Midway Turns Pacific: US Decimates Japanese Fleet
American codebreakers at Station Hypo in Hawaii, led by Lieutenant Commander Joseph Rochefort, cracked enough of the Japanese JN-25 naval code to determine that Japan's next target was Midway Atoll. Admiral Chester Nimitz set an ambush. On June 4, 1942, American dive bombers from the carriers Enterprise, Yorktown, and Hornet caught four Japanese carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu) with their flight decks loaded with armed and fueled aircraft. In five devastating minutes, three carriers were turned into infernos. Hiryu struck back, fatally damaging Yorktown, before being sunk herself. The destruction of four fleet carriers and 292 aircraft in a single day eliminated Japan's offensive naval capability. Midway is considered the turning point of the Pacific War.
June 7, 1942
84 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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