4–7 June 1942 · The Pacific
Midway1942
A battle fought across open water, with decisions made from incomplete information. A victory that changed what became possible.
Start chapter 1: Why Midway? →The opposing carrier forces
Seven flight decks.
Two fleets at risk.
Enterprise · Hornet · Yorktown
Akagi · Kaga · Sōryū · Hiryū
Fleet carriers in the carrier battle. Island-based aircraft, escorts, submarines and other formations also shaped the operation.
4 June 1942
Yorktown underway with aircraft on her flight deck at Midway. The catalogue’s approximate time is not treated as a precise launch record.
U.S. Navy / NHHC, 80-G-21627 · Source · Public domain (source statement)
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Intelligence creates an opportunity. Commanders choose their risks.
Searches, strikes and damage control decide which ships can keep fighting.
The balance changes. Exploiting it still demands ships, crews and time.
Find your bearings
An outpost in a very wide ocean
Japan
The Japanese operation brought its striking force east towards Midway.
Midway
An American outpost northwest of Hawaii, with airfields and reconnaissance aircraft.
Pearl Harbor
The American fleet base on Oahu. Midway is about 1,135 nautical miles away in a straight great-circle line.
That distance is calculated between approximate geographical points; it is not the distance sailed by either fleet.
Follow the story
Begin with the background and follow the events through to their consequences, or choose a chapter below. Ships, aircraft and source documents are connected throughout.
- 01
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- 09
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- 12
For a doctor aboard Yorktown, the battle was measured in patients who needed somewhere safe to go.
Read the personal account →