National Geographic: The Battle for Midway Page #4

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That's where I'm headed.

But one unspoken question

is inescapable.

If the sonar was wrong

about finding the Kaga,

is it also wrong about the location

of the Yorktown?

Seven a.m. The waters off Midway.

Japanese commander, Admiral Nagumo,

is still completely in the dark

about the trap awaiting him.

Eight-twenty a.m.

Admiral Nagumo receives

truly startling news.

His scout planes sight the one thing

they never expected to see

an American carrier.

Nagumo is shocked to discover

he has a real fight on his hands.

Now he must decide on his next step.

Should he launch a

limited strike immediately?

Or regroup, refuel,

and rearm all of his forces

and then obliterate what he believes

to be the one American carrier?

He decides to wait.

It is a decision that will change

the course of the entire war.

While Nagumo waits,

the American pilots wing their way

towards his carriers.

Yet very quickly,

many of the American squadrons get

separated from each other.

Most of the torpedo bombers find

themselves on their own

without fighter protection from

the fast, lethal Japanese Zeros.

One after another,

the young torpedo bomber crews attack

just as they have been taught stead on

low, straight at the target

directly into murderous enemy fire.

And one after another,

they are blown out of the sky.

The Enterprise torpedo squadron

The Yorktown's 21 out of 24.

And of the 30 from Hornet's torpedo

squad, only one man makes it back.

Yet not a single torpedo makes a

single successful strike

against any of the Japanese carriers.

Despite all the sacrifice,

the Americans are losing the battle.

America is facing defeat at Midway.

And the enemy commander,

Admiral Nagumo,

is set to launch a massive attack

against the American carriers.

Nagumo's crews work feverishly

to get nearly a hundred warplanes

into the air.

Abandoning all caution,

they leave explosives and

gasoline strewn everywhere.

The decks are a disaster waiting

to happen.

Less than a hundred miles away,

is the last American hope,

the dive bombers.

But none of them can find the enemy.

The Japanese have taken

a 90 degree turn northward

to engage the U.S. ships.

Then Enterprise's dive bombing

squadron plays a hunch

and changes course.

And in their sights appear

the four Japanese carriers

Kaga, Akagi, Soryu and Hiryu.

And there is not a Japanese fighter

anywhere to be seen.

The enemy fighters are still

too busy defending their carriers

against the last of

the American torpedo planes

to stop the dive bombers high above.

It's a sight Lt.

Dick Best has been longing for.

I was amazed to see that a,

the deck was a bright yellow,

because our decks had been stained

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