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History
of the Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is heralded by veterans and historians alike
as one of the greatest naval battles of all time, and the turning
point of the war in the Pacific. Japan's powerful navy had fought
victorious battles at Pearl Harbor and Coral Sea and was looking
eastward. Only a small U.S. Navy outpost on Midway Island lay between
Japan and Hawaii. Japanese strategists designed an elaborate plan
to lure American forces into the open where they could be destroyed.
However, American code breakers, who could decipher just ten percent
of Japanese signals, understood enough to know the time and place
of attack. An American trap was set, as U.S. Navy carriers steamed
in position for a first strike. Just after Japanese planes took
off at dawn to attack Midway Island, American planes launched at
maximum range to strike the Japanese carriers.
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After
hours in the air searching for the Japanese forces, a confluence of
decisions inspired by chance and courage enabled the American dive-bomber
pilots to arrive simultaneously above the Japanese fleet just as its
planes were being readied for a second launch, with fuel and ordnance
left laying about the deck and hangars. At 1025 that morning, a stunning
American victory was accomplished in the span of about five minutes.
Three of Japan's finest aircraft carriers were left burning uncontrollably.
Later a fourth Japanese carrier was found and delivered a similar
fate. Japan would not recover from these losses for the rest of the
war.
Years later, the Nauticos and NAVOCEANO team got the first glimpse
of wreckage of one of these great ships, lying 17,500 feet at the
bottom of the Pacific. This important discovery, finding everything
lying just where it fell over 59 years ago, will help tell the rest
of the story of the battle. |
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Photo-Mosaic
of Midway Wreckage from the IJN KAGA
Copyright © Nauticos Corporation
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Mission to the Battle of Midway Site
The project began by researching the National Archives, where the
logs and accounts of ships from the battle are housed. One ship,
USS NAUTILUS (SS168) had a special role in the engagement as well
as for our search. The NAUTILUS raised its periscope on the morning
of June 4th, and observed several plumes of smoke on the horizon.
She spent the ensuing hours approaching submerged and undetected
until firing three torpedoes at one of the burning Japanese carriers,
then narrowly escaped. Records kept by the NAUTILUS led Nauticos
back to the scene of the attack. Several members of the NAUTILUS
crew are alive today, and they helped Nauticos researchers to refine
the search.
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Nauticos analyzed the records and reconstructed the track of the NAUTILUS.
Teamed with NAVOCEANO, under a Cooperative Research and Development
Agreement (CRADA), a team planned to search an area based on the position
of the NAUTILUS attack. Renavigation analyst Jeffrey Palshook validated
his analysis, and established a point to base a deep ocean search.
NAVOCEANO team leader and geologist, Dr. Devi Joseph mapped a large
area to be searched, and selected the most promising targets. Nauticos
operations leader, Tom Bethge, was among the first to see sonar images
resembling ship wreckage, debris and other compelling signs. Underwater
archaeologist and sonar expert Jeff Morris mosaicked sonar images
together to render a comprehensible picture. A second mission to Midway
was needed, equipped with deep water still and video cameras to classify
the sonar contacts. The Navy and Nauticos team returned four months
later for that purpose, and were rewarded with the first glimpses
of a large piece of wreckage from one of the Japanese aircraft carrier
sunk in the great battle. |
Image of the Ship's BellCaptured by the NAVOCEANO-Nauticos Team
Copyright © Nauticos Corporation
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Haunting
image of a sailor's boot resting among manganese nodules and deep-sea
worm trails.
KAGA's wreckage rests at a depth of 17,500 feet
Copyright © Nauticos Corporation |
Identification of the Wreckage
Upon returning from Midway, thousands of photographs and hours of
videotape were reduced to a handful. Features of the wreckage were
not so pronounced that an untrained eye could comprehend them. Special
expertise from naval experts in Imperial Japanese ship construction
was needed. Nauticos collaborated with three historians, all having
expertise in different aspects of Japanese naval developments during
the period. Tony Tully, Jon Parshall and David Dickson studied photographs
and video provided by Nauticos in an attempt to identify the piece.
Adding their own extensive resources of photographs and drawings of
Japanese ships, they determined that the wreckage was composed of
two 25mm anti-aircraft gun tubs and the attached structure beneath
them. One by one, the Japanese carriers sunk at the Battle of Midway
were eliminated on technical merits until only one remained.
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Then, making the identification positive, a hinged landing light structure
affixed to the outermost edge of the aftermost gun mount was identified
as a special unique feature, as seen in photographs and drawings.
The wreckage belonged to KAGA.
Locations of bomb hits on KAGA . The first bomb dropped during the
attack struck near the spot where the piece of wreckage originally
resided.
Illustration courtesy of Jon Parshall
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Now that the final resting place of KAGA is at hand, the relative
locations of other ships and aircraft lost in the battle are reasonably
well known from the historical records. A return to Midway is planned
to further explore the site and commemorate the sailors and aviators
who fought there. Nauticos gratefully acknowledges the dedicated efforts
of the many engineers, analysts, historians, and veterans who blended
their knowledge, skills, and abilities to make this discovery possible.
For a more detailed accounting of the analysis conducted to identify
the wreckage discovered at the Battle of Midway, read the IJN Carrier
Wreckage: Identification Analysis Report written by Jon Parshall,
Tony Tully and David Dickson. |
Previous- History of
the Battle of Midway |
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