Midway (CV 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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V The Battle of Midway The rimary objective of the Japanese in the battle of Midway was to drawthe AmericariFgar,2l'GfS out WO USED and sink, them. They also wanted to capture the tiny atoll and establish a base in the centra alter ic. Ccmmander In The lmperial Japanese Navy battle force was under the command of the lmrfC5ialJalpIa1nese avyhe Gamers. were - h ' strike force was under the command of mira agumo. 6 Qgirgfjalxlxgrrrfiaiiirgsjfcofaklplljdxgxfacif Cailgsncluded four carriers: the Akagi, the l-liryu, the Kaga and the Soryu, Admiral Yamamo fl twas ositioned southwest of Midway atoll toys invasion ee D - ' ' ' ' t the rear of the carriers, Yamamoto, not under- Admiral Yamamotos battleship force was positioned A50 miles o I mlm Wea on felt that me - ' ' l and the carrier as the primary s i g p , standing the new role of the battleship as a screening vesse B m u D of Smkm me American Heat carriers would only soften up the American fleet and the battleships would do e io g A error th refore the should be protected until the softening up process was complete. This proved to be a mayor spitting the Bcarriers and battleship forces into different groups, the carriers were left with xgrtualgyfpo ant t t d hs ower, the outcome of the battle may ave een i ereln ScrlisrrnlgrgiocfgssllfjoIsefr?tT1aarcqaC?fle:1li1ajsliOfIoiSQ nigh to tphe Aleutian Islands to deceive the Americans into thinking that the ' ' ' D t h.H bor Alaska. u , , , mal1lnoafte!x?e?VFhgffAErQ1eer?cFaanrserhildNinSrokLer?theagapanese code and knew the Japanese intentions exactly. Admiral Nimitz ordered the carriers USS ENTERPRlSE and USS HORNET, under the command of Rear Admiral Spruance, to a positiona Northeast of Midway. These two carriers were later joined by the carrier USS YORKTOVYN, which had been undieggoing repairs in Pearl l-larbor following the l3attle of Coral Sea. The Japanese thought that the Yorktown had been sun uring the battle of Coral Sea. During that battle she took one bomb hit which caused severe damage, however yard workers in s Pearl Harbor worked around the clock and had the Yorktown battle-ready in L48 hours. The Yorktown task force was .41 under the command of Rear Admiral Eletcher. The battle began on June 3, l91i2 when a Navy Pl3Y patrol plane and an Army E3-17, both from Midway, spotted the Japanese invasion fleet and attacked without effect. Early on the morning of June lith. Admiral Nagumo armed half his planes with bombs for a ground attack, the others gp if? were readied for naval attacks. Nagumo launched the air assault on Midway. The Japanese air group was met with land- , :lg based aircraft from the island. A 0nEastern Island of Midway Atoll the Japanese set a hangar and three other buildings on fire. The Marine command 'l.. .dx post and mess hall were destroyed and the powerhouse was damaged. The airstrip was damaged in two places, but was iff! still usablef On Sand lsland, one seaplane hangar, two fuel tanks, the hospital and some storehouses were all set on fire. One sea- plane hangar was destroyed along with two anti-aircaft emplacements and some fuel storage tanks. The aviation fueling system was also damaged during the attack. ' A 'Q- J The Japanese lost six aircraft to anti-aircraft and air to air fire. American aircraft lost a total of 38-land based aircraft in k L: the air battle over the island. The heavier American losses were because American aircraft were not as modern as the more capable Japanese aircraft. , Admiral Nagumo saw the need for a second strike against the island and hearing no reports from his scout planes he 'if decided to rearm his remaining aircraft for a ground attack. This was to be a fatal mistake. Soon his carriers came under it attack from American land-based aircraft. During this attack one of his scout planes reported the American carriers. Nagumo immediately halted the rearming for a ground attack and ordered the planes to be readied for a naval attack. 1: . While Nagumo's airplanes from the Midway strike were landing Torpedo Squadron 8 from the USS l-IGRNET soon 31 'Z li found the'Japanese carriers and attacked without fighter support. They were destroyed by the Japanese, but the its Japanese fighter cover was now on deck level when the American dive bombers appeared. l3y coincidence dive bombers fjromtthe USS ENTERPRISE and Yorktown found the Japanese carriers at the same time and attacked from different irec ions. l3y this time Nagumo's fighter air coverhwas getting low on fuel and needed to land. With little air cover, little anti-air- craft support and decks loaded with munitions and fuel-laden planes the Japanese carriers were ready targets. The UST A ! Navy bombers attacked leaving the Soryu, the Akagi and the Kaga on fire and out of action. The l-liryu 'had managed to maneuver away frm the other carriers to a position northeast of the other burning S' -Japanese carriers. She launched her aircraft for an attack against the American carriers ln that attack the USS YGRK TOVVN received heavy damage and had to be abandoned. She was later sunk by a Japanese sub while under t w to Pearl l-larbor. V O angagiinnthetsgterrndon of June li the Americans locatedthe Hiryu and attacked. The divembombers left the ship ablaze attack andgwimdrexevx morning the Hiryu sank. Faced with this unexpected defeat, Admiral Yamamoto broke off the The American fleet had won the battleat a cost of one aircraft carrier a destro er lLi7 lan d 307 h 5' lLi7 aircraft lost in the battle l09 were from carriers. ' y ' D CS an 'NES' Of I e ln the battle the Japanese lost four carriers a heav ' ' ' ' a t . . . y cruiser, 332 aircraft, 24: of which l Aeigelrlicgrbggrriexi Zggtlggtelfvgewtgedgur carriers g!lV?.l'EhSU9k, and 3,500 lives. They alsoVrlgogivengtsgxTe?et3amagEatgSeg . ' OYGVS an lg t ama e to an oiler, a d t Y ' , t 'ml-?fl2VfiTflY' 150653583656 had lost most of their first line pilots, a logs from which theye?A1eCZene?fQ?aCbTgttoairecivweg Most of me bggsgcfligse taqatslsrccgeecleglrign itogping Jqlapanese expansion in the Pacific. l-lowever, the two most important resutliti 255 had turned' P p nese avy was no longer able to project its power and the tide in the Pacific wa? io -A

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t x . lu-M..,A---,J--A A, 4 ...wan-uni-mn... -v : I ' M.-vna.Mv-Y -fi - - A fllflff ACTI lil IES 'YlQfllTilclSli, KA Fleet Activities, Yokosuka is located in the lianio lllain aim ol ilii- pit ilit ii in i 'iiiii il lli ir , comprise the Japanese archipelago, Yokosuka lies at the Cllllltllll ii ol liikyii lily iiiil in ii it iii ,iii of Tokyo and 30 km ll 8,6 mil south ot Yokohama. The base vvas First established as the 'Vokosuka lion Works in ltibh, vvlii-ii l iiiil i lifllll. ivliiii ii i i i porque nate government, urged the Shogun to construct tacilities to build rind iniiiiiliiiii liiiiiii iwiizif ,i ill .,ifii,fg, role in vvorld trade. After inspecting several sites, the Freni h eitigiisiticfis t-inpliiyiiil ily llii' 'ill' itiiiii i ii i i i T fi ii1,f,,i iq, bor could accommodate deep dratt vessels, The keel ot the First ship built at Yokosuka vvas laid in i866 ln l87l, thc- niinii' iii ilii' I-ll ilii,f T i: iii ffikipiiifwi liavyf Yard. More than l00 Imperial Japanese Naval ships vvere built hereg at the peak of i'1C,llvllyfllllllij.QVifiillfl'Will lim iw if all pri, fftl fi f,r, iyryr, vvorkers. The most famous Japanese ship ever built here vvas the largest W tlie ill latcil Sl Illlfilrll ir i li?Q,lllili ii ,iii ivil ifii iyiiwiym in October, l91i4i, the ship vvas sunk by a US. submarine vvhile on trials enroute to the lnliiiid Hi' ri irifiia ' ziiv' i i i A or tirgyrj ,Q shot. The base vvas surrendered to Allied Foces on 30 August l9LiSg Commander Fleer Activities, Yolf, villa ','i i fiif-fl priwifly fivwe-.,ieif1r Service to the Fleet is the motto of Commander Fleet Activities, Yokosuka, vvho is tasked to iniiiiiiiiiii ,iiiii fipririiifl iiirf- r iaiiiiiiqgg, :or logistic servicing ot US. Naval Forces, Japan and units ot the operating torces assigned in the Vvesiriiii l'fii ilii' llii- lxlafy iirr l,i iif'f, the Fleer Activities complex under the Status of Forces Agreement signed by the Governments ot lapan and the US lrliij ionxplciz occupies more than 590 acres, including more than S V2 miles ot vvatertront, and hosts AS tenant commands vvhic h support ihc- U S Sefcriilf Fleer. Among the major tenant commands that supply direct service to the tleet are the Naval Supply Depot iNSDi, the lmlfii,f:iE Ship Fepair Facility QNAVSHIPREFFACJ, Fublic Works Center QFVVCJ, Naval Communications Station, lapan lNAvCDlVlMSTAi, personnel Suzuporst Activity Far East QPSAFEJ, US. Naval Hospital lUSNHl, US Naval Dental Clinic, Japan, and Marine Elarracks. Japan. A Yokosuka is also the home For several Forvvard deployed units under the Overseas Family Residency Program, inrluclifzff USS ELUE RIDGE QLCC-l 93, Flagship for the Commander, US. SEVENTH FLEET1 the aircraft carrier, USS lvllDVvAY iCVeA l Flagship liiyi' Cdcmnmangq Task Force 701 Carrier Air Wing Fiveg and Commander Destroyer Squadron iS LCDMDESRCDN lSi TJ 0 T T I .g - - - 4 ,...,.1-.AZ- ---,.,-W -. - -,, - -aw , . V A ,sm vu' V 'i F Q-q,..kx'