[Music] it was 900 a.m. on June 4th 1942 as the final Japanese planes from the Midway strike returned to their carriers aboard the fleet Admiral nagumo faced mounting chaos orders to rearm for a second strike on Midway collided with alarming reports of us Carri is nearby as Nag's Fleet altered course to the Northeast a new threat emerged in the distance a squadron of Devastators from Hornet appeared this was the first of many as the battle was only [Music] beginning it is June 4th 1942 at Midway The Waiting was over the time for uncertainty had passed
the night before the Japanese bombing raid against Dutch Harbor in the uans made it clear a full-blown offensive was on its way and the early morning bombing raid against Midway destroying not just the power station and hangar but also leading to the loss of at least 10 American fighter aircraft meant everyone was on edge the Midway Garrison realized that within hours they would likely face another devastating Air Assault which would precede a Japanese amphibious Invasion Midway aircraft had already launched several waves of strikes against nagumo's carriers in retaliation however none of the strikes had inflicted
serious damage in fact the American losses were disproportionately high losing another 19 aircraft meanwhile American task forces 16 and 17 under Admirals Fletcher and spru positioned themselves 200 Mi north of Midway at 5:34 a PBI reconnaissance plane from Midway Island struck gold it detected nagumo's Fleet the pilot reported it to rear Admiral spru calmly assessing the situation spruance plotted the fleet's position noting they were within the range of his torpedo planes with nagumo's carriers recovering their Midway strike group their vulnerability was at its peak a moment spruance was determined to exploit as spu's Pilots took
to the skies he learned a Japanese Scout plane had cited his carriers a race for the first strike was was now underway at 7:45 spru gave the order for Enterprise and Hornet's aircraft to head toward the enemy immediately for going a coordinated attack his gamble was clear striking first would be more valuable than striking as one overwhelming Force aircraft were launched peace meal and by 750 67 dive bombers 29 torpedo bombers and 20 Wildcats had taken off 18 Fighters remained on combat Air Patrol over task force 16 30 minutes later later 25 M behind spruance
rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher aboard the Yorktown launched his aircraft 17 bombers 12 torpedo planes and six Fighters the torpedo pilots flying outdated and underpowered aircraft knew the odds were stacked against them some of Hornet's aircraft were the first to reach their anticipated interception Point only to find an empty expanse of ocean nagumo had ordered the carrier Force to the Northeast shortly before War Commander Stan hope ring LED his Planes towards Midway expecting to find the enemy Fleet but they came up empty the entire flight failed to make contact with the Japanese forces and some
planes were forced to land at Midway to refuel it was a missed opportunity for the Japanese just past 9:00 the last Japanese plane from the Midway strike returned to its carrier signaling the end of the day's initial assault aboard chaos reigned after nagumo had ordered the time intensive swapping of torpedoes and bombs for a second strike against Midway before learning of the US carrier's presence he issued orders for his Fleet to change course to the Northeast but a squadron from The Hornet was able to find him nonetheless the first attack occurred at 9:25 15 obsolete
Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers from Hornet attacked this wave commanded by Commander John Waldren met with harrowing resistance the Squadron faced a nearly impossible task as they approached the Japanese carriers in a low altitude attack when walren cited three enemy carriers he gave the signal to descend his Target was the soru the nearest of nagumo's ships for the next 20 minutes the skies erupted in chaos his 15 planes flew in formation 30 Japanese zero Fighters faster and more agile descended like a swarm while anti-aircraft fire churned the sea below as the Squadron closed the distance
Waldron's plane was hit igniting its fuel tank moments later his aircraft spiraled into the ocean he was not the only one the Carnage continued as one by one the Devastators fell among them enen George gay flew through the hail storm of bullets even as His Radio man was struck and his own arm wounded he managed to release his torpedo at close range pulling his damaged plane upward to narrowly clear the enemy carrier he was one of the few pilots who had been able to actually release his Torpedoes a moments later 4 Zer overwhelmed Gay's Devastator
sending it plunging into the sea gay bleeding and battered managed to escape the wreckage grasping a seat cushion for cover he floated amidst the enemy Fleet torpedo Squadron 8 Waldron's group lost every single aircraft with only enen George gay surviving floating in the Pacific amidst the wreckage of his comrades despite their lack of success the torpedo bombers served an unintended but critical purpose they drew Japanese Fighters away from altitude leaving the Skies open for the incoming dive bombers the Squadron disrupted the Japanese formation forcing ships to execute evasive maneuvers as the final plane of Waldron's
Squadron was shot down more planes arrived Commander Eugene Lindsay LED 14 Enterprise Devastators in another torpedo attack at 9:30 the sky buzzed with zeros their numbers overwhelming the Americans as the assault continued the pilots prepared for the worst hoping to inflict as much damage as possible before the end Lindsay's group met a fate similar to waldrons with 10 planes destroyed and no hits recorded the remaining four torpedo bombers survived possibly due to the Japanese Pilot's distraction as they responded to new reports of incoming American aircraft flight decks were now strewn with bombs Torpedoes and refueling
hoses volatile hazards that would magnify the consequences of a well-placed American strike at 10:00 Lieutenant Commander Lance e Massi LED 12 Devastators from Yorktown into the fry their target was now in sight the Japanese carriers with zeros launching a brutal assault on the six Wildcats escorting them fierce dog fight ensued but the focus remained on the torpedo bombers massie's intended target remains a point of contention among historians I though it is most likely the hu which presented the most favorable angle for an attack five Torpedoes were launched at the carrier from starboard but none found
their Mark Massie lost 10 planes further depleting the already thinned ranks while first strikes were ongoing Commander mclusky leading the Enterprise Air Group flew toward the expected location of the Japanese carriers but like ring he found no trace of the enemy with fuel running low mclusky made the decision to press on for another 35 miles rather than turn back at 9:35 he altered course heading north it was not until 20 minutes later at 9:55 that he spotted the wake of a Japanese Destroyer the arashi which had just completed a depth charge attack on the American
submarine USS Nautilus realizing the Destroyer was likely hurrying to catch up with nagumo's Fleet mclusky decided to follow it at 10:02 mcclusky's patience was rewarded he finally spotted the Japanese carriers 35 mil to the Northeast within moments leftenant Commander Maxwell F Leslie leading yorktown's bombing 3 also made visual contact the two groups of American bombers soon found themselves in the same airspace in the distance they could see the black puffs of anti-aircraft fire and the burning wrex walren and Lindsay's torpedo bombers spiraling toward the ocean the last remnants of the doomed initial strike by 10:30
41 American torpedo planes had launched attacks on nagumo's fleet only six had survived of the 81 men who had taken to the air that morning 69 were dead either in combat or as a result of the unforgiving ocean the American attack waves uncoordinated as they were created chaos among nagumo's Fleet each successive strike disrupted the rearming process and for for evasive maneuvers buying crucial time for the High Altitude dive bombers to position themselves undetected the zeros still Airborne were badly engaged and running dangerously low on fuel and ammunition their pursuit of the slow-moving Devastators had
dragged them to the wave Toops and they could not regain the necessary altitude to defend against the incoming American dive bombers with his carrier's decks cluttered with armed and fueled aircraft Admiral nagumo was defenseless against a high altitude assault as massie's attack came to an end mclusky and Leslie sprang into action 37 Douglas SBD dauntless dive bombers from Enterprise and 17 from Yorktown began their Dives toward kaga originally the plan was to split the squadrons and hit both kaga and akagi simultaneously but a communication error led to all the bombers focusing on the same Target
realizing the mistake three dauntlesses aborted their Dives redirecting them toward aagi at the same time Leslie's Yorktown dive bombers approached from the Northeast setting their sights on soru on the aagi the flight deck buzzed with activity as aircraft were prepared for a strike against the American carriers planes sat armed fueled and ready to launch a white flag signaled the first zero fighter to take off its engine roaring As It sped down the deck but before the launch could continue the bombers came in sight crew members looked up to see three dauntless dive bombers plunging toward
the ship as the bright Sky only showed their Silhouettes the calm methodical preparations erupted into chaos bombs fell from the sky the first bomb missed narrowly striking the water beside the ship and drenching the bridge with a spray of sea waterer the second dropped by Lieutenant Richard best slammed directly into the amid ship's elevator it punched through to the hanger deck where unsecured Munitions and fuel erupted into devastating explosions sending plumes of flame and smoke into the air a third bomb tore into the edge of the flight deck on the port side feeding the growing
Inferno explosions engulfed the carrier turning it into an inferno within moments nearby mcl's dive bombers descended upon the Kaa their steep Dives wreaking havoc left tenant Earl gallaher's 1,000lb bomb slammed into kaga's starboard Flight Deck igniting aircraft and Fuel and turning the area into an inferno two additional bombs struck near the forward elevator causing a gasoline truck to explode in a fireball that engulfed the bridge killing all Personnel within a fourth bomb hit a mid ships on the port side spreading destruction to every corner of the ship hit by four bombs including one that obliterated
its Bridge the cargo was overwhelmed by Flames its crew trapped in a fiery death trap while mcclusky's dive bombers obliterated the akagi and kaga Lieutenant Commander Maxwell F Leslie LED his Yorktown Squadron against the sawu of the 17 planes Leslie led into the attack only 13 carried live bombs due to malfunctioning arming switches nevertheless their assault was devastating Leslie strafed the carrier's Bridge with machine gun fire until his guns jammed leftenant Paul Lefty Holberg Dropped a Bomb from under 3,000 ft it struck the hanger deck amid ships triggering a massive explosion that flung The forward
elevator into the bridge another bomb tore through the flight deck destroying a zero in the act of taking off while a third smashed into the AR elevator fires quickly engulfed soru consuming her from bow to stern explosions cascaded across the suu's flight deck igniting Fuel and Munitions Flames roared through the ship and within 20 minutes the crew began abandoning the sinking vessel within a few minutes the once Mighty carriers were transformed into burning hulks three of Japan's Frontline carriers akagi kaga and soru were fatally crippled nagumo's Strike Force was effectively neutralized as the dive bombers
pulled away and the cacophony ceased Sailors aboard the Japanese vessels realized the bombers had already left their range akagi's shattered deck was a scene of utter Devastation fires consumed the carrier Twisted Metal jutted into the air and the remains of aircraft and crew were strewn across nagumo's command structure was in disarray aboard his flagship radio communications had been destroyed torn between loyalty to the ship and the need to maintain leadership he reluctantly abandoned akagi for the cruiser nagara the ship's Captain tairo Aoki determined to meet his end with his command lashed himself to a bulkhead
as flames engulfed the carrier kaga heavily armored limped at minimal speed engulfed in flames and smoke soru crippled by a direct hit to her engineering spaces was dead in the water Captain yanagimoto ryusaku ordered his crew to abandon ship but chose to remain on board by 7 1900 the order was given to abandon all three carriers Japanese damage control efforts were hindered by poor equipment leaving the crew with ineffective manual pumps as their only means of fighting The Inferno soru sank beneath the waves at 1913 taking 718 of her crew with her 12 minutes later
elsewhere Torpedoes from Japanese destroyers finished the job sinking kaga of her crew 811 men perished the next morning at 5:00 Japanese destroyers scuttled akagi's smoldering wreck on Admiral yamamoto's orders 263 of akagi's crew perished a tragic but relatively small toll given the magnitude of the disaster the American dive bombers had delivered a crippling blow to three of Japan's four carriers the fourth carrier hereu initially escaped detection concealed by cloud cover the Battle of Midway was not over yet as within hours both the American carriers and The elusive hereu would have to fight for their survival
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