[Music] it was the evening of June 4th 1942 and Japan's Kido Bhai was on the brink of collapse hereu the sole surviving Japanese carrier stood as the final hope for Admiral Yamaguchi and the remnants of nagumo's Fleet with only a handful of planes and Pilots left Yamaguchi ordered a desperate strike determined to retaliate against the Relentless American forces however unbeknownst to him 24 American dive bombers from the Enterprise approached hidden by the sunlight in their backs Japan's last surviving carrier was about to have to fight for her [Music] life by early afternoon on June 4th the Yorktown was a smoldering wreck scarred by bombs and Torpedoes and her crew forced into the sea however the Japanese too had sustained Irreplaceable losses losing three aircraft carriers and many more aircraft just one of their carriers the hereu had escaped the initial carrier strikes by hiding under cloud cover the surviving American carriers Enterprise and Hornet scrambled to take in Yorktown scattered air groups chaos rained as planes diverted fuel ran low and Crews fought to regroup at 1445 Clarity arrived leftenant Samuel Adams of yorktown's scouting 5 Flying Beyond his assigned sector through intermittent fog cited the Japanese Force One carrier two battleships three heavy Cruisers and four destroyers just 110 M away this was the hu with its escorts Japan's last surviving carrier which had escaped the Carnage earlier on Landing us reconnaissance Pilots pressed spruance to act swiftly reporting a fourth undamaged Japanese carrier to the north however spru hesitated considering the risks losses of the US Air groups during the initial attacks had been severe the torpedo squadrons were decimated success now rested entirely on the reliable dauntless dive bombers the Enterprise was left with 25 operational dive bombers strengthened by 14 planes from Max Leslie's Yorktown Squadron which had sought Refuge there The Hornet largely unengaged earlier retained 21 one dive bombers in total spru had over 40 dive bombers available when more reports trickled in confirming the Japanese carrier location spruance was swayed he launched 24 SBD dive bombers from Enterprise at 1530 half an hour later Hornet added another 16 dauntlesses to the mission aboard hereu Admiral tan Yamaguchi prepared for one final desperate strike scraping together the remnants of the Striking Force he ordered five vals five Kates and 10 zeros to prepare for launch this meager force all that remained of nagumo's once dominant air fleet was the last hope for striking a decisive blow against the Americans as hu readied her planes the 24 SBD dive bombers arrived undetected the strike force from the Enterprise cited the Kido Bhai just before 1700 leftenant Commander galaha leading the group group climbed to 19,000 ft and maneuvered Westward to attack with the Sun at their backs the lwh hanging Sun obscured their approach the Japanese combat Air Patrol consisting of a handful of zeros failed to spot the incoming threat until the American planes were already committed to their Dives though surprised the Japanese defenses reacted swiftly the heru Gunners quickly responded lighting up the twilight sky with bursts of anti-aircraft fire from both sides of the carrier all Allied planes focused on the hu galaher initiated his dive just as the hu began a sharp turn to Port the maneuver forced galaher to adjust his attack mid dive pulling up abruptly as he released his bomb he attempted to compensate for the carrier's evasive movement hoping to land his payload on the retreating ship his bomb fell a Stern missing its Target the strain of his abrupt pullout wrenched his back so severely that Upon returning to the Enterprise he had to be lifted out of of his cockpit realizing the urgency of eliminating the last operational Japanese carrier leftenant Wilbur Gus shamway abandoned his initial mission of targeting battleships and redirected his Squadron toward hu his attack coincided with a separate for plane section led by Lieutenant Commander dick best leading to brief confusion as both groups Dove toward the same Target as best adjusted his approach Japanese zeros seized the moment intercepting his flight and shooting down one of his wingmen enen Fred Weber the planes Dove on the hu's starboard bow while another group targeted the port side the attacks were devastating enen Richard jacard struck first his 500lb bomb obliterating the forward elevator hurling debris Skyward before it slammed back against the hu small island structure three more bombs followed in quick succession including another from best his second successful hit of the day Dusty K already credited with a direct hit on the Cara earlier that morning scored again delivering a punishing blow to the heru the combined impact of the four bombs created a catastrophic wound in the heru's forward section the flight deck where aircraft were being armed and fueled for the next mission was shredded leaving a gaping Chasm explosions ripped through the carrier igniting a massive fire that consumed her from bow to stern Flames erupted in sheets engulfing the ship and rendering further operations impossible damage control Crews frantically tried to douse the fires however hu was a blaze and Beyond repair though the hu suffered less secondary damage than the other carriers due to a lack of Munitions on her hanger deck the destruction inflicted on her primary structure rendered her Beyond Salvage shortly after these successful hits Hornet's Squadron of 14 dive bombers arrived the pilots instantly saw the heru was beyond saving and instead decided to direct their efforts against the heavy Cruisers chikuma and opponents despite the pilots reports of several successful hits supposedly three on a battleship and two on a Heavy Cruiser none of their bombs actually found their marks shortly thereafter a flight of 12 Army b7s from Midway and Barking Sands Airfield appeared overhead the bombers arriving just before dusk unloaded over 3500lb bombs onto the remnants of the Kido Bhai like the Navy dive bombers before them they scored no hits but returned to base claiming the destruction of a carrier and the sinking of a destroyer despite the devastating American attacks that had left her burning and heavily damaged rear Admiral Taman Yamaguchi still clung to the hope of salvaging her throughout the night exhausted damage control teams worked desperately to contain the fires and keep the ship afloat however just after midnight A Massive Internal explosion shook the carrier the situation was now clearly Beyond saving at 2 a. m. Yamaguchi gathered the surviving crew members on the flight deck assembling them ared near the gaping holes left by the American bombs addressing his men he took full responsibility for the loss of hu but ordered the 700 survivors to live and fight another day to form the backbone of a reborn Imperial Navy facing West toward Japan they lowered the flag as the national anth them played ending with three bansai cheers then at 3:15 a.
m. he gave the final order to abandon ship While most of the crew evacuated Yamaguchi chose to stay behind several of his staff officers asked to join him but he refused insisting they must live on however hu's Captain too Kaku requested permission to remain and Yamaguchi accepted the two men stood together on what remained of the bridge while watching the orderly evacuation below as Dawn approached they admired the bright moon waiting for the inevitable at 510 a. m.
with the sun rising Commander Fujita isamu of the Destroyer Maki gumo was given the Grim task of sinking hu with Torpedoes the first type 93 long Lance torpedo ran under the hull without detonating a second struck home and exploded as makig gumo steamed away some of her crew reported seeing figures still standing on hu possibly survivors who had chosen to go down with the ship assuming they had made a patriotic decision makig gumo did not return for them however although it was in a desperate condition the hu was made of Sterner stuff and the Torpedoes did not sink her at dawn on June 6th a Japanese Scout plane from the carrier hosho spotted the crippled hu still afloat contradicting early reports that she had sunk the plan's crew even saw surviving Sailors waving from the deck the report reached Admiral Yamamoto who displeased ordered the Destroyer tanari to locate the carrier rescue any survivors and ensure her destruction meanwhile aboard task force 16 Admiral spruance received conflicting reports about enemy ships near Midway though he had over 60 bombers ready he hesitated prioritizing enemy carriers over batt B ships a report at 8:00 a. m. confirmed a disabled Japanese carrier Northwest of his position hear you spruance decided to attack but faced disagreements over the strike's execution his air Chief Browning insisted on launching immediately with 1,000 bombs despite Pilots concerns about fuel range Commander Wade mcclusky recovering from wounds intervened persuading spru to delay an hour he advised against using 1,000 bombs for the planned attack on hu due to fuel efficiency concerns The Dauntless SBD dive bombers had already stretched their range in previous attacks and mcclusky knew firsthand how dangerous fuel shortages could be many of his own Pilots had run out of gas after attacking the kaga and aagi the day before the additional weight of a 1,000lb bomb significantly reduced fuel efficiency making a 270 m strike even riskier mclusky also suspected that given hu's crippled State 500lb bombs would be more than sufficient to finish her off his experience and pragmatic judgment ultimately convinced Admiral spru to overrule Browning and adjust the bomb loads ensuring the pilots had a better chance of returning safely unbeknownst to the Americans hu sank at 9:00 a.
m. before their planes launched she finally slipped beneath the waves early the following morning at around 9:00 taking 383 crewmen with her after flying more than 300 miles in search of hu spu's Strike Force 65 dive bombers from Enterprise and Hornet failed to locate their target instead around 6:20 p. m.
they spotted a lone Japanese Destroyer later identified as tanik Kazi given that it was the only visible enemy vessel the Americans decided to attack tanik kazi's Captain katsumi Tomo immediately recognized the severity of his situation facing an overwhelming Force he warned warned his crew over the ship's loudspeaker to prepare to die with dignity despite this Grim Outlook he was determined to resist and executed extreme evasive maneuvers ordering his helmsmen to zigzag unpredictably at full speed Lookouts leaned out of the bridge Windows tracking the dive bombers and calling out attack directions to help the ship Dodge incoming bombs the American Pilots eager for action dived one after another in Rapid succession some descending so low that Tanaka's Lookouts could see their goggles and white scarves yet despite the Destroyer being their only target all 65 bombs missed only one near Miss dropped by leftenant Abby Tucker damaged Tanaka's Hull near the water line but the ship remained operational American pilot Sam Adams and his Gunner Joseph Carroll were shot down by the Destroyers anti-aircraft fire with fuel reserves dwindling and Nightfall approaching the American Pilots now face the challenge of returning to their carriers in darkness to Aid their navigation spruance made a rare and risky decision he ordered Enterprise and Hornet to turn on their search lights pointing them Skyward as beacons despite the danger of attracting Japanese submarines by 8:00 p. m.
