What Is The Battle Of Midway?
The day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor is “a date which will live in infamy.” It is the day that will change the course of the U.S. Navy and Naval Aviation. Prior to the attack, Japan invaded nearby Southeast Asian countries, like French Indochina, because it needed natural resources to maintain its military, growing economy, and industry. The United States embargoed and froze Japan’s assets, so Japan did not have the resources that they needed, especially oil. Japan was in dire need of these resources and planned to attack the United States Pacific Fleet stationed in Pearl Harbor because they were the only force capable of challenging the Japanese Navy. And ever since this attack by Japan, the United States struggled to be on the offensive and
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The battle of Midway was the naval aviation’s finest moment. The Japanese planned to take the last American base in the Pacific, not including Hawaii. The Japanese knew that the American’s could not afford to lose Midway because of its strategic importance and distance from Hawaii. Admiral Yamamoto, of the Japanese, assembled the biggest fleet in the Pacific war with 160 ships, including eight aircraft carriers, and 400 aircrafts. Yamamoto’s plan was to divert the Americans to the Aleutian Islands, while attacking Midway. However, the American’s, much like in the Battle of Coral Sea, knew that Japanese were going to attack Midway after breaking the Japanese codes. The Japanese were caught off guard when a swarm of American planes were headed straight for the Japanese fleet. These planes consisted of torpedo planes and were mostly shot down. However, these torpedo planes made the Japanese make a tactical error by switching planes armaments from bombs to torpedoes to attack the U.S. aircraft carriers; this left the Japanese carriers covered with fuels and bombs. Luckily, 33 dive bombers led by Lieutenant McClusky from the USS Enterprise, arrived on time after the torpedo planes were shot down. Although Lieutenant McClusky and his 33 dive bombers were low on fuel, they knew that they had to attack the Japanese off-guard. Additionally, dive bombers from the USS Yorktown arrived on time with Lieutenant McClusky and they proceeded to attack the Japanese carriers, which were basically a sitting bomb. The result of the dive bomber attack was devastating. Three Japanese carriers quickly became engulfed in flames. The fourth Japanese carrier was destroyed later after the initial American attack. Yamamoto, without his carriers, wanted to fight the
The battle of Midway was the naval aviation’s finest moment. The Japanese planned to take the last American base in the Pacific, not including Hawaii. The Japanese knew that the American’s could not afford to lose Midway because of its strategic importance and distance from Hawaii. Admiral Yamamoto, of the Japanese, assembled the biggest fleet in the Pacific war with 160 ships, including eight aircraft carriers, and 400 aircrafts. Yamamoto’s plan was to divert the Americans to the Aleutian Islands, while attacking Midway. However, the American’s, much like in the Battle of Coral Sea, knew that Japanese were going to attack Midway after breaking the Japanese codes. The Japanese were caught off guard when a swarm of American planes were headed straight for the Japanese fleet. These planes consisted of torpedo planes and were mostly shot down. However, these torpedo planes made the Japanese make a tactical error by switching planes armaments from bombs to torpedoes to attack the U.S. aircraft carriers; this left the Japanese carriers covered with fuels and bombs. Luckily, 33 dive bombers led by Lieutenant McClusky from the USS Enterprise, arrived on time after the torpedo planes were shot down. Although Lieutenant McClusky and his 33 dive bombers were low on fuel, they knew that they had to attack the Japanese off-guard. Additionally, dive bombers from the USS Yorktown arrived on time with Lieutenant McClusky and they proceeded to attack the Japanese carriers, which were basically a sitting bomb. The result of the dive bomber attack was devastating. Three Japanese carriers quickly became engulfed in flames. The fourth Japanese carrier was destroyed later after the initial American attack. Yamamoto, without his carriers, wanted to fight the