On Wed. 03 Jun 1942 In the morning, US PBY Catalina aircraft discovere.....

Listing Details

Date

1942-06-03

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Description

In the morning, US PBY Catalina aircraft discovered the location of the Japanese transports west of Midway Atoll. At 1230 hours, nine Midway-based B-17 bombers launched from Midway, reaching and attacking Japanese transports 660 miles to west at 1830 hours, inflicting no damage; meanwhile, US Navy Task Forces 16 and 17 changed course in an attempt to gain a more favorable battle for the upcoming battle. On the Japanese side, submarines arrived to form a cordon to detect American warship movements from the Hawaii Islands toward Midway Atoll; they did not realize that the American carriers had already passed. Far to the north, aircraft from Japanese carriers Ryujo and Junyo bombed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska; one of the Zero fighters sustained damage and unsuccessfully crash-landed on Akutan Island. In response, US Navy dispatched a task force of 5 cruisers and 4 destroyers to counter the Japanese attacks in the Aleutian Islands.