"the sea - like life itself - is a stern taskmaster. The best way to get along with either is to learn all you can, then do your best and don't worry - especially about things over which you have no control." Date | 4–7 June 1942 | Location | Midway Atoll
28°12′N 177°21′W / 28.2°N 177.35°W / 28.2; -177.35Coordinates: Click the blue globe to open an interactive map. 28°12′N 177°21′W / 28.2°N 177.35°W / 28.2; -177.35 | Result | Decisive American victory | | Belligerents | United States | Empire of Japan | Commanders and leaders | Chester W. Nimitz
Frank Jack Fletcher
Raymond A. Spruance | Isoroku Yamamoto
Nobutake Kondō
Chūichi Nagumo
Tamon Yamaguchi †
Ryusaku Yanagimoto † | Strength | 3 carriers
~25 support ships
233 carrier-based aircraft
127 land-based aircraft
Total: 28 ships | 4 carriers
2 battleships
~15 support ships
248 carrier-based aircraft[1]
16 floatplanes
Did not participate in battle:
2 light carriers
5 battleships
~41 support ships
116 other ships (including auxiliary and transport vessels)
Total: 185 ships | Casualties and losses | 1 carrier sunk
1 destroyer sunk
~150 aircraft destroyed
307 killed[2] | 4 carriers sunk
1 cruiser sunk
248 carrier aircraft destroyed[3]
3,057 killed[4] |
For Enterprise, the Battle of Midway began in May 1942, with a crucial bit of deception in the South Pacific. In early May, Task Force 16 - centered around Enterprise and Hornet CV-8 - had raced southwest, in an attempt to join Lexington CV-2 and Yorktown CV-5 (under Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher) and deflect the expected Japanese move on Port Moresby, near the southeast tip of New