IsaacNewton
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- Jun 20, 2015
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After the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 the US was ill-prepared for war. In the next six months the US and its allies Britain, Russia, and Australia were losing on all fronts. Needing SOMETHING good to happen the US on April 18, 1942 launched the Dolittle Raid on Japan, sending 16 B-25 medium range bombers launched from aircraft carriers that had sailed to within 700 miles east of Japan. They bombed Tokyo and a number of other Japanese cities. Minimal damage strategically but a huge boost to moral for America and its allies.
Two weeks later, May 4-8, 1942, the first major battle between Japan and the US took place in The Coral Sea northeast of Australia. US intelligence learned the Japanese were sending an invasion force to Port Moresby, north of Australia. Two US aircraft carriers were sent to thwart the invasion and they caught the light Japanese carrier Shoho and sank it. Two large Japanese carriers, the Shokaku and the Zuikaku, both of which were in the six carrier fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor, were in position near Guadalcanal to support the Port Moresby invasion and deal with any US carriers that showed up. They steamed southwest after learning US carriers were operating in the area. The two forces discovered each other and the attacks resulted in the Shokaku being severely damaged and out of commission, the Zuikaku losing most of its aircraft. The US lost the Lexington and the Yorktown was severely damaged as well. However the Japanese invasion fleet had turned around and it was a strategic victory for the US, though tactically a draw or slight advantage to the Japanese.
The Australians didn't call it the Battle of the Coral Sea. They called it The Battle of Australia because if the Japanese had won Australia would have been cut off from its supply lines to the US and it would have been isolated.
The Japanese decided the US carriers had to be dealt with and they planned the Midway invasion for the beginning of June 1942. US intelligence intercepted various encrypted Japanese navy communications and determined Midway was the target. A US carrier Task Force of the Enterprise and the Hornet sailed to a spot northeast of Midway Island which is about 1,300 miles northwest of Hawaii. They were joined a few days later by the Yorktown which had steamed from it's battle in the Coral Sea to get much needed and frantic repair at Pearl Harbor before joining the Hornet and Enterprise. Now with three large carriers the US fleet waited for the Japanese to show up.
The Japanese, unaware of the presence of the US carriers, attacked Midway Island. The US carriers launched a massive air attack against the four Japanese carriers, all of which had been part of the attack on Pearl Harbor, sinking three of them outright in about ten minutes of fighting. The IJN carrier Hiryu still operational attacked and severely damaged the Yorktown. US scouts found the Hiryu and it was sunk. Over the next few days the US fleet chased and sank or damaged a number of other Japanese ships. The Yorktown was torpedoed by a Jap sub and sank.
The losses for Japan were irreplaceable. Of the six front-line carriers Japan had four were now sunk, one was badly damaged and needed months of repairs. The US had lost the Yorktown and Lexington. As US industry was double the size of Japan the US could replace every ship it lost. Japan could not. By the end of the war the US had 25 large aircraft carriers and 75 smaller carriers.
The Battle of Midway was without question the turning point in the war in the pacific and in essence the end of Japan's conquests. I met one of the SBD (dive bomber) tail gunners on the Hornet in Alameda a few years ago and he had some great first hand accounts of what he saw.
All of this took place in a month and a half. Not a bad bit of work for a bunch of twenty year olds.
Two weeks later, May 4-8, 1942, the first major battle between Japan and the US took place in The Coral Sea northeast of Australia. US intelligence learned the Japanese were sending an invasion force to Port Moresby, north of Australia. Two US aircraft carriers were sent to thwart the invasion and they caught the light Japanese carrier Shoho and sank it. Two large Japanese carriers, the Shokaku and the Zuikaku, both of which were in the six carrier fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor, were in position near Guadalcanal to support the Port Moresby invasion and deal with any US carriers that showed up. They steamed southwest after learning US carriers were operating in the area. The two forces discovered each other and the attacks resulted in the Shokaku being severely damaged and out of commission, the Zuikaku losing most of its aircraft. The US lost the Lexington and the Yorktown was severely damaged as well. However the Japanese invasion fleet had turned around and it was a strategic victory for the US, though tactically a draw or slight advantage to the Japanese.
The Australians didn't call it the Battle of the Coral Sea. They called it The Battle of Australia because if the Japanese had won Australia would have been cut off from its supply lines to the US and it would have been isolated.
The Japanese decided the US carriers had to be dealt with and they planned the Midway invasion for the beginning of June 1942. US intelligence intercepted various encrypted Japanese navy communications and determined Midway was the target. A US carrier Task Force of the Enterprise and the Hornet sailed to a spot northeast of Midway Island which is about 1,300 miles northwest of Hawaii. They were joined a few days later by the Yorktown which had steamed from it's battle in the Coral Sea to get much needed and frantic repair at Pearl Harbor before joining the Hornet and Enterprise. Now with three large carriers the US fleet waited for the Japanese to show up.
The Japanese, unaware of the presence of the US carriers, attacked Midway Island. The US carriers launched a massive air attack against the four Japanese carriers, all of which had been part of the attack on Pearl Harbor, sinking three of them outright in about ten minutes of fighting. The IJN carrier Hiryu still operational attacked and severely damaged the Yorktown. US scouts found the Hiryu and it was sunk. Over the next few days the US fleet chased and sank or damaged a number of other Japanese ships. The Yorktown was torpedoed by a Jap sub and sank.
The losses for Japan were irreplaceable. Of the six front-line carriers Japan had four were now sunk, one was badly damaged and needed months of repairs. The US had lost the Yorktown and Lexington. As US industry was double the size of Japan the US could replace every ship it lost. Japan could not. By the end of the war the US had 25 large aircraft carriers and 75 smaller carriers.
The Battle of Midway was without question the turning point in the war in the pacific and in essence the end of Japan's conquests. I met one of the SBD (dive bomber) tail gunners on the Hornet in Alameda a few years ago and he had some great first hand accounts of what he saw.
All of this took place in a month and a half. Not a bad bit of work for a bunch of twenty year olds.
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