Battle of Midway order of battle

This is the order of battle for the Battle of Midway, a major engagement of the Pacific Theatre of World War II, fought 4Ã¢ÂÂ7 June 1942 by naval and air forces of Imperial Japan and the United States in the waters around Midway Atoll in the far northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The Japanese had two purposes for the campaign: to occupy Midway for use as a base for long-range search planes (for which the Americans were already using it), and to draw the US Pacific Fleet out of its base at Pearl Harbor for a decisive showdown battle.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet (comprising all combat vessels) and mastermind of the Pearl Harbor Attack, was tasked with drawing up the operational plan. The Japanese Naval General Staff, responsible for strategic planning, required him to include a diversionary move as part of his detailed battle plan; they told him to include a side operation that would result in the capture of two islands in the Aleutians chain, believing that the occupation of even a tiny portion of a US possession would be sufficient to draw out the bulk of the Pacific Fleet.

US Navy code-breaking, Japanese overconfidence and the courage of American carrier fliers combined to create both a strategic and a tactical defeat for the Japanese: they failed to capture Midway and they suffered much greater losses in ships and planes than did the Americans (the loss of experienced naval pilots would prove to be particularly costly as the war dragged on). Midway put an end to Japanese expansion in the Pacific.

Because the Japanese assumed the tactical initiative, their forces are listed first.

Overview

Ships involved in the Midway operation<br> Losses indicated by *, counts in parentheses

Combat vessels

Auxiliaries

Aircraft

Japan

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto<br> Commander, Combined Fleet

Significant combat was experienced by Nagumo's First Striking Force and Kurita's Midway Support Force. The vast majority Japanese ships saw no action during the entire Midway campaign.

First Fleet (Main Force)

Main Force / 1st Fleet Main Body

Admiral Yamamoto in Yamato

1st Battleship Division (Admiral Yamamoto)
1 (9 ÃÂ 18-in. main battery)
(Rear Adm. Gihachi Takayanagi)
2 s (8 ÃÂ 16-in. main battery)
(Rear Adm. Gunji Kogure)
(Captain Hideo Yano)
Carrier Group:
CVL (Capt. Kaoru Umetani)
Air Unit: 8 Yokosuka B4Y1 'Jean' biplane torpedo bombers (Lieutenant Yoshiaki Irikiin)
1 (4 ÃÂ 4.7-in. main battery)
(Lt. Cmdr. Shizuka Kajimoto)
Special Force
CVS (Capt. Kaku Harada)
CVS (Capt. Katsumi Komazawa)
Screening Force
3rd Destroyer Squadron
Rear Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto in Sendai
1 (7 ÃÂ 5.5-in. main battery)
(Capt. Nobue Morishita)
11th Destroyer Division (Capt. Kichiro Shoji)
4 s (6 ÃÂ 5-in. main battery)
(Lt. Cmdr. Shizuo Yamashita)
(Lt. Cmdr. Rokoro Sugawara)
(Lt. Cmdr. Junnari Kamiura)
(Lt. Cmdr. Hideo Higashi)
19th Destroyer Division (Capt. Ranji Oe)
4 s (6 ÃÂ 5-in. main battery)
(Cmdr. Ryokichi Sugama)
(Lt. Cmdr. Tsutomu Hagio)
(Lt. Cmdr. Akifumi Kawahashi)
(Cmdr. Eiji Sakuma)
1st Supply Group
Captain Shigeyasu Nishioka in Naruto
AO Naruto (Capt. Nishioka)
AO Toei Maru

First Carrier Striking Force / 1st Air Fleet

Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo in Akagi

1st Carrier Division
Vice Admiral Nagumo
(Capt. Taijiro Aoki)
Air Unit (Commander Mitsuo Fuchida)
18 Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 21 'Zeke' fighters (Lt. Cmdr. Shigeru Itaya)
18 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers (Lt. Takehiko Chihaya)
18 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers (Lt. Cmdr. Shigeharu Murata)
(Capt. Jisaku OkadaÃ¢ÂÂ )
Air Unit (Lt. Cmdr. Tadashi KusumiÃ¢ÂÂ ):
18 Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 21 'Zeke' fighters (Lt. Masao Sato)
18 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers (Lt. Shoichi OgawaÃ¢ÂÂ )
27 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers (Lt. Ichiro Kitajima)
2nd Carrier Division
Rear Admiral Tamon YamaguchiÃ¢ÂÂ in HiryÃÂ«
(Capt. Tomeo KakuÃ¢ÂÂ )
Air Unit (Lt. Joichi TomonagaÃ¢ÂÂ )
18 Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 21 'Zeke' fighters (Lt. Shigeru MoriÃ¢ÂÂ )
18 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers (Lt. Michio KobayashiÃ¢ÂÂ )
18 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers (Lt. Rokuro KikuchiÃ¢ÂÂ )
(Capt. Ryusaku YanagimotoÃ¢ÂÂ )
Air Unit (Lt. Cmdr. Takashige Egusa)
18 Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 21 'Zeke' fighters (Lt. Masaji Suganami)
16 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers (Lt. Masai Ikeda)
18 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers (Lt. Heijiro Abe)
2 Yokosuka D4Y1 'Judy' dive bombers
Support Group
8th Cruiser Division
Rear Admiral Hiroaki Abe in Tone
2 heavy cruisers (8 ÃÂ 7.9-in. main battery)
(Capt. Tametsugu Okada)
Air Unit: 3 Aichi E13A1 Type 0 'Jake' float planes, 2 Nakajima E8N2 Type 95 'Dave' float planes
(Capt. Keizo Komura)
Air Unit: 3 Aichi E13A1 Type 0 'Jake' float planes, 2 Nakajima E8N2 Type 95 'Dave' float planes
3rd Battleship Division, 2nd Section
Rear Admiral Tamotsu Takama in Haruna
2 fast battleships (8 ÃÂ 14-in. main battery)
(Rear Adm. Tamotsu Takama)
Air unit: 3 Nakajima E8N2 Type 95 'Dave' float planes
(Capt. Sanji Iwabuchi)
Air unit: 3 Nakajima E8N2 Type 95 'Dave' float planes
Screening Force
10th Destroyer Squadron
Rear Admiral Susumu Kimura in Nagara
1 light cruiser (7 ÃÂ 5.5-in. main battery)
(Capt. Toshio Naoi)
4th Destroyer Division (Capt. KÃÂsaku Aruga)
4 s (6 ÃÂ 5-in. main battery)
(Cmdr. Magataro Koga)
(Cmdr. Yusumasa Watanabe)
(Cmdr. Juichi Iwagami)
(Cmdr. Seiji Nakasugi)
10th Destroyer Division (Capt. Toshio Abe)
3 s (6 ÃÂ 5-in. main battery)
(Cmdr. Masayoshi Yoshida)
(Cmdr. Shigeo Semba)
(Cmdr. Isamu Fujita)
17th Destroyer Division (Capt. Masayuki Kitamura)
4 s (6 ÃÂ 5-in. main battery)
(Cmdr. Nagayoshi Shiraishi)
(Cmdr. Shunichi Toyoshima)
(Cmdr. Motoi Katsumi)
(Cmdr. Tsuneo Orita)
Supply Group 1
Captain Masanao Ota in Kyokuto Maru
1 (6 ÃÂ 5-in. main battery)
(Cmdr. Shohei Soma)
AO Kyokuto Maru (Capt. Ota)
AO Shinkoku Maru (Capt. Tokugyo Ito)
AO (Capt. Kazutaka Niimi)
AO Nippon Maru (Capt. Hironosuke Ueda)
AO Kokuyo Maru (Capt. Toraji Hidai)

Second Fleet (Midway Invasion Force)

2nd Fleet Main Body

Vice Admiral Nobutake KondÃÂ in Atago

3rd Battleship Division less 2nd Section
Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa
2 fast battleships (8 ÃÂ 14-in. main battery)
(Capt. Tomiji Koyanagi)
(Capt. Masao Nishida)
4th Cruiser Division less 2nd Section
Vice Admiral Kondo
2 heavy cruisers (10 ÃÂ 7.9-in. main battery)
(Capt. Baron Matsuji Ijuin)
(Capt. Mikio Hayakawa)
5th Cruiser Division
Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi
2 heavy cruisers (10 ÃÂ 7.9-in. main battery)
(Capt. Teruhiko Miyoshi)
(Capt. Tomokazu Mori)
Screening Force
4th Destroyer Squadron
Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimura in Yura
1 light cruiser (7 ÃÂ 5.5-in. main battery)
(Capt. Shiro Sato)
3rd Destroyer Division (Capt. Ranji Oe)
4 s
(Lt. Cmdr. Naoji Suenaga)
(Cmdr. Takisaburo Matsubara)
(Lt. Cmdr. Masao Kamiyama)
(Cmdr. Kiyoshi Kamiyama)
9th Destroyer Division (Capt. Yasuo Sato)
3 s
(Cmdr. Toru Iwahashi)
(Lt. Cmdr. Yasuatsu Suzuki)
(Lt. Cmdr. Moritaro Tsukamoto)
Carrier Group
Captain Sueo Obayashi
CVL (Capt. Obayashi)
12 Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 21 'Zeke' fighters (Lt. Saneyasu Hidaka)
12 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers (Lt. Kaji Matsuo)
1 (4 ÃÂ 4.7-in. main battery)
(Lt. Cmdr. Saneho Maeda)
Supply Group
Captain Jiro Murao in Sata
AO Sata (Capt. Murao)
AO Tsurumi (Capt. Toshizo Fujita)
AO Genyo Maru (Capt. Shigetaro Ogawa)
AO Kenyo Maru (Capt. Yoshio Kanemasu)
AR (Capt. Tsunekichi Fukuzawa)

Midway Occupation Force

Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka in Jintsu

Transport Group carrying about 5000 troops under Captain Minoru ÃÂta, IJN and Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki, IJA
Transports
Kiyosumi Maru (Capt. Seiichiro Kito)
Keiyo Maru (Capt. Masamichi Ikeuchi)
Zenyo Maru
(Capt. Hiyoshi Furuya)
Toa Maru No. 2 Go
Kano Maru (Capt. Tomosaburo Miura)
Argentina Maru (Cmdr. Takeshi Watanabe)
Hokuroku Maru (Capt. Hiotaro Tsukagoshi)
(Capt. Kyujiro Jintsu)
Kirishima Maru (Capt. Hiroshi Okubo)
Azuma Maru (Capt. Nobuyoshi Morikawa)
Nankai Maru (Capt. Akira Maki)
Patrol Boats
Patrol Boat #1
Patrol Boat #2
Patrol Boat #34 also carrying SNLF detachment
AO Akebono Maru (damaged by torpedo night of June 3Ã¢ÂÂ4) (Capt. Miki Otsuka)
Escort Force
2nd Destroyer Squadron
Rear Admiral Tanaka
1 (7 ÃÂ 5.5-in. main battery)
CL (Capt. Torazo Kozai)
15th Destroyer Division (Capt. Torajiro Sato)
2 s
(Cmdr. Tamaki Ugaki)
(Cmdr. Tokiyoshi Arima)
16th Destroyer Division (Capt. Shiro Shibuya)
4 s
(Cmdr. Kenjiro Tobita)
(Cmdr. Tameichi Hara)
(Cmdr. Giichiro Nakahara)
(Cmdr. Kameshiro Takahashi)
18th Destroyer Division (Capt. Yoshito Miyasaka)
2 s
(Cmdr. Shizuo Akazawa)
(Cmdr. Minoru Yokoi)
2 s
(Cmdr. Kiyoshi Tomura)
(Cmdr. Tomoe Ogata)
Seaplane Tender Group
Rear Admiral Ruitaro Fujita in Chitose
11th Seaplane Tender Division
CVS (Capt. Tamotsu Furukawa)
16 Nakajima A6M2-N 'Rufe' floatplane fighters
4 Aichi E13A 'Jake' scout floatplanes
AV (Capt. Tarohachi Shinoda)
8 Nakajima A6M2-N 'Rufe' floatplane fighters
4 Aichi E13A 'Jake' scout floatplanes
1
(Cmdr. Kiyoshi Kaneda)
Patrol Boat #35 (carrying troops)

Midway Support Force

Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita in Kumano

7th Cruiser Division (Vice Adm. Kurita)
(Capt. Kikumatsu Tanaka)
(Capt. Masatomi Kimura)
(Capt. Shakao SakiyamaÃ¢ÂÂ )
(Capt. Akira Soji)
8th Destroyer Division (Cmdr. Nobuki Ogawa)
2 s
(Lt. Cmdr. Goro Yoshii)
(Cmdr. Hideo Kuboki)
Attached Oiler
AO Nichiei Maru (Capt. Matsushi Yamamoto)
Minesweeper Group
Captain Sadatomo Miyamoto
4 auxiliary minesweepers
Tama Maru #3 (Lt. (j.g.) Atsutoshi Yamaguchi)
Tama Maru #5 (Lt. Akira Takato)
Showa Maru #7 (Lt. Teruhisa Takahashi)
Showa Maru #8 (Lt. (j.g.) Kiichi Sasaki)
3 subchasers
Subchaser #16 (Lt. Yasukichi Suzuki)
Subchaser #17 (Lt. Shigematsu Yoshioka)
Subchaser #18 (Lt. Mitsugu Miyoi)
1 supply ship
(Cmdr. Toshi Kubota)
2 cargo ships
Meiyo Maru (Capt. Hisao Koizumi)
(Capt. Torao Honda)

Advance (Submarine) Force (Sixth Fleet)

Vice Admiral Teruhisa Komatsu in at Kwajalein

1 (4 ÃÂ 5.5-in. main battery)
(Capt. Noboru Owada)
3rd Submarine Squadron
Rear Admiral Chimaki Kona in Rio de Janeiro Maru at Kwajalein
19th Submarine Division (Capt. Ryojiro Ono)
(Lt. Cmdr. Katsuo Ohashi)
(Lt. Cmdr. Sakae Nakajima)
(Lt. Cmdr. Soshichi Kitamura)
(Lt. Cmdr. Tamori Yoshimatsu)
13th Submarine Division (Capt. Takeji Miyazaki)
(Lt. Cmdr. Yasuo Fujimori)
(Lt. Cmdr. Sadatoshi Norita)
(Lt. Cmdr. Toshitake Ueno)
30th Submarine Division (Capt. Maseo Teraoka)
(Lt. Cmdr. Takakazu Kinashi)
(Lt. Cmdr. Hakue Jarada)
(Lt. Cmdr. Makio Tanaka)

Shore-based Air Force

Eleventh Air Fleet<br> Vice Admiral Nishizo Tsukahara at Tinian

Midway Expeditionary Force (Capt. Chisato Morita)
36 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters (Lt. Tadashi Kaneko)
10 Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty' level bombers at Wake Island
6 flying boats at Jaluit
24th Air Flotilla (Rear Adm. Minoru Maeda)
Chitose Air Group at Kwajalein (Capt. Fujiro Ohashi)
36 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters
36 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers
1st Air Group at Aur and Wotje (Capt. Samaji Inoue)
36 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters
36 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers
14th Air Group (Capt. Daizo Nakajima)
36 Kawanishi H6K 'Mavis' flying boats at Jaluit and Wotje

Fifth Fleet (Northern Area Force)

5th Fleet Main Body

Vice Admiral BoshirÃÂ Hosogaya in Nachi

1 heavy cruiser
(Capt. Takahiko Kiyota)
2 s
(Lt. Cmdr. Hajime Takeuchi)
(Lt. Cmdr. Shunsaku Kudo)
Supply Group:
AO Fujisan Maru (Capt. Kikuta Maki)
AO Nissan Maru (Capt. Hachiro Naotsuka)
AC Muroto (Capt. Masaji Yamagata)
AP Akashisan Maru (Capt. Yoshio Hosoya)
AF

Second Carrier Striking Force

Rear Admiral Kakuji Kakuta in Ryujo

4th Carrier Division (Rear Adm. Kakuta)
CVL (Capt. Tadeo Kato)
Air Unit (Lt. Masayuki Yamagami)
16 Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 21 'Zeke' fighters (Lt. Minoru Kobayashi)
21 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers (Lt. Yamagami)
CV (Capt. Shizue Isii)
Air Unit (Lt. Yoshio Shiga)
24 Mitsubishi A6M Zero Type 21 'Zeke' fighters (Lt. Shiga)
15 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers (Lt. Zenji Abe)
4th Cruiser Division, 2nd Section (Capt. Shunsaku Nabeshima in Maya)
2 heavy cruisers
(Capt. Bunji Asakura)
(Capt. Nabeshima)
7th Destroyer Division (Capt. Kaname Konishi)
3 s
(Lt. Cmdr. Minoru Nakagawa)
(Lt. Cmdr. Yoshitake Uesugi)
(Lt. Cmdr. Hiroshi Uwai)
AO Teiyo Maru (Capt. Katasuke Tanaka)

Aleutian Support Force

Vice Admiral Shiro Takasu in HyÃÂ«ga

2nd Battleship Division (Vice Adm. Takasu)
(Capt. Chozaemon Obata)
(Capt. Chiaki Matsuda)
(Capt. Isamu Takeda)
(Capt. Gunji Kogure)
Screening Force (Rear Adm. Fukuji Kishi] in Kitakami)
9th Cruiser Division (Rear Adm. Kishi)
CL (Capt. Saiji Norimitsu)
CL (Capt. Moichi Narita)
20th Destroyer Division (Capt. Yuji Yamada)
4 s
(Lt. Cmdr. Nisaburo Maekawa)
(Cmdr. Masayoshi Motokura)
(Cmdr. Toyoji Hitomi)
(Capt. Buichi Ashida)
24th Destroyer Division (Capt. Yasuji Hirai)
4 s
(Cmdr. Nagahide Sugitani)
(Lt. Cmdr. Shuichi Hamanaka)
(Lt. Cmdr. Kazuo Wakabayashi)
(Lt. Cmdr. Kazuo Shibayama)
27th Destroyer Division (Capt. Matake Yoshimura)
2 s
(Lt. Cmdr. Shoichi Yoshida)
(Lt. Cmdr. Kiyoshi Kamo)
2 s
(Cmdr. Noboru Seo)
(Lt. Cmdr. Kanematsu Hashimoto)
Supply Group (Capt. Matsuo Eguchi)
AO San Clemente Maru (Capt. Eguchi)
AO Toa Maru (Capt. Yataro Yokohama)

Attu Invasion Force

Rear Admiral SentarÃÂ ÃÂmori in Abukuma

1st Destroyer Squadron
Rear Admiral ÃÂmori
CL (Capt. Seiroku Murayama)
21st Destroyer Division (Capt. Toshio Shimizu)
4 s
(Lt. Cmdr. Masakichi Kuroki)
(Lt. Cmdr. Saburo Terauchi)
(Lt. Cmdr. Hiroshi Makino)
(Lt. Cmdr. Satoru Kohama)
ML (Capt. Heiji Sasaki)
AP Kinugasa Maru (Capt. Naoshi Arima) carrying 1,200 army troops under Major Matsutoshi Hozumi

Kiska Invasion Force

Captain Takeji Ono in Kiso

21st Cruiser Division (Capt. Ono)
2 s
(Capt. Ono)
(Capt. Masaharu Kawabata)
2 auxiliary cruisers
Asaka Maru (Capt. Jiro Ban)
Awata Maru (Capt. Kikuta Maki)
Screening Force
6th Destroyer Division (Capt. Yusuke Tamada)
2 s
(Lt. Cmdr. Hagumu Ishii)
(Lt. Cmdr. Osamu Takasuka)
1
(Lt. Cmdr. Tomo Tanaka)
13th Minesweeper Division (Capt. Toshio Mitsuka)
KaihÃÂ Maru
Transports
Hakusan Maru (Capt. Hareyoshi Goto) carrying 550 troops under Lt. Cmdr. Hifumi Mukai
(Capt. Shiro Yoshida) carrying 700 labor troops with construction equipment
Submarine Detachment
1st Submarine Squadron (Rear Adm. Shigeaki Yamakazi)
(Cmdr. Akiyoshi Fujii)
2nd Submarine Division (Capt. Hiroshi Imazato)
(Cmdr. Nobuo Ishikawa)
(Cmdr. Kozo Nishino)
(Cmdr. Shogo Narahara)
4th Submarine Division (Capt. Mitsuru Nagai)
(Cmdr. Akiji Tagami)
(Cmdr. Minoru Yokota)
Aleutian Seaplane Tender Force (Capt. Keiichi Ujuku)
AV (Capt. Ujuku)
Air Unit: 8 3-seat floatplanes
1
(Lt. Yoji Tanegashima)

United States

The US Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas were under the overall command of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

Task Force 17

Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher in Yorktown

Task Group 17.5 (Carrier Group)
(Captain Elliott Buckmaster)
Yorktown Air Group (Lieutenant Commander Oscar Pederson)
25 Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters (VF-3 Ã¢ÂÂ Lt. Cmdr. John S. Thach)
18 Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers (VB-3 Ã¢ÂÂ Lt. Cmdr. Maxwell F. Leslie)
19 Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers (VS-5 Ã¢ÂÂ Lt. Wallace C. Short, Jr.)
13 Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bombers (VT-3 Ã¢ÂÂ Lt. Cmdr. Lance E. MasseyÃ¢ÂÂ )
Task Group 17.2 (Cruiser Group)
Rear Admiral William W. Smith in Astoria
1 New Orleans-class heavy cruiser (9 ÃÂ 8-in. main battery)
(Capt. Francis W. Scanland)
1 Portland-class heavy cruiser (9 ÃÂ 8-in. main battery)
(Capt. Laurance T. DuBose)
Task Group 17.4 (Destroyer Screen)
Captain Gilbert Hoover, COMDESRON 2
5 s (4 ÃÂ 5-in. main battery)
(Commander Arnold E. True)
(Lt. Cmdr. William M. Hobby, Jr.)
(Lt. Cmdr. Donald J. Ramsey)
(Cmdr. Harry B. Jarrett)
(Lt. Cmdr. J. C. Pollock)
1 (5 ÃÂ 5-in. main battery)
(Lt. Cmdr. John M. Higgins)