Battle of Midway

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(A) Thomas B Allen, Midway: The Story that Never Ends. Proceedings Magazine, 133: 1252 (2007).
http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2007-06/midway-story-never-ends

Note: The magazine is published US Naval Institute (USNI)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Institute
(in Annapolis, Maryland; private, non-profit; fouonded in 1873)

(B)
(1) Thomas Wildenberg, How the Japanese Lost the Battle of Midway. Naval War College Review, 59-146-149 (2006)
http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/5a946533-608d-409e-9738-b2c12543026e/How-the-Japanese-Lost-the-Battle-of-Midway--review
(book review on two books)

Note:
(a) Java Sea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Sea
(b) Midway Atoll
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midway_Atoll
(near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago [which extends some 1,500 miles], about a third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo; Uniquely among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 (also known as Samoa Time), one hour behind [and not part of] the state of Hawaiʻi; Midway, as its name suggests, lies nearly halfway between North America and Asia, and almost halfway around the world from Greenwich, England; section 2 History: 2.1 Nineteenth century)
(c) Battle of Midway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway
(June 4-7, 1942)
(d) Mitsuo FUCHIDA--the review misspelled the surname as FuchidaY, the first but not the second time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuo_Fuchida
(淵田 美津雄; 1902-1976; section 2 Service in World War II (the last 2 paragraphs; section 3 Postwar Activities)
(e) Masatake OKUMIYA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masatake_Okumiya
(奥宮 正武; 1909-2007)
(f) GHQ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GHQ
(GHQ from General Headquarters, may refer to: a high level military command center)
(g) For First Air Fleet, see 1st Air Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Air_Fleet_(Imperial_Japanese_Navy)
(The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) at the beginning of World War II contained the world's largest carrier fleet. At the centre, was the 1st Air Fleet 第一航空艦隊)

Mobile Force (see (2)): Kido Butai 機動部隊

(2) Thomas Wildenberg, Midway: Sheer Luck or Better Doctrine?  Naval War College Review, 58-121-135 (2005)
http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/e11ebd20-25fe-4ad0-8b8c-e63f80dfb6c4/Midway--Sheer-Luck-or-Better-Doctrine----Wildenber
("The outcome of the battle of Midway was decided, and the fate of the IJN was
sealed, at precisely 10:22 AM on 4 June 1942,when the first of three squadrons of
American dive-bombers from Yorktown and Enterprise attacked the First Air
Fleet as it was preparing to launch its own planes against the U.S. carriers")

Note:
(a) The article said, "The aircraft carrier, which was introduced by the Royal Navy in World War I, did not become an important capital ship until the Washington Treaty on Naval Arms Limitations was enacted in 1922."

(i) history of the aircraft carrier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_aircraft_carrier
(section 2.1 Flat-deck carriers in the World War I; The first ship to have a full-length flat deck was HMS Argus (1918), with the United States Navy not following suit until 1920 (USS Langley))
(ii) Washington Naval Treaty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Naval_Treaty
(five signatories: US, the British Empire, the Empire of Japan, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy)
(b) Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_H%C5%8Dsh%C5%8D
(鳳翔; In service 1922-1947)
(c) The article stated, "The two navies had ceased to share information by the time of the treaty. The lack of direct contactmay have been a godsend to the U.S. Navy, for it probably prevented a grievous error in carrier design—the twin-hangar dual flight deck."
(i) They referred to US and UK--rather than US and Japan.
(ii) What is "twin-hangar dual flight deck"?

HMS Courageous (50)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Courageous_(50)
(A two-storey hangar, each level 16 feet (4.9 m) high and 550 feet (167.6 m) long, was built on top of the remaining hull. The upper hangar level opened onto a short flying-off deck, below and forward of the main flight deck. Two 46-by-48-foot (14.0 × 14.6 m) lifts were installed fore and aft in the flight deck)

* Click the "flying-off deck," and you reach
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_deck#Early_flight_decks
(Because the take-off speed of early aircraft was so low, it was possible for an aircraft to make a very short take off when the launching ship was steaming into the wind)

This is why the article next talked about "Adding a small second flight deck as well, forward of the upper hangar."

* Thus the twin hangars were one on top of the other.

"Dual flight decks" were a short flying-off deck and a main flight deck.

* For an illustration, see HMS Courageous (Aircraft Carrier) (1939)
http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/ships/battleships-uk/7387/view/hms_glorious_(aircraft_carrier)/

The main flight deck is the horizontal deck on the top, from stern stretching amidships.

amidships (adv): "in or toward the part of a ship midway between bow and stern"
www.m-w.com

The short flying-off deck is at the bow, with a concave back, which was the twin hangars.

(d) For HMS Furious, Glorious, and Courageous, see Courageous class battlecruiser
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courageous_class_battlecruiser
(All three ships were laid up after the end of the war, but were rebuilt as aircraft carriers during the 1920s. Glorious and Courageous were sunk early in World War II and Furious was sold for scrap in 1948)

The quotation is all you need to know from this Wiki page.
(e) Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Akagi
(Namesake: Mount Akagi 赤城山 [in 群馬県]; In service: 1927–42)
(f) Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Kaga
(Namesake: Kaga Province 加賀国 [soutehrn part of the present-day 石川県]; In service: 1928–42)
(g) For "Semple Naval Air Mission," see Sempill Mission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sempill_Mission
(led by Captain the Master of Sempill)

* Sempill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sempill
(Sempill or Semple was a Scottish family including several notables * * *
William Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill (1893-1965) Master of Sempill)
(h) The deck park is a noun and deck parking is the action/status--without a hangar.
(i) SBD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBD
(Scout Bomber Douglas, in the standard U.S. naval aircraft naming system prior to 1962 also known as the Douglas SBD Dauntless)
(j) Koshirō OIKAWA  及川 古志郎
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koshir%C5%8D_Oikawa

oi 笈 【おい】 (n): "wooden box carried on one's back to store items for a pilgrimage"
Jim Breen's online Japanese dictionary

(k) For box formation, see cmbat box
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_box
(l) Tamon YAMAGUCHI 山口 多聞
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamon_Yamaguchi
(m) Japanese aircraft carrier Sōryū
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_S%C5%8Dry%C5%AB
(Namesake: Japanese: 蒼龍, meaning "Blue (or Green) Dragon") ; In commission 1937-1942)
(n) Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Hiry%C5%AB
(飛龍; a modified Sōryū-class aircraft carrier; In commission 1939-1942)
(o) Chūichi NAGUMO
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABichi_Nagumo
(南雲 忠一; 1887-1944)
(p) For Val, see Aichi D3A
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aichi_D3A
(Manufacturer Aichi Kokuki KK 愛知 航空機 会社)

KK stands for Kabushiki Kaisha. Thus Aichi Kokuki KK can be also known in English as "Aichi Aircraft Co. Ltd."
(q) The article commented, "It was one of these squadrons, VS-6 from the Enterprise, that made up for the lost planes from the Hornet, which failed to locate the enemy carriers."

USS Hornet (CV-8)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hornet_(CV-8)
(Hornet, Yorktown, and Enterprise launched aircraft, just as the Japanese carriers struck their planes below to prepare for a second attack on Midway [Atoll]. Hornet dive bombers followed an incorrect heading and did not find the enemy fleet. Several bombers and all of the escorting fighters were forced to ditch when they ran out of fuel attempting to return to the ship. Fifteen torpedo bombers of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) found their enemy and pressed home their attacks. They were met by overwhelming fighter opposition about 8 nmi (9.2 mi; 15 km) out, and with no escorts to protect them, they were shot down one by one. Ensign George H. Gay, USNR, was the only survivor of 30 men)

Please take notice: The quotation first discussed BOMBERS and then talked about TORPEDO BOMBERS.

Japanese carriers "prepare for a second attack on Midway." That is what the article discussed, at pp 131-132.


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