Midway From The Japanese Perspective

It's 7 a.m. on June 4, 1942. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi walks along the bridge of the huge Japanese aircraft carrier, the Hiryu. Today, he has the great honor of commanding two aircraft carriers, the Hiryu and the Soryu. Next to the other two carriers, the Akagi and the Kaga, four ships form an elite strike force known as the Kidobutai. This is a crucial day for Yamaguchi and the Japanese Navy. Just two hours ago, a Japanese force of 108 aircraft was launched to attack Midway Atoll, a crucial military base of the Ewa, in an ambitious operation. Yamaguchi's restless steps are interrupted by the Hiryu's captain, Tomeo Kaku, with an urgent message from his superior and chief of operations, Admiral Nagum. We were unable to destroy the island's most important target. The alarm is sounded aboard the Hiryu. The Hiryu is attacked by American aircraft flying from Midway's still operational base. They are spotted and the aircraft arrive quickly to intercept the Americans. They wildly cut through the American torpedoes, which grow as escort fighters to keep them safe. Some of the American aircraft still manage to launch attacks. But the gods are on the side of the Japanese. They miss the Hiryu and the others on the Kidobutai by a small margin. There will be a second attack on the Midway Islands. Take action quickly. Yes, Admiral. The sailors began to frantically rearm the planes. After half an hour of rearmament, they can barely change bombs in just half of the planes, leaving the Kidobutai unable to attack enemy ships. And with the Japanese hangars full of explosives, they become especially vulnerable to bomb attacks. It is exactly at this moment that Yamaguchi receives the news that confirms his worst fears. Commander, it's a reconnaissance plane. Ten enemy surface units have been confirmed. Although they do not know specifically what type of ships they are, any naval presence is an immediate threat and cause of alarm. An order comes from Nagumo. Delay the second attack. Leave torpedoes for aircraft that have not yet changed bombs. A precious time has been wasted. And now they are stuck between two strategies. Stop rearmament and order the preparation for a ship-to-ship attack. Meanwhile, the Midway planes continue to come. The Japanese anti-aircraft guns fire at the attackers. The impressive power of Japanese defense detention does its dark job. The American planes fall one after the other. The Americans, however, are unstoppable. And the Hiryu is almost hit. That was close! Yamaguchi becomes more and more impatient with Admiral Nagumo. Why don't the other aircraft carriers launch an attack while Hiryu deals with the bombers? Send a signal to Nagumo. We must immediately consider the launch of the attack team. But there is no time to launch. The Japanese planes that attacked Midway earlier arrive and need to land immediately. For half an hour, Kido Butai makes the meticulous and time-consuming effort. To recover all the planes that were returning. Meanwhile, Yamaguchi can barely maintain the composure. The last plane for Bruce Cummins. American bombers! More are coming! Flames of American fighter jets appear over the water, going straight for Kido Butai. And these are different from the aircraft of the Army Air Force before. They are not just the ships on the American surface that they face. They are aircraft carriers. The American Naval Air Force found them. The Zeros that are in the air take action. Hurry! Let's go! We have to stop them before they launch the torpedoes! The Zeros dive and launch behind the slow and vulnerable American torpedo planes. The ability of the Zeros pilots is unquestionable. They fired their weapons and American planes were shot down in the mountains. Yamaguchi observes the distant sparks as the American torpedoes fall. But in the lead there are still bombers flying. They get closer and closer and somehow, through the whirlwind, they manage to launch their torpedoes. The deadly load slides silently over the blue waves. Aboard the Iriu, five tracks are spotted approaching from the seaboard side. Are you ready for a torpedo attack? Test your abilities in action between ships with World of Warships, the sponsor of today's video. Dive in this free game with more than 600 historically accurate ships, including those presented in this film. The new effects and impressive textures of the water make you almost feel the sea water on your face. They release new content every month so that you can always have new gaming experiences. And don't forget, the game is available for console. Find your community in World of Warships, where there is a base of fans passionate and dedicated to chats, live broadcasts and tournaments in the game. Support the channel and participate in the great game today using the code YANHUB to receive a huge initial package, including 500 dobrões, 1 million credits and 7 days of premium account and a ship. Get into action and try not to catch a spicy fish. Back to the Iriu, Captain Kaku puts him in a difficult situation. The ship turns. Despite its size, the Iriu is agile. Incredibly, under the ability of the Japanese captains, no Japanese ship is hit. But with all the maneuvers done, the Kido Butsai breaks its formation. There is a brief celebration and the men celebrate. But Yamaguchi frowns knowing that despite the victory in the fight against the American torpedo attack, this is far from over. At 10h22, he looks up at the sky. What he sees almost makes his heart stop. Almost 50 SBD and Dauntless bombers of the Iriu Navy of two different flights appear above. The Japanese fighters Zero are all engaged down there. Eliminating the last of the enemy torpedoes. There is no one on site to prevent the Dauntless flame from preparing to dive from above. Yamaguchi's stomach gives a knot as he watches the Americans slowly dive and land on the Kido Butsai. Southwest, 30 bombers dive straight into the Kaga. The anti-aircraft fire springs towards the sky while the Japanese shoot a wall of lead. But that's not enough. On board the Kaga, the hangar deck is full of bombs and torpedoes. A series of catastrophic explosions destroy the Kaga. Yamaguchi sees the fireball and feels a shock wave. But he doesn't even have time to record the cataclysmic explosion of the Kaga, as he turns east to see 17 Dauntless diving in the Soryu. Bombs are launched. There is an explosion! Through the flaming sea, Yamaguchi turns to look at the Akagi, the captain ship of his superior, Admiral Nagumo. To see only three Dauntless diving in the Akagi, they approach him and release their Kagas. A bomb is launched. Two. Two bombs miss, but there is a third. And it hits in the middle of the command cabin. Penetrating the lower conveys and exploding. Then follow the devastating side explosions. All that remains of the Kidobutai is Yamaguchi and his ship, the Hiryu. While a wave of diving bombers, now without bombs, are forced to withdraw and return home. Yamaguchi is in command of the last Kidobutai attack capacity. He is dominated by a sense of determination. Yamaguchi allows himself a slight smile, and Sena appears second in command. This is a message from Nagara. Nagumo has survived. He has set up headquarters there. Gentlemen, we have been hit, but it is not over. We will use everything we have left to counter the American air defense. We will attack in two stages. First, the high-pressure bomb. An hour later, the giant bomb. Twenty-four aircraft are launched, led by Lieutenant Mishio Kobayashi, commander of the Hiryu diving bombers. On the way to the American aircraft carriers, the formation encounters a group of EO aircraft. The Japanese fighter escort leaves to attack and stays behind, leaving the bombers unprotected. At 11h55, Kobayashi sees the American fleet about 40 km away. He takes his 18 diving bombers on a climb to gain altitude. The Japanese aircraft fly in two groups of 9, one slightly above the other, ready to attack. As well as 12 American Wildcat fighters enter Sena, the first group of Japanese bombers is attacked by 5 Wildcats. The other 7 Wildcats attack the second group of Japanese in front, without the escort, so it becomes a massacre as the Japanese aircraft quickly fall from the sky. By the time four escort fighters reach them, the damage is already done. Only 10 Wildcats remain, two of which discarded their bombs during the confusion to maneuver. A desperate Lieutenant Kobayashi warns an American aircraft carrier below, the USS Yorktown. Despite the casualties, he is determined and signals to start the attack. The 8 armed aircraft split into two groups ready to dive. A group of 3 goes east, and the other group of 5 circulates to approach by the sun. The anti-aircraft fire spreads towards the Japanese, while the ship's gunmen throw everything they have against the attackers. The bravery of the Japanese pilots is unquestionable, and they move forward. Bombs are launched. Lieutenant Kobayashi is seen for the last time in the middle of the action in Yorktown, when his ship is hit and falls. And then, two more suffer the same fate. But three consecutive bombs hit directly Yorktown. The first bomb penetrates the hangar deck. The second falls near the island, in the middle of the ship. The last hits the elevator and detonates in the depths of its hull. The remaining 5 ships return home. At the end of the attack, Hiryu's dive bomber unit was destroyed. 13 of the 18 VALs were shot down, with 3 fighters 0 also lost. Despite the losses, the attack was not in vain. According to reconnaissance aircraft reports, Yamaguchi is aware that he is facing 3 American aircraft carriers. He calls Lieutenant Joichi Tomonaga, who originally led the morning attack in Midway. Our ability and leadership as a pilot may reverse the situation. Take command of the second attack, and bring glory to our country. Tomonaga's aircraft was damaged during the morning attack and was technically considered unusable. Hiryu's technicians fix everything as best they can, but the fuel tanks are leaking a lot. Commander, please. Replace me with the aircraft. Yankees is only 90 miles away. We can go back and forth on one-way gasoline. He solemnly gets on his damaged aircraft, knowing that it is destined to be a one-man mission. After an hour of flight, Tomonaga sees the task force of the MR-6 aircraft carriers about 56 km away, with the aircraft carrier apparently intact. Tomonaga has no idea that this is actually the previously damaged Yorktown. He immediately orders an attack. The Japanese begin a smooth dive from the altitude. Tomonaga divides his force into two groups of five. Each group will go in front of the target and conduct a bighorn attack. Tomonaga approaches his aircraft more and more Yorktown, eager to hit it. But before getting close enough, an American Wildcat intercepts him from behind and opens fire. Tomonaga's kite catches fire, but with determination and skill, he keeps the aircraft in flames leveled long enough to launch his torpedo. He is shot down and falls into the water. The last thing he sees is the trail of his torpedo. His torpedo does not hit the target, nor the two others launched by his four-wing section. They are all shot down by fighters or anti-aircraft fire. The damaged Yorktown spins as fast as it can, but by doing so, the second force of five aircraft advances towards the bomber's bow. The launch system of one of the torpedo planes fails and four torpedoes are launched. They advance towards a ship that maneuvers desperately. Two devastating explosions hit the bomber and the ship stops immediately and reaches a 23-degree slope. If the job is done, the surviving aircraft return to the airfield. Despite the heavy losses, the interrogation of the surviving pilots gives Yamaguchi reasons for encouragement. Yamaguchi believes he has deactivated a second American aircraft carrier and he plans a third attack for the 18 Hells. But before he can put his plan into action, Yamaguchi's optimism is shaken. At 3.50 p.m., a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft transmits by radio that two other American aircraft carriers are operating in another large task force located northwest, about 190 kilometers from Hiryu. This task force will soon launch the aircraft. If it doesn't come out yet... Yamaguchi's worst fears came true just over an hour later. At 5.00 p.m., 24 American aircraft appear in the sky. Six Dauntless bombers dive into Hiryu, but the ship suddenly turns to bomb. Japanese artillery fire their weapons and all enemy aircraft fail to hit. Soon another 14 dive bombers return to Hiryu. Hiryu is filled with jets of white water as it turns violently. Two bombs hit the front command cabin. Yamaguchi looks up and sees a final group of three starting their dives. In a matter of seconds, two more bombs hit Hiryu's front command cabin, creating a deep crater. The fires are now out of control and Yamaguchi's last hopes are burning in the hangars. At 9.23 p.m., the ship sinks in the water, but Yamaguchi is still on board. Darkness envelops the flaming ocean. At 2.30 p.m., about 800 survivors gather around Yamaguchi under the brilliant light of the ship on fire. I am fully responsible for the loss of Hiryu and Soryu. I will be with the ship until the end. I order everyone to leave the ship and continue the loyalty to the Emperor. With this, the men return to Tokyo. The national flag is then lowered. As the sun rises from the mast, a group of hornets play during the night the national anthem, Kimigayo. Yamaguchi asks for two messages to be transmitted, the first to Admiral Nagumo. I have no words for what has happened. I only wish for a stronger Japanese Navy. And revenge. The second message goes to Captain Toshio Abe, commanding the 10th Destroyer Division in the Naokapitania Kazaguma. Use torpedoes to sink Hiryu. Captain Kaku chose to share the fate of the ship, despite Yamaguchi's order. The Admiral understood and did not protest. At 0510, the Makigumo counter-torpedo fires two torpedoes. One misses, the other explodes with a bang. The aircraft carrier finally sinks at 0912. Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi sank with this ship and was posthumously conferred with the Order of the First Class. Captain Kaku, who stayed with him until the end, was posthumously promoted against the Admiral. Thanks again to World of Warships. 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