The turning point of the war in the Pacific came thenext month at the Battle of Midway. The Japanese hadconcentrated on the central Pacific with the intention ofoccupying Midway Island. The four-carrier Japanesetask force was met by a U.S. carrier force. The U.S.force included the carriers USS Yorktown, USS Hornet,and USS Enterprise, plus Navy, Marine, and Army airunits from Midway.Dive bombers proved to be the downfall of theJapanese carrier force. When the battle ended, theJapanese had lost four carriers, one heavy cruiser, and258 aircraft. The United States had lost 132 aircraft, thedestroyer USS Hammann (DD 412), and the aircraftcarrier USS Yorktown (CV 5). In April 1943, anotherUSS Yorktown was commissioned; and it continued inthe proud tradition established by its predecessor.In November 1942. the Navy fought the Battle ofGuadalcanal. After 3 days of bitter fighting, theJapanese naval forces retreated, and U.S. Marines wereable to secure the island. With the fall of Guadalcanal,the southern Solomons came under Allied control andAustralia was in less danger of attack.On June 19, 1944, U.S. Task Force 58 (fig. 5-11)caught the combined Japanese fleet steaming out ofTawi in the southern Philippines. The Battle of thePhilippine Sea ended with the Japanese carrier forcesshort of ships, planes, gas, and pilots. Unable to replacethese, the Imperial Navy was never able to recover fromlosses, although many desperate battles were to follow.The final blow to the Japanese Navy came October23, 1944. In a last-chance effort to salvage thePhilippines, the Japanese sent a naval force to the LeyteGulf to attack the U.S. Fleet. Their plan backfired andthe operation was a complete failure: It was the decidingcatastrophe for their Navy. The loss of the Philippinessevered their empire, and the homeland was cut off fromits main source of supply from the south. With the lossesat Okinawa and Iwo Jima, the war in the Pacific wasapproaching its final days.European ArenaOn the Atlantic side of World War II, the U.S. Navyhad been fighting off U-boats in the long-running Battleof the Atlantic. The Navy protected convoys bound forEurope. Small escort carriers dubbed “jeeps” wereoperating with convoys; and their aircraft weresuccessfully attacking German submarines as theysurfaced to recharge their batteries. Limited range ofland-based airplanes was no longer a significant factor;and distance offered no sanctuary for the U-boat.5-20Student Notes:Figure 5-10.—The day of infamy.
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