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Japanese air strike against Midway Atoll
In the early hours, Nagumo launched a total of 108 aircraft in a strike against US installations on Midway Atoll, holding a similar number in readiness for an attack on the US carrier fleet once it had been located. -
Second US air strike by land-based aircraft on Japanese fleet
Admiral Chester Nimitz responded to the Japanese attack on the US base by ordering Midway’s bombers to launch a second attack on Nagumo’s fleet. -
First US air strike by carrier-borne aircraft on Japanese fleet
Enterprise and Hornet had launched their bombers at around 7 o’clock. Yorktown followed suit about an hour later. Just before 9.30, the first of around 150 American aircraft came into view of the Japanese carriers. -
Second US air strike by carrier-borne aircraft on Japanese fleet
Yorktown’s bombers had taken off about an hour later than Enterprise’s and Hornet’s. They had struggled to find the Japanese fleet, navigating largely by guesswork, but they had then been drawn towards the smoke of battle as the first American air strikes went in -
The fatal five minutes (10:25 am)
Nagumo’s Zeros had been operating close to sea-level, defending the Japanese ships against Yorktown’s torpedo-bombers. Suddenly, out of the sky, came 17 Douglas Dauntless dive-bombers from the USS Enterprise. -
Japanese air strikes on the USS Yorktown
The only remaining intact Japanese carrier was Hiryu, which now attempted a counter-attack, launching 18 bombers with an escort of Zeros. These found and attacked the US carrier Yorktown just after midday, inflicting heavy damage, and commencing a long-range duel between these two opposing carriers that would continue through the afternoon. -
US air strikes on the Japanese carrier Hiryu
The remaining Japanese carrier had been located by a Yorktown reconnaissance plane as early as 13.30. Attacking planes, from Yorktown and the other US carriers, had been launched almost immediately, but it was not before late afternoon that Hiryu came under attack. The damage she then suffered was fatal. -
Period: to
Battle
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End of the battle
America won this battle the last day. Although there were lots of errors by both but finally America won destroying Japan’s 4 most important carriers.