank Mikuma and seriously damaged Mogami and the destroyer Arashio.
During this battle, carrier-based dive-bombers made 191 sorties obtaining 32 hits, 15 of which were the principle factors in the destruction of the First Air Fleet carrier force while the remainder sank the Mikuma and damaged the Mogami and Arashio. Although the B-17s of the Seventh Air Force based at
Midway made 62 sorties for horizontal bombing attacks, testimony of Japanese survivors indicates that no hits were scored by this means. The difficulties which attend high altitude bombing of ships were well illustrated when, on the afternoon of the 6th, a flight of B-17s reported sinking a "cruiser" by an attack delivered from over 10,000 feet; in fact, the "cruiser" was a United States submarine which hastily submerged when the first bombs fell off her bow. In contrast to the more experienced carrier dive-bomber pilots, the hastily assembled Marine dive-bombers made 50 bombing sorties but attained very few hits. However the manner in which the Marine attack occupied the fighter defense of the Japanese carriers on the 4th greatly contributed to the hits of the carrier bombers which came in shortly thereafter. Unfortunately both the Army and Navy torpedo attacks against the enemy were made in vain. Approaching without fighter protection, the torpedo groups were attacked and cut to pieces principally by the defending Japanese fighters before they were able to press home their attack.
Nav No. | USSBS No. | |
Battle of Midway | 1 | 6 |
Battle of Midway | 2 | 11 |
Battle of Midway | 4 | 23 |
Battle of Midway and Supplement | 13 | 65 |
Aleutian Campaign | 20 | 97 |
Battle of Midway | 33 | 138 |
Battle of Midway | 39 | 165 |
Japanese Naval Planning | 43 | 192 |
Battle of Midway | 46 | 195 |
Transports at Midway | 60 | 252 |
Battle of Midway | 66 | 295 |
Battle of Midway | 83 | 407 |
Battle of Midway | 106 | 464 |
Japanese Submarine Operations | 108 | 466 |
Local time (+12) | Tokyo time (-9) | Japanese report of number of attacking aircraft | Japanese report of target | Japanese report of bombs or torpedoes dropped | Japanese report of hits | Remarks (correct data when known) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 June | 5 June | |||||
0707 | 0407 | 9 B-26's | Hiryu | 9 T | 0 | 4 B-26's actually attacked. |
0710 | 0410 | 4 torpedo bobmers | Akagi | 3 T | 0 | 6 VT in attack |
0711 | 0411 | 4 medium bombers | Hiryu | 4 T | 0 | Army-Navy |
0712 | 0412 | 9 VT | Hiryu | 9 T | 0 | Midway Torpedo |
0715 | 0415 | 1 VT | Akagi | 1 T | 0 | Group |
0756 | 0456 | 9 medium bombers | Hiryu | B | 0 | |
0808 | 0508 | 4 VF 4 VB |
Hiryu |
4 B | 0 | |
0812 | 0512 | 6 VB | Hiryu | 1 B | 0 | Midway |
0829 | 0529 | 4 medium bombers | Haruna | 5 B | 0 | USMC |
0830 | 0530 | 3 VB | Kaga | 3 B | 0 | |
0835 | 0535 | 3 B-17's | Soryu | 11 B | 0 | 16 B-17's |
1020 | 0713 | 16 VTB | Hiryu | 16 T | 0 | |
0725 | 12 VB | Soryu | 3 | Sank 1610/5 (-9) | ||
0726 | 3 VB | Akagi | 3 B | 2 | Scuttled 0200/6 (-9) | |
0730 | 9 VB | Kaga | 9 B | 4 | Sank 1625/5 (-9) explosion of fuel tank | |
0730 | 5 VTB | Hiryu | 5 T | 0 | ||
[page 64] | ||||||
1703 | 1403 | 13 VB | Hiryu | 13 B | 4 | |
1703 | 1403 | 13 VB | Hiryu | 13 B | 4 | Scuttled 0210/6 (-9) |
1408 | 2 VB | Haruna | 2 B | 0 | ||
1420 | 3 VB | Tone | 3 B | 0 | ||
1428 | 34 VB | Tone | 34 B | 0 | ||
1432 | 9 VB | Chikuma | 5 B | 0 | ||
1445 | 1 medium bomber | Chikuma | 6 B | 0 | ||
1810 | 1510 | 3 medium bombers | Chikuma | 4 B | 0 | 2 B-17's |
1826 | 1526 | 2 medium bombers | Haruna | 3 B | 0 | |
6 June | ||||||
1336 | 4 VB | Tanikaze | 5 B | 0 | ||
1507 | 26 VB | Tanikaze | 0 | Hornet and | ||
1545 | 6 VB | Tanikaze | 4 B | 0 | Enterprise |
5 June 1942 (-9) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time: | 0407 | 0411 | 0412 | 0456 | 0508 | 0512 | 0713 | 0730 | 1403 | |
Enemy A/C | Type | B-26 | Med. Bombers | Torp. Bombers | Med. Bombers | Fighters Dive Bombers |
Dive Bombers | Torp. Bombers | Torp. Bombers | Dive Bombers |
No. of A/C | 9 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 4 4 |
6 | 16 | 5 | 13 | |
Bombs dropped | 9 | 4 | 9 | 9 | Strafing 4 |
1 | 16 | 5 | 13 | |
No. of hits | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
Chart of Hits | 4 killed, many casualties |
1 very near miss 1 plane downed |
Runs: 3 off stbd; 1 off port; 2 off fantail; 1 off stbd; 1 off bow |
Runs: 3 off bow; 2 off fantail |
||||||
Time Sunk or Scuttled | Scuttled 6 June 1942, 0210 | |||||||||
Location | 31° 27.5'N, 179° 23.5'E | |||||||||
Remarks | 1 bomber shot down | 3 dive bombers shot down | 3 dive bombers shot down | 1 torp bomber, 2 dive bombers shot down | 2 torp bombers shot down | 2 dive bombers shot down |
5 June 1942 (-9) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Time: | 0410 | 0415 | 0726 | |
Enemy A/C | Type | Torp. Bombers | Torp. Bombers | Dive Bombers |
No. of A/C | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
Bombs dropped | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
No. of hits | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
Chart of Hits | 1 run-in on stb2; 2 run-ins on port (1 made suicide dive | 1 run-in aft on port side and one drop at about 500m |
1st bomb struck about 10m off portside of bridge 2nd bomb struck on edge of central elevator (fatal hit) 3d bomb bstruck on after edge, port side of flight deck. | |
Time Sunk or Scuttled | Scuttled 6 June 1942, 0200 | |||
Location | 30° 30'N, 178° 40'W | |||
Remarks | 3 bombers shot down, 2 by our guns |
5 June 1942 (-9) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Time: | 0530 | 0730 | |
Enemy A/C | Type | Dive Bombers | Dive Bombers |
No. of A/C | 3 | 9 | |
Bombs dropped | 3 | 9 | |
No. of hits | 0 | 4 | |
Chart of Hits | Sank with great explosion from the fuel storage (or bomb storage) hold | ||
Time Sunk or Scuttled | Scuttled 6 June 1942, 1625 | ||
Location | 30° 20.3'N, 179° 17.2'W | ||
Remarks | 9 Dive bombers shot down |
5 June 1942 (-9) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Time: | 0535 | 0630 | 0725 | |
Enemy A/C | Type | B-17's | Torp. Bombers | Dive Bombers |
No. of A/C | 3 | 17 | 12 | |
Bombs dropped | ~11 | 4 | 0 | |
No. of hits | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
Chart of Hits | 2 very near misses: 1 fwd, 1 off stbd | |||
Time Sunk or Scuttled | Scuttled 5 June 1942, 1610 | |||
Location | 30° 42.5'N, 178° 37.5'W | |||
Remarks | 10 torp. bombers shot down (in cooperation with fighter cover | 1 Dive bomber shot down |
5 June 1942 (-9) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Time: | 0529 | 1408 | 1526 | |
Enemy A/C | Type | Torp. Bombers | Dive Bombers | Med Bombers |
No. of A/C | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
Bombs dropped | 5 strafed |
2 | 3 | |
No. of hits | 0 | Very near misses | 0 | |
Chart of Hits | ||||
Time Sunk or Scuttled | ||||
Location | ||||
Remarks |
5 June 1942 (-9) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Time: | 1432 | 1445 | 1510 | |
Enemy A/C | Type | Dive Bombers | Med. Bombers | Med. Bombers |
No. of A/C | 9 | 1 | 3 | |
Bombs dropped | 5 | 6 | 4 | |
No. of hits | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Chart of Hits | ||||
Time Sunk or Scuttled | ||||
Location | ||||
Remarks |
5 June 1942 (-9) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Time: | 1420 | 1428 | ???? | |
Enemy A/C | Type | Dive Bombers | Dive Bombers | Med. Bombers |
No. of A/C | 3 | 34 | 3 | |
Bombs dropped | 3 | 34 | 3 | |
No. of hits | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Chart of Hits | ||||
Time Sunk or Scuttled | ||||
Location | ||||
Remarks |
6 June 1942 (-9) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Time: | 1336 | 1507 | 1545 | |
Enemy A/C | Type | Dive Bombers | Dive Bombers | Dive Bombers |
No. of A/C | 4 | 26 | 6 | |
Bombs dropped | 5 | 4 | ||
No. of hits | 0 | Very near misses | All wild | |
Chart of Hits | 2 enemy A/C dive into sea | |||
Time Sunk or Scuttled | ||||
Location | ||||
Remarks | 1 Dive bomber shot down | 3 Dive bombers shot down |
United States | Japanese (Main Body) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Enterprise (CV) (F) Rear Admiral R.A. Spruance Hornet (CV) Pensavola (CA) (F) Rear Admiral T.C. Kinkaid Northampton (CA) Vincennes (CA) Minneapolis (CA) New Orleans (CA) Atlanta (CL) Phelps (DD) (F) Capt. A.R. Early Balch (DD) Benham (DD) Worden (DD) Aylwin (DD) Monaghan (DD) Ellet (DD) Maury (DD) Conyngham (DD) Yorktown (CV) (F) Rear Admiral F.J. Fletcher
Astoria (CA) (F)
Submarine Force |
BatDiv 1: Yamato (BB) (F) Admiral I. Yamamoto Mutsu Nagato BatDiv 2: Ise (BB) (F) Hyuga Fuso Yamashiro CruDiv 9: Kitagami (F) Oi DesRon 3: Sendai (CL) (F) 12 destroyers CarDiv: Zuiho (CVL) No. 1 Supply Group Naru Toei Maru 1 destroyer No. 2 Supply Group Sacramento Maru Tora Maru
CarDiv 1: Akagi (CV) (F) Admiral C. Nagumo Kaga (CV) CarDiv 2: Hiryu (CV) Soryu (CV) BatDiv 3: Haruna (BB) Kirishima (B)) CruDiv 8: Tone (CA) Chikuma (CA) DesRon 10: Nagara (CL) 16 destroyers No. 1 Supply Group Kyoto Maru Shinkoku Maru Toho Maru Nippon Maru Koyuyo Maru No. 2 Supply Group: Naichiro Maru Kyoei Maru Hoko Maru
CruDiv 4: Atago (CA) (F) Chokai (CA) BatDiv 3: Kongo (BB) Hiei (BB) DesRon 4: Naka (CV) 16 destroyers CruDiv7: Kumano (CA) (F) Suzuya (CA) Mikuma (CA) Mogami (CA) DesRon 2: Jintsu (CL) 12 destroyers 1 mine sweeper 1 subchaser 16 transports CarDiv 11: Chitose (CVS) Tokisha Kamikawa Maru 1 destroyer
24th Air Flotilla (Search from Marshall Islands) | ||||
| |||||
MTB Squadron One | |||||
1500 Marines (Sand Island) 1000 Army (Eastern Island) Engineers, 1 Battalion Survey, 1 Battalion 50 Marines (Kure Island) |
Sunk | |
---|---|
United States
Yorktown (CV) |
Japan
Akagi (CV) |
Damaged | |
Mogami (CA) (Major) Arashio (DD) (Major) Tanikaze (DD) (Minor) Akebono Maru (Major) |