With the last of the American torpedo bombers shot down, Nagumo ordered his carriers to turn into the wind and commence launching the carrier attack strike.Īs the first Zero accelerated down the deck of Nagumo's flagship, the lookouts screamed their warnings. The sacrifice of the torpedo bombers had drawn the CAP to wavetop level at just the worst moment. When the order came for the third reload, the exhausted crews on the four carriers left bombs lying on the hangar decks next to fully‑fueled and armed aircraft as they hurried to rearm in the midst of an attack by American torpedo bombers from "Yorktown," "Enterprise" and "Hornet," in which the Japanese Combat Air Patrol shot down 32 of 36. Halfway through, a third message from the scout reported two American aircraft carriers. Relieved, Nagumo ordered a second reload to strike Midway. In the midst of the reload, another strike by Midway-based aircraft appeared to demonstrate the need to neutralize the known enemy, while a second garbled message from the scout seemed to negate the first. This meant unloading the high‑explosive bombs and reloading with armor‑piercing bombs and torpedoes. He immediately decided that the Kido Butai would prepare to fight a fleet action. Nagumo could not risk launching a second strike against Midway and allow the main enemy to make that critical first strike. But if it was true, the Battle of the Coral Sea had shown that the first strike would be decisive. For the Japanese, there should be no carrier where reported. carriers would not arrive at Midway until after the island had been neutralized. The message was met with incredulity on the part of the Admiral and his staff - all plans for the battle and invasion had been based on the presupposition that U.S. Just as Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, the Japanese commander, had given the order to launch the second strike at Midway, a garbled message came from a scout plane that reported at least one American carrier was operating northeast of the fleet. Having sent their first strike against the island at dawn, the Japanese prepared the second strike which would knock out what was left of Midway's aircraft and ground defenses, and allow the soldiers of the accompanying invasion fleet to take possession of the strategic mid-Pacific atoll and give Japan effective control of the Western Pacific. The air forces on Midway had launched small strikes at the Japanese that had been unsuccessful in damaging the fleet. "Enterprise," led by Air Group Commander LCDR Clarence Wade McCluskey, arrived over the Japanese carrier force at its single most vulnerable moment.Īt that point, the United States was losing. on the morning of June 4, 1942, when the 32 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers of Bombing‑6 and Scouting‑6 from the U.S.S. At Midway, this moment came at approximately 10 a.m. In every great battle, there comes a moment when it seems the Gods of War have chosen the winner, when one side - despite its best efforts - cannot do other than lose, while the other sweeps on to victory. would be the dominant Pacific power in all the years since. So, too, the Battle of Midway, fought June 4‑6, 1942, did not merely mean that the United States would eventually win the Pacific War, but more importantly, as a result of that battle the U.S. Trafalgar didn't merely mean that Napoleon would not be able to invade England and would thereby end his career in defeat - it meant Great Britain would be the dominant world power for next 125 years. At Salamis, the Athenian galleys not only defeated the Persian invasion fleet of Xerxes, but determined that Western civilization would continue to exist and develop as a world force. The truly-decisive naval battles throughout history have been decisive on a far wider range than merely the battlefield, or even the war in which the battle took place. As you'll find out reading below, Dick did not think that was his greatest service to the country he was more than willing to die for. Between 19 when he died, I had the privilege of knowing one of the most interesting people I ever met, Dick Best, the man who sank the Akagi and changed the Battle of Midway.
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