Dog fight over Midway featuring the Brewster Buffalo

In his private business, Kahn specialized in factories with many commissions from the Ford Motor Co. His simple, efficient, and aesthetic Naval buildings typically included porthole windows.

Construction of the runways on Eastern Island and the Seaplane Base and other support facilities on Sand Island was completed August 1, 1941. U.S. Naval Air Station Midway was commissioned four months before the start of the war.

What went wrong for the Japanese?

• The Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 proved costly for the Japanese. Needed training was canceled or shortcuts taken. The Japanese also assumed the U.S. casualties at the Battle of the Coral Sea included the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown.
• The Americans broke the Japanese naval code and knew the Japanese would strike Midway. The severely damaged Yorktown limped into Pearl Harbor and was amazingly repaired within several days. The Yorktown, Task Force 17 was able to join Task Force 16, U.S. carriers Enterprise and Hornet at a position near Midway called "Point Luck" before the Japanese submarine cordon could establish a warning picket line.
• Another Japanese attempt to gain intelligence, to determine if the U.S. fleet was at Pearl Harbor, failed when two long-range recon floatplanes were unable to refuel from a Japanese submarine at French Frigate Shoals. The submarine tanker was unable to surface because a U.S. seaplane tender was working in the area patrolling PBY aircraft.

Several excellent books have been published about the Battle of Midway. The following briefly summarizes major steps of the battle, but we highly recommend visiting your local library or bookstore to obtain a detailed account of this momentous battle.

June 3, 1942

• The Japanese diversionary attack of the Aleutian Islands occurs.
• PBY Catalina locates Japanese Midway Occupational Force coming from the southwest.
• Midway-based Flying Fortress B-17s try to bomb the landing force, no hits.
• Nimitz clarifies that the above force is not the main body and states the main body (the Japanese carriers) will come from the northwest on June 4.

June 4, 1942

• Before dawn, 16 B-17s leave Midway for second attack on Japanese Invasion Force. PBYs depart in search of the Japanese carriers.
• Japanese carriers launch 108 warplanes to strike Midway.
• PBY spots the Japanese carriers northwest of Midway at a heading of 330 degrees and at about 170 miles out.
• A second PBY reports "many planes" headed toward Midway.
• Remaining U.S. land-based aircraft take off from Eastern Island - B-26 bombers, Grumman single engine torpedo bombers TBF-1, Douglas Dauntless SBD-2 scout/dive bombers, and the Vought Vindicator scout/dive bombers.
• Midway fighter aircraft engage Japanese aircraft 30 miles from Midway and suffer heavy loss.
• Midway under attack - attack is over in about 20 minutes with major damage to facilities on Eastern and Sand Islands.
• Japanese Midway strike commander requests second strike/bombing of Midway.
• U.S. Aircraft from Midway begin attacking Japanese carriers - they score no hits and suffered heavy losses, except for the B-17s which were diverted to attack the Japanese carriers and recorded no hits.
• U.S. Carriers Hornet and Enterprise launch their aircraft to attack the Japanese carriers.
• Japanese Admiral Nagumo orders rearming of planes he has prepared for a possible attack on U.S. ships with land bombs for second strike on Midway.
• Japanese scout plane locates portions of the U.S. Fleet and later the Yorktown.
• Yorktown responds by launching a limited strike with only half of its dive-bombers and fighters taking off.
• Nagumo decides to rearm all planes with torpedoes and armor piercing bombs to attack U.S. ships. Safety precautions are overlooked to ready the aircraft.
• Japanese aircraft return from Midway attack and Nagumo decides to wait ti attack the U.S. ships with all aircraft. Japanese carriers turn northeast to engage the reported U.S. carrier.
• U.S. TBD2 Devastors, torpedo bombers from the Hornet and Enterprise attack the carriers without the protection of the Wildcat fighters. Yorktown TBDs attack the fighter escort but still suffer heavy losses. Forty out of 44 TBD2 aircraft are lost, with no hits. Ensign George Gay is the sole survivor of Hornet's Torpedo Eight.
• Japanese fighter aircraft protecting their carriers are running gout of ammunition and fuel after mopping up after the torpedo bomber attacks.
• Dive-bombers, SBD2 Douglas Dauntless, from the Enterprise and Yorktown arrived over the Japanese carriers and in a six-minute attack, the Kaga, Akagi, and Soryu were set ablaze. The remaining Japanese carrier, the Hiryu, escapes.
• Hornet's dive-bombers and fighters miss the initial action.
• Aircraft from the Hiryu launch an attack on the Yorktown - three bombs find their mark. Damage control parties had Yorktown underway at two-thirds speed with all fires controlled within two hours after the attack.
• Second wave of Japanese aircraft from the Hiryu attack the Yorktown, thinking that it was another carrier; two torpedoes find their mark - Yorktown abandoned but remains afloat.
• SBD2 dive-bomber planes from all three U.S. Carriers follow the Japanese fliers back to the Hiryu and attack the carrier and set it ablaze. All four Japanese carriers are out of commission.
• Admirals Fletcher and Spruance turned the U.S. Fleet to the east to avoid a nighttime surface battle with the Japanese cruisers and battleships.

June 5, 1942

• Japanese commander Yamamoto cancels Midway invasion.
• The two Japanese carriers hit on June 4 that did not sink were scuttled by the Japanese surface ships.
• PBY Catalina aircraft search the area of the battle and pick up survivors. Ensign George Gay rescued after staying in the water 36 hours.
• All available aircraft from Midway, Enterprise and Hornet searched for Japanese ships still in the area. "It's like shooting ducks in a barrel," responds one pilot because the Japanese ships had no aircraft protection.
• Salvage efforts begin on the Yorktown.

June 6, 1942

• Japanese submarine spots the Yorktown and destroyer escort.
• Midway PBY Catalina aircraft search the area of the battle and pick up survivors.
• Japanese submarine (I-168) torpedoes Yorktown and the U.S. destroyer Hammann. The Hammann was beside the Yorktown aiding the salvage efforts. Two torpedoes hit the Hammann and it sinks within minutes. The Yorktown is hit with two torpedoes and starts listing/sinking.
• Further attacks by U.S. on Japanese fleet occur.
• Yamamoto orders all-out battle on U.S. Fleet, but air search fails to find it, plan given up.
• Japanese withdrawal begins.

June 7, 1942

• USS Yorktown sinks
• U.S. Task Force 17 breaks up. Some ships join Task Force 16 and others return to Hawaii.

At the end of the Battle of Midway, all four Japanese carriers involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor had been sunk, while the United States lost the carrier Yorktown. The Japanese lost 256 of their finest aircraft, and more than 200 of their most experienced pilots and several thousand sailors perished. The Japanese Navy never fully recovered and its expansion into the Pacific had been stopped. American naval power in the Pacific was restored. The American victory at Midway was the turning point of the Pacific campaign of World War II.