Midway inquest : why the Japanese lost the Battle of Midway
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages [389]-392)and index.

"The Battle of Midway, June 4, 1942, is arguably the most famous naval battle in American history. Although there are a number of excellent accounts of the battle, none satisfactorily explain why the Japanese lost, given their overwhelming advantage in firepower. In particular, there has been no satisfactory explanation for the central mystery of the battle: why the Japanese could not get a bomber strike launched against the American carrier force before their carriers were attacked and destroyed by American dive bombers from the carriers Enterprise and Yorktown." "While it is well known that the Japanese were unable to launch an immediate attack because they were in the process of changing armament on their planes from torpedoes to land bombs for a second strike on Midway Island, none of the published accounts of the battle give firm explanations for why the rearming operation could not have been reversed, and an attack launched before the American dive bombers arrived. Based on extensive research in Japanese primary records, Japanese literature on the battle, and interviews with over two dozen Japanese veterans from the carrier air groups, this book solves the mystery at last."--BOOK JACKET