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| The Battle of Midway. Scene on board USS Yorktown (CV-5), shortly after she was hit by three Japanese bombs on 4 June 1942. Dense smoke is from fires in her uptakes, caused by a bomb that punctured them and knocked out her boilers. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives. |
Midway was essentially a victory of intelligence...Since the United States was intercepting and reading Japanese coded messages, American intelligence of the enemy's plans was remarkably complete. Nimitz's information indicated the Japanese objectives, the approximate composition of the enemy forces, the direction of approach, and the approximate date of attack. It was this knowledge that made the American victory possible. Chester Nimitz and Professor E. B. Potter, U.S. Naval Academy, The Great Sea War. |
The submariners, certainly, had nothing of their own to celebrate. Only two or three got off a torpedo, and none hit anything. One sent an incomplete contact report that misled Admiral Spruance and prevented the possible sinking of more major Japanese ships. The skippers blamed Bob English's plan; Bob English blamed the skippers. Clay Blair, Jr., Silent Victory The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan. |
