NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 5Following a debris field, the
vehicles came upon a wreck
deeply embedded in the sea-
floor. This vessel was identi-
fied as the wreck of the Japa-
nese carrier Kaga. Less than a
week later, the team found an-
other hulk, the carrier Akagi.
A remotely operated vehicle
recorded clear footage of the
Kaga, which lies some 17,
feet below the surface, reveal-
ing identifying details and the
damage done by U.S. forces.
“Unlike land battles, war
at sea leaves no traces on the
surface,” said Frank Thomp-
son, a historian from the Naval
History and Heritage Com-
mand. The finds, he said, “will
give historians a new perspec-
tive of one of World War II’s
pivotal battles.”Cracking the Code
Six months before the Battle
of Midway, the Japanese in-
flicted a devastating surprise
attack on the U.S. naval base
at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii,
which prompted U.S. entry
into World War II on Decem-
ber 8, 1941.
U.S. commanders knew
its naval base on the Midway
Atoll would be a logical next
target. Located 1,300 miles
northwest of Hawaii, thisCHESTER W. NIMITZ, COMMANDER
OF THE U.S. PACIFIC FLEET, WARNED
WASHINGTON, D.C., IN A MAY 1942
COMMUNICATION (BELOW), OF AN
IMMINENT JAPANESE ATTACK.AN AMERICAN PROPAGANDA POSTER
CELEBRATES THE U.S. VICTORY OVER THE
IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY AT THE BATTLE
OF MIDWAY IN JUNE 1942.
U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATIONAKG/ALBUM/PICTURES FROM HISTORY