

Navy’s official historian of World War II.

“Midway thrust the warlords back on their heels, caused their ambitious plans…to be canceled, and forced on them an unexpected, unwelcome, defensive role,” said Samuel Elliot Morison, the U.S. The victory changed the course of the Pacific war, and is included in the ranks of such other famous battles as Gettysburg and Trafalgar. The U.S., which also had a large dose of good luck, lost one carrier. Navy had a great advantage in intelligence that changed the odds and led to the sinking of all four of the attacking Japanese carriers. was outclassed in the size of its forces and the combat experience of its aircrews. forces defeated a major attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy in the historic June 4-7, 1942, Battle of Midway, even though the Japanese fleet seemed to have every advantage.Īs docent John Lynch said in a presentation at the Museum on the 79th anniversary of the great sea battle, the U.S.

A valuable reference source for Pacific War enthusiasts and historians, The Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War provides a history of the IJN's deployment and engagements, analysis of the evolution of strategy and tactics, and finally addresses the question of whether it truly was a modern navy, fully prepared for the rigors of combat in the Pacific.Battle of Midway: American Intelligence, SBDs - and Luck - Made the Difference Bringing together for the first time material previously published in Osprey series books, and with the addition of new writing making use of the most recent research, this book details the Japanese ships which fought in the Pacific and examines the principles on which they were designed, how they were armed, when and where they were deployed and how effective they were in battle. This was a remarkable turnaround for a navy that only began to modernize in 1868, although defeats inflicted on the Russians and Chinese in successive wars at the turn of the century gave a sense of the threat the IJN was to pose. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was the third most powerful navy in the world at the start of World War II, and came to dominate the Pacific in the early months of the war.
