Pacific · 4 Jun 1942 – 7 Jun 1942
Battle of Midway
From 4–7 June 1942, U.S. carrier aircraft struck Japan’s Midway force, sinking four fleet carriers. Japan’s attack was abandoned; the United States lost Yorktown and Hammann.
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Japan’s plan had sought to seize Midway as an advance base and draw the U.S. Pacific Fleet into a decisive engagement. U.S. naval intelligence had identified Midway as the target and provided an estimate of the attack date, allowing Admiral Chester Nimitz to position carrier forces east of the atoll. The dates follow the U.S. Navy history’s 4–7 June span; Britannica gives the battle as 3–6 June.
On 3 June, a Midway patrol aircraft sighted part of the Japanese occupation force southwest of the atoll. Midway-based B-17s and PBYs attacked, but reports of hits on Japanese ships remained uncertain. On the morning of 4 June, aircraft from four Japanese carriers struck the base. The raid damaged the installation, but the facilities remained usable. The U.S. carrier force was east of Midway, while the Japanese carrier force had not yet located it.
U.S. carrier aircraft then attacked the Japanese ships. Torpedo-bomber attacks drew Japanese fighter cover toward the low-flying aircraft; dive-bombers from Enterprise and Yorktown subsequently struck Akagi, Kaga, and Sōryū, leaving all three fatally damaged. Hiryū, the remaining Japanese carrier, launched attacks that severely damaged Yorktown. U.S. aircraft later located Hiryū and struck it, leaving the fourth Japanese carrier burning and unable to resume flight operations.
On 5 June, U.S. forces pursued the withdrawing Japanese fleet. On 6 June, aircraft from Enterprise and Hornet attacked the Japanese ships and sank the heavy cruiser Mikuma, while damaging other vessels. The Japanese submarine I-168 then attacked the salvage effort around Yorktown: its torpedoes sank the destroyer Hammann and further damaged the carrier. Yorktown sank on 7 June. Japan’s remaining forces withdrew, and the planned capture of Midway did not take place.
The United States lost the carrier Yorktown and destroyer Hammann. The battle account in the National WWII Museum article gave U.S. losses as approximately 362 men and 144 aircraft; other accounts gave about 307 killed. Japan lost four fleet carriers and the heavy cruiser Mikuma; the National WWII Museum account gave approximately 3,057 Japanese dead. The battle ended Japan’s immediate effort to take Midway and left its carrier force substantially reduced.