The Battle of Midway 3-6 June 1942 Dr. Charles H. Marston Professor Emeritus Department of...

The Battle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway3-6 June 19423-6 June 1942Dr. Charles H. MarstonDr. Charles H. Marston

Professor EmeritusProfessor EmeritusDepartment of Mechanical EngineeringDepartment of Mechanical Engineering

Villanova UniversityVillanova University

“Midway was the . . . battle . . . that made everything else possible”

Admiral Chester Nimitz, CinCPac

Modern Japan

• Commodore Perry, 1853

• Adopted western technology

• 52 years later: Battle of Tsushima

Road to War • Japanese expansionism Hakko Ichiu

• Naval limitation treaties

• U.S. economic pressure

• Japan’s perceived choices

- Commander in Chief Combined Fleet

- “I can run wild for 6 months but . . .”

- Advocated Pearl Harbor attack

Admiral Yamamoto

7 December 1941

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

Admiral Nagumo

- Led Pearl Harbor attack

- Commanded carriers at Midway

Admiral Nimitz

• Replaced Admiral Kimmel

• Kept Kimmel’s staff

• Organized carrier task forces

Pacific Ocean Area, Spring 1942

US

Tokyo Raid (Doolittle)18 April 1942

• NOT a surprise

• TriggeredMidway 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 PreparationsFor 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

• Shokaku

• Zuikaku

(Fought at Coral Sea)

Main Body• Most of the battleships

•Cruisers, destroyers, light carrier

• 300 miles behind striking force

Japanese Aircraft(Allies recognition names)

Mitsubishi A6M2 “Zeke”

• Fighter, better known as the Zero• Performance a shock to USA

Nakajima B5N “Kate”

• Torpedo and level bomber

Aichi D3A2 “Val”

Dive bomber

Nakajima E8N “Dave”

Observation seaplaneCatapulted from surface ships

Yokosuka D4Y “Judy”

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

MidwayAtoll

Garrison told to expect an attack

LCDR Joe. Rochefort

- Codebreaker

- Water Shortage ploy

- Conflict with Washington

American Preparations

• Carrier force made ready

• Battleships to U.S. west coast

• Unaware of Japanese Main Body

American Commanders

RADM Fletcher RADM Spruance

Nimitz’s Orders

• Take station northeast of Midway

• “. . .you will be governed by the principle of calculated risk . . . “

American Aircraft

Brewster F2A Buffalo

• Marine squadrons got Navy castoffs

• Inferior to Zero

Grumman F4FWildcat

- 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

Consolidated PBY-5

• Long range reconnaissance

• Search and rescue

Boeing B-17E

• Army Heavy Bomber

• High altitude, level bombing

• No ships hit

Martin B-26 Marauder

• Army medium bomber

• Jury rigged as torpedo bomber

Technology Edges

Japan

- Zero fighter

- Superior torpedoes

USA

- Code Breaking

- Radar

Problems for Japanese

• Dual Objective - Invasion (rigid plan)

- Fleet Action (need flexibility)

• Command vs. Radio silence• Kido Butai a day late

Bad Omens for Nagumo

• No information on enemy

• Two key leaders incapacitated

• Dense fog

Location of Japanese Forcesat Time of Discovery

3 June

• Carriers warned to wait for Striking Force

•B-17s and PBYs from Midway attack Occupation Force

4 June

• “Many planes heading Midway”

• All Midway aircraft airborne

• Marine fighters slaughtered

• Facilities damaged

Fuel Farm BurningNote the Gooney Birds

Attacks from Midway• Chaotic• No hits

-Zeros

-Excellent ship Handling

-Flyers inexperience

• Disrupted Kido Butai

B-17s vs Hiryu

Nagumo’s Dilemma I

• Need second strike at Midway

• No hint of American carriers - Sub screen late - Operation K cancelled - Inadequate search plan

• Order to rearm for 2nd strike

Nagumo’s Dilemma II

• Report of American ships

• Go with what’s available or recover Midway strike?

• Order to stop rearming

American Carrier Attacks

• Spruance: “ . . surprise. . full strength . . early . .”Hornet and Enterprise launched

• Fletcher (Y’town) waited for scouts

Hornet

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

Torpedo Squadron 8

LCDR 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)

• SBDs strike - Kaga - Akagi - Soryu

- No radar - CAP low

1025

Strike on Yorktownfrom Hiryu

• Launch 1050, Strike 1230

• Yorktown prepared

Yorktown under Attack

After the Attack

• Effective Damage control

• Back in operation by 1350

Second Strike on Yorktownfrom Hiryu 1440

- Kates, two torpedo hits

-Abandon ship

- Fletcher yields to Spruance

Later, 4 June

- Hiryu located and Destroyed

- Yamamoto ordered night attack

- Spruance retired eastward

Hiryu Wrecked

Evening and Overnight

- Nagumo relieved

-Night attacks ordered/cancelled

- Midway operation cancelled

- All 4 KB carriers scuttled

- Spruance turned west

5 and 6 June

• Yorktown still afloat

• Yorktown torpedoed

• Japanese cruisers collided

Heavy Cruiser Mikuma

Japanese Defeat

• 4 of 6 big carriers gone

• Cover up

• Capture of Attu and Kiska touted

• Initiative lost

American Victory

• Army claimed credit

• Intact Zero recovered

• Lessons leaned

• Offensive possible (Guadalcanal)

The Battle was not over

Hiryu attacked Yorktown

Hiryu demolished

Spruance avoided night battle

All four KB carriers scuttled

Yorktown torpedoed

Japanese cruiser sunk