Naoki Hyakuta - The Eternal Zero

Sorry. I’m easily moved to tears in my old age.

The attack forces did not let Flight CPO Kanno and his men’s sacrifice go to waste. They swooped down on the enemy mobile task force, sinking the Lexington and damaging the Yorktown . Around the same time, Shokaku and Zuikaku came under enemy fire, but the CAP of Zeros, truly lethal, shot down almost all the enemy attack bombers and dive bombers. Shokaku took three hits but Zuikaku was unharmed. Amongst Zuikaku ’s CAP at that time was Tetsuzo Iwamoto. He would become the Imperial Navy’s top ace.

Yet it’s said that the battle, though a tactical victory, ended in defeat strategically. That’s because the Japanese military’s original goal of seizing Port Moresby was thwarted. The Fifth Carrier Division’s duty was to escort Army transports which were ferrying troops for a landing, but after the carrier battle, Fleet Commander Shigeyoshi Inoue ordered the retreat of the convoy. The enemy’s task force had already evacuated far away, but in fear of it the operation was suspended. It was a decision that all but wasted the efforts of those who had bravely fought in the vanguard. Later on, the Army would carry out an extremely reckless operation to capture Port Moresby, giving its soldiers only enough provisions and fuel for a one-way journey via an overland route across the Owen Stanley Range. Tens of thousands of soldiers perished.

Setting aside the strategic view, though, in the Coral Sea carrier vs. carrier battle, that is to say, aircrew vs. aircrew battle, we emerged victorious. The First and Second Carrier Divisions, more adept than the Fifth, participated in the next battle at Midway. It was only natural to assume that we would win there, too.

The Fifth Carrier Division was not part of the Battle of Midway. The Shokaku was damaged at Coral Sea and had lost a large number of aircraft and men. But I think that was odd. At the very least, Zuikaku was perfectly fine, and they probably could have replenished their aircraft somehow. Probably Combined Fleet HQ thought it was unnecessary to send in every aircraft carrier we had.

The U.S. military was completely different in that respect. The Yorktown actually required a month’s worth of repairs, but they spent just three days patching her up and deployed her for the Battle of Midway. They say many repairmen were still aboard even as she sailed. Admiral Spruance was adamant that the Yorktown be sent to Midway even if it meant losing the ship. We had always thought that Americans were happy-go-lucky and spineless, but that wasn’t the case. They sure had guts.

Let’s get back to June 5th and the Battle of Midway.

I was resting in the stand-by area inside the carrier after returning from the first wave of attacks on Midway Island. Suddenly, the torpedoes on the formation awaiting sortie on the flight deck were changed out for land bombs. It seemed that the second wave of attacks on Midway was set to begin posthaste. Until then, in preparation for the American task force, the attack bombers had been loaded with torpedoes for use on ships, but after reconnaissance indicated there were no enemy forces in the area, we were apparently switching tactics and sending out a second wave of bombers to strike the land base. Looking back now, I can see that was our first bit of negligence.

I said that the torpedoes were changed out in favor of bombs. But that’s not as simple as merely changing your shoes. The planes had to be lowered into the hangar on a lift; torpedoes removed, bombs loaded on, the planes were raised back up to the flight deck. This process had to be repeated for each aircraft, and there were dozens. Moreover, we’re talking about ordnance, which had to be handled with care. It probably took about two hours to complete unloading the torpedoes and loading the bombs. During that time, a slew of hostile planes flew in from Midway, but the already airborne Zeros handily fought them off.

When the ordnance was finally replaced, a recon plane reported the discovery of what appeared to be an enemy task force. We thought, American aircraft carriers, at last! However, the planes on our decks were fitted with bombs meant for land-based targets. How utterly unfortunate.

Fleet Commander Nagumo ordered the land bombs to be unloaded and the torpedoes to be equipped again. This was the correct measure to take, since land bombs could damage a carrier but not sink her. The paramount objective of the operation at Midway was to lure out the U.S. mobile forces—namely, their carrier fleet—and to annihilate them all at once. If we sank all of their aircraft carriers, we would sail unopposed in the Pacific. Lightning strikes that sent a ship to oblivion with one blow—torpedo attacks—were an absolute necessity in order to accomplish that.

The entire carrier fleet simultaneously switched out bombs for torpedoes, a repeat of the job they had just finished. I watched the process impatiently. The enemy was a mere 200 nautical miles away, and I was anxious to take the battle to them as soon as possible. I felt miserable, thinking that if we hadn’t just re-equipped, our attack forces could have taken off ages ago.

At some point, Miyabe appeared at my side. “Why the hell are we just loitering around? We must attack right away,” he said, uncharacteristically ruffled.

“We can’t sink a carrier with land bombs.”

“We don’t need to sink them. We just need to make the first move.”

“But if we’re gonna strike anyways, might as well sink ’em, right? If we only damage them and they run away at full speed, it’ll all be for nothing.”

“That’s better than not striking at all.”

“The goal of this operation is to annihilate their carrier fleet. There’s no point if they escape.”

“Then why were the torpedoes unloaded in the first place? If our primary targets are their carriers, then we should have kept the torpedoes loaded and waited for intel on their carriers.”

I was at a loss for words. He was right. Our battle plan for Midway featured two fronts—a strategy that needed to be avoided like the plague.

“They might come after us while we’re dithering,” Miyabe muttered to himself. Like a fool, I hadn’t even thought of such a scenario. I had just gone ahead and assumed that only our side had located the enemy.

Just then we fighter pilots received an order to increase the number of patrol planes in the air. The flight commander ordered Miyabe and several other pilots to provide air cover. Miyabe gave me a small wave, said “I’m off,” and ran towards his Zero on the flight deck. That was the last time we would exchange words.

Even after Miyabe and the other pilots took off, the torpedo reloading process limped along. The enemy could spot us at any moment. I felt for the first time the frustration of knowing the enemy was right there but not being able to strike at them. I wasn’t even a part of the attack contingent and I was positively itching, so the bomber guys must have been truly at the limits of their patience.

Suddenly a voice boomed out, “Enemy aircraft!” A formation of about a dozen planes was approaching at a low angle off the port side. They were still about 7,000 meters away. Our CAP guys were already on the move. The hostile aircraft were torpedo bombers. One strike from a torpedo could prove fatal.

I was seized by tension and fear. Get it done, CAP, I prayed.

The Zeros set on the cluster of torpedo bombers like a pack of hunting dogs. In the blink of an eye, the bombers burst into flames and fell from the sky. Every last bomber was shot down in mere minutes. It was a brilliant display. The crew on the carrier burst into spontaneous applause at such an amazing spectacle.