![]() Now he would launch a big strike and finish off the Americans.īut it was the Americans who had all the luck that day. So far he had weathered numerous attacks, emerged unscathed and delivered a heavy blow to the Midway air base. Nagumo must have believed he had won the battle. Between 9.30 and 10.24am, 47 out of 51 American torpedo planes were shot down. Flying in at low level, they were badly mauled by fast, manoeuvrable Japanese Zero fighters. The torpedo bombers were the first to reach the Japanese force. Instead the squadrons became separated, and some of Hornet's inexperienced units missed the battle. ![]() Escorted by fighters, the idea was for them to attack at the same time in order to overwhelm the defenders. The American attack on the Japanese force was planned as a combined assault, mixing low-level torpedo bombers with high-level dive bombers. With two critical tasks in hand, both seizing the island and attacking the American fleet, Nagumo hesitated when he should have acted. The vital scout plane detailed to cover the sector where the American ships were waiting had been delayed. His scouts had reported hostile warships, but had not seen the American carriers until after the attack on Midway had begun. The carriers were expected to strike Midway and engage the American fleet when it eventually arrived, but Yamamoto had not expected the American fleet to be in position before his forces arrived. Now the fundamental flaw in the Japanese plan became apparent. This meant that the Japanese strike was initially effective, although Midway remained operational. Fifty US planes from Midway defended but without success. The next morning Nagumo, far ahead of the Japanese fleet, launched 100 planes against the island. On 3 June American bombers from Midway attacked the Japanese invasion fleet as it approached the island, but did little damage.
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