Dr. Charles H. Marston
Professor Emeritus
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Villanova University

“Midway was the . . . battle . . . that made everything else possible”
Admiral Chester Nimitz, CinCPac

• Commodore Perry, 1853
• Adopted western technology
• 52 years later: Battle of Tsushima

• Japanese expansionism
Hakko Ichiu
• Naval limitation treaties
• U.S. economic pressure
• Japan’s perceived choices

Admiral Yamamoto
- Commander in Chief
Combined Fleet
“I can run wild for
6 months but . . .”
- Advocated
Pearl Harbor attack

7 December 1941
• Carriers were at sea
• Oil supply & submarines spared
• “REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR”

Admiral Nagumo
- Led Pearl Harbor attack
- Commanded carriers at Midway

• Replaced Admiral
Kimmel
• Kept Kimmel’s staff
• Organized carrier task forces

Pacific Ocean Area, Spring 1942
US

• NOT a surprise
Tokyo Raid (Doolittle)
18 April 1942
• Triggered
Midway plan
• Port Moresby first

American Response To
Operation MO
• Japanese JN-25 code broken (partly)
• Nimitz sent two carrier task forces
- Lexington (1927)
- Yorktown (1938)

Battle of the Coral Sea
7-11 May 1942
• Historic: Fleets never in visual contact
• Tactically to Japanese (but not by as much as they thought)
• Strategically to Americans

Japanese Preparations
For Operation MI (Midway)
• Conflicting Objectives
- Capture Midway
- Decisive Battle
• Affected by “Victory Disease”
- Fudged war games
- Limited training
- Stonewalled criticism

Japanese Carrier Striking Force
(Kido Butai)
Carrier Division 1
Akagi (Nagumo Flagship)
Kaga
Carrier Division 2
Hiryu
Soryu

Absent From Kido Butai
(Fought at Coral Sea)
• Shokaku
• Zuikaku

• Most of the battleships
•Cruisers, destroyers, light carrier
• 300 miles behind striking force

(Allies recognition names)

Mitsubishi A6M2 “Zeke”
• Fighter, better known as the Zero
• Performance a shock to USA

Nakajima B5N “Kate”
• Torpedo and level bomber

Dive bomber

Nakajima E8N “Dave”
Observation seaplane
Catapulted from surface ships

- New high speed reconnaissance A/C
- Based on Soryu

Midway
Atoll
Garrison told to expect an attack

LCDR Joe. Rochefort
- Codebreaker
- Water Shortage ploy
- Conflict with
Washington

• Carrier force made ready
• Battleships to U.S. west coast
• Unaware of Japanese Main Body

American Commanders
RADM Fletcher
RADM Spruance

• Take station northeast of Midway
• “. . .you will be governed by the principle of calculated risk . . . “

• Marine squadrons got Navy castoffs
• Inferior to
Zero

Simple
- Rugged
- Could fight
Zero with right tactics

Douglas TBD Devastator
• Torpedo Bomber
• Slow, underpowered, vulnerable

Grumman Avenger
• Replacement for Devastator
• New, 6 planes flew from Midway

Douglas SBD Dauntless
• Dive Bomber
• “Slow But Deadly”

Vultee SB2U Vindicator
• Marine Dive Bomber
• Obsolescent

• Long range reconnaissance
• Search and rescue

Boeing B-17E
• Army Heavy Bomber
• High altitude, level bombing
• No ships hit

• Army medium bomber
• Jury rigged as torpedo bomber

Technology Edges
Japan
- Zero fighter
- Superior torpedoes
USA
- Code Breaking
- Radar

• Dual Objective
- Invasion (rigid plan)
- Fleet Action (need flexibility)
• Command vs. Radio silence
• Kido Butai a day late

• No information on enemy
• Two key leaders incapacitated
• Dense fog

Location of Japanese Forces at Time of Discovery

• Carriers warned to wait for
Striking Force
•B-17s and PBYs from
Midway attack Occupation
Force

• “Many planes heading Midway”
• All Midway aircraft airborne
• Marine fighters slaughtered
• Facilities damaged

Fuel Farm Burning
Note the Gooney Birds

• Chaotic
• No hits
-Zeros
-Excellent ship Handling
-Flyers inexperience
• Disrupted Kido Butai

B-17s vs Hiryu

• Need second strike at Midway
• No hint of American carriers
- Sub screen late
- Operation K cancelled
- Inadequate search plan
• Order to rearm for 2 nd strike

• Report of American ships
• Go with what’s available or recover Midway strike?
• Order to stop rearming

• Spruance: “ . . surprise. . full strength . . early . .”
Hornet and Enterprise launched
• Fletcher (Y’town) waited for scouts

- New, aircrew inexperienced
- Carried the B-25s

L CDR Waldron ENS Gay

Enterprise
Accompanied Hornet on Tokyo raid

Enterprise Attack Force

Yorktown
Patched up in 3 days after Coral Sea

Yorktown Attack Force

Coordinated Attack 1020 (P&T)

1025
- No radar
- CAP low
• SBDs strike
- Kaga
- Akagi
- Soryu

Strike on Yorktown from Hiryu
• Launch 1050, Strike 1230
• Yorktown prepared

Yorktown under Attack

After the Attack
• Effective
Damage control
• Back in operation by 1350

Second Strike on Yorktown from Hiryu 1440
Kates, two torpedo hits
-Abandon ship
- Fletcher yields to
Spruance

- Hiryu located and Destroyed
- Yamamoto ordered night attack
- Spruance retired eastward

Hiryu Wrecked

- Nagumo relieved
-Night attacks ordered/cancelled
- Midway operation cancelled
- All 4 KB carriers scuttled
- Spruance turned west

• Yorktown still afloat
• Yorktown torpedoed
• Japanese cruisers collided

• 4 of 6 big carriers gone
• Cover up
• Capture of Attu and Kiska touted
• Initiative lost

• Army claimed credit
• Intact Zero recovered
• Lessons leaned
• Offensive possible (Guadalcanal)

Hiryu attacked Yorktown
Hiryu demolished
Spruance avoided night battle
All four KB carriers scuttled
Yorktown torpedoed
Japanese cruiser sunk