The War at Sea

Summary

Podcast Summary: "World War II with Tom Hanks"

Episode 5: The War at Sea

Release Date: June 2, 2026
Host/Narrator: Tom Hanks & Jeremy Reagan (The HISTORY Channel)

Overview

This episode delves into the pivotal role of naval warfare in World War II, exploring how the struggle for sea control determined the fate of nations and ultimately the outcome of the conflict. From the desperate battle to maintain Britain's Atlantic lifeline, to the innovations of aircraft carrier warfare in the Pacific, Tom Hanks and expert historians recount the human and strategic drama of the "war at sea." The episode brings to life key events, decisions, and personalities, including the U-boat menace, the special relationship between Churchill and Roosevelt, and monumental naval battles such as Coral Sea and Midway that reshaped the war's trajectory.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

I. Britain Under Siege and the Atlantic Lifeline

• Nazi U-Boat Threat to Britain

  • Britain relies on imported food, oil, and raw materials.

    "More than two thirds of Britain's food comes in by ship. Over 90% of Britain's oil comes by ship." — Historian/Expert [02:40]

  • In 1940, German U-boats sink over 500 merchant ships.

    "The Germans are able to sink 3 million tons of British shipping between the summer of 1940 and the end of the year. That's unsustainable." — Historian/Expert [03:39]

  • Admiral Karl Dönitz uses 'wolf pack' tactics for coordinated submarine attacks, devastating British convoys.

    "The wolf pack tactic requires good communication, good coordination." — Historian/Expert [05:12]
    "Imagine what it's like to be in a convoy under attack… you cannot stop to pick up survivors… because if you do, you know a submarine is waiting to sink you." — Historian/Expert [05:34]

• Churchill’s Desperation and Roosevelt’s Response

  • Churchill’s anxiety:

    "He said it's the only thing that kept him up at night in the Second World War was the German threat in the Atlantic." — Historian/Expert [06:26]

  • Churchill’s urgent plea to Roosevelt for aid.

    "Churchill says, it's the most important letter I will ever write." — Historian/Expert [07:22]
    "I need planes, ships, guns and money." — Churchill via Historian/Expert [07:36]

• Lend-Lease and the Strengthening of Allied Ties

  • Roosevelt devises Lend-Lease, sending vital military aid to Britain using the now-famous analogy:

    "If my neighbor's house is on fire, I lend him the hose. I don't make him pay for it." — Historian/Expert [09:01]

  • US Navy starts patrolling the Atlantic; tensions escalate with Germany due to US aid.

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II. Meeting of Minds: Churchill and Roosevelt’s Atlantic Charter

• First Historic Summit:

  • Churchill travels aboard HMS Prince of Wales; Roosevelt secretly transfers to a US cruiser for their first meeting in Newfoundland.

    "You can see the beginnings of what would become arguably the most important political friendship in history." — Historian/Expert [12:32]

  • They draft the Atlantic Charter, setting out shared war aims.

    "They knew that history had mysteriously but unmistakably cast them in this drama." — Historian/Expert [13:59]

• Escalating Naval Tensions

  • US Navy escorts British convoys further into the Atlantic (up to Iceland), pushing towards direct confrontation.
  • Series of attacks on US destroyers (USS Greer, USS Kearney, USS Reuben James) bring America to the brink of war.

    "Roosevelt again condemns German barbarism, German brutality. How can they do this?" — Historian/Expert [15:55]
    "An undeclared war almost certainly at some point going to turn into a shooting one." — Historian/Expert [15:21]

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III. The Pacific War Ignites: Pearl Harbor and Naval Transformation

• Pearl Harbor & America Enters the War

  • December 7, 1941: Surprise Japanese attack destroys much of the US Pacific Fleet.

    "What is the country that finally attacks America on American soil? It's Japan." — Historian/Expert [19:15]

  • Both Churchill and Roosevelt realize their nations are fully united in the war effort.

    "FDR says it's true. We're all in the same boat now." — Historian/Expert [19:27]

• Strategic Challenge for FDR: Two-Ocean War

  • FDR juggles demands from both the British (Atlantic convoys) and US Navy (Pacific response).

    "The British are yelling at you to convoy in the North Atlantic. The Navy's yelling at you for more resources to go to the Pacific." — Historian/Expert [19:58]

  • Admiral Chester Nimitz is appointed to lead the battered but still formidable US Pacific Fleet, based on surviving carriers and submarines.

    "He sees that American naval strategy based on the battleship is all gone. But we still have aircraft carriers and we still have submarines." — Historian/Expert [21:03]

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IV. Turning Points: The Carrier Era and Major Battles

A. Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942)

• First carrier-vs-carrier naval battle, where ships never directly see each other.
• Intelligence by Commander Joseph Rochefort allows Nimitz to anticipate and counter Japanese plans.

  "Trying to find your enemy is half the battle. A large fleet can become almost invisible, and then once you find it, you have to hit them before they find you." — Historian/Expert [23:24]

• USS Lexington is sunk, Yorktown survives, and the Japanese invasion is stopped.

  "The Battle of the Coral Sea is the first time that the United States has turned back a Japanese offensive." — Narrator (Jeremy Reagan) [25:05]

B. The Battle of Midway (June 1942)

• Rochefort's codebreakers confirm Japanese plans to attack "AF" (Midway) through ingenious radio deception.

  "Midway is going to radio back in the clear that hey, our desalinization plant has just broken... Shortly thereafter a Japanese radio station will send another message back to the Japanese fleet. That AF has just run out of fresh water. And now, for the first time, they know it's Midway." — Chumba Casino Advertiser [28:58]

• Courage and initiative of pilots like Wade McCluskey, who pushes his squadron to keep searching despite low fuel.

  "Deciding to continue his search and continue looking for the enemy. That's really ballsy." — Historian/Expert [37:58]

• Dramatic and costly attacks by US torpedo bombers (VT-8) are all but annihilated, but their sacrifice splits Japanese defenses.

  "Of the 15 aircraft that attack, 14 of them will be shot down. They get absolutely sacrificed." — Chumba Casino Advertiser [33:16]

• Timely arrival of US dive bombers leads to a decisive four-minute barrage:

  "In the span of four minutes, United States dive bombers knock out three Japanese aircraft carriers." — Chumba Casino Advertiser [39:45]

• The blow at Midway destroys four Japanese carriers and turns the tide in the Pacific.

  "This is a turning point." — Narrator (Jeremy Reagan) [41:13]
  "Midway is absolutely critical. It allows Roosevelt to get out of this defensive crouch... and begin thinking about, okay, how would we like to reshape this war?" — Historian/Expert [41:38]
  "The idea that we can fight and win against the Japanese, that's powerful." — Chumba Casino Advertiser [41:56]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Wolf Packs:

  "Nobody attacks until they're all present and then they pounce." — Historian/Expert [05:22]

• On Emotional Stakes:

  "He said it gnawed at his bowels… the only thing that kept him up at night in the Second World War was the German threat in the Atlantic." — Historian/Expert (on Churchill) [06:26]

• On Lend-Lease Philosophy:

  "If my neighbor's house is on fire, I lend him the hose. I don't make him pay for it. I just ask for it back." — Historian/Expert (FDR) [09:01]

• On Roosevelt & Churchill's First Meeting:

  "You can see the beginnings of what would become arguably the most important political friendship in history." — Historian/Expert [12:32]

• On Naval Innovation:

  "He sees that American naval strategy based on the battleship is all gone. But we still have aircraft carriers and we still have submarines." — Historian/Expert [21:03]

• On the Midway Pilots:

  "There are some that had never even taken off an aircraft carrier before... what you see is the swagger now... probably hiding a little bit of the fear of the unknown." — Chumba Casino Advertiser [29:59]

• After Midway:

  "This is a turning point." — Narrator (Jeremy Reagan) [41:13]
  "The emotional outcome of Midway might be the biggest thing... For the Americans, the idea that we can fight and win against the Japanese, that's powerful." — Chumba Casino Advertiser [41:56]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro/Setting the Stage: [01:04–02:04]
• Wolf Packs & U-boat Threat: [02:04–06:17]
• Churchill-Roosevelt Correspondence & Lend-Lease: [06:51–10:26]
• Roosevelt & Churchill Atlantic Charter Meeting: [10:44–13:59]
• US Navy Begins Escorting Convoys: [14:17–15:31]
• Escalation and Attacks on US Ships: [15:31–16:12]
• Pearl Harbor and US Entry Into WWII: [18:40–19:58]
• Admiral Nimitz, Carriers, Pacific Shift: [20:19–22:16]
• Coral Sea and Carrier Warfare: [22:16–26:33]
• Midway: Codebreaking, Battle Build-Up: [26:33–31:25]
• Midway: Torpedo Bombers’ Sacrifice: [31:41–33:16]
• Midway: Dive Bombers' Triumph: [37:05–39:45]
• Midway Aftermath and Turning Point: [41:13–42:18]

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Closing Reflections

This episode masterfully blends narrative and expert commentary to illuminate how the battle for the seas shaped the course of World War II. By highlighting the desperate struggles, fateful decisions, and technological revolutions—from Roosevelt’s high-stakes diplomacy to McCluskey’s daring navigation above the Pacific—the podcast underscores the global stakes and human costs of naval warfare. The episode ends with the US gaining the initiative in the Pacific, setting the stage for future Allied offensives and the eventual outcome of the war.

Transcript

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[Narrator (Tom Hanks)]

Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt are Navy men. They understand that World War II will be won by the side that controls the seas. Early in the war, Germany dominates the Atlantic and threatens Great Britain, while Japan is attempting to build an empire across the Asia Pacific theater. The attack on Pearl harbor and Germany's declaration of war brings America directly into the conflict, a global struggle that will range across many seas and many oceans. But the US Navy has a new weapon, the aircraft carrier, which extends its reach and allows it to challenge an enemy thousands of miles away.

[Tom Hanks]

This is world war ii with tom hanks episode 5 the war at sea.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

In late 1940, British cities are pounded from the air by the gyllen Luftwaffe almost every night. Led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the people of Great Britain show no sign of surrender. But most of the food and material the island nation needs to survive must be brought from abroad in British ships, and Nazi U boats threaten every one of them.

[Historian/Expert]

More than two thirds of Britain's food comes in by ship. Over 90% of Britain's oil comes by ship.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Britain also needs raw materials.

[Historian/Expert]

You can't build a Lancaster bomber or a Spitfire out of steam. You need aluminum. Britain has no aluminum, so it needs to ship it all across the Atlantic.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Most of what Britain needs comes from one source, America. President Franklin D. Roosevelt has declared the United States an arsenal of democracy. A lifeline is established American resources carried by British convoys, but it's a perilous journey. In 1940 alone, over 500 British merchant ships are lost.

[Historian/Expert]

The Germans are able to sink 3 million tons of British shipping between the summer of 1940 and the end of the year. That's unsustainable. If Churchill can't keep up the flow of supplies to Britain, well, you're in existential trouble.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The man directing Germany's U boat campaign is Admiral Karl Donitz, a World War I U boat commander himself. Throughout the Great War, the Germans used unrestricted submarine warfare to attempt to choke Britain into submission.

[Historian/Expert]

Donitz's mind is pure mathematics. You sink more merchant ships than can be built to starve the British, to deprive Britain of the raw materials and the calories needed to fight the war.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

In 1940, Donitz devises a new tactic. He groups up to 20U boats and orders them to hunt British convoys. They're called wolf packs.

[Historian/Expert]

The moment one U boat finds a convoy, it radios back to Donitz. Donitz then looks at where all his U boats are.

Dunitz then vectors all other U boats in and around those waters onto the same target.

The wolf pack tactic requires good communication, good coordination.

Nobody attacks until they're all present and then they pounce.

Imagine what it's like to be in a convoy under attack. Even if your ship doesn't get hit, you cannot stop to pick up survivors. You hear them screaming. You want to help them, but you cannot stop, because if you do, you know a submarine is waiting to sink you.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Through 1940, the wolf packs are so successful, their crews refer to it as the Happy Time.

[Historian/Expert]

Donitz's plan to strangle Great Britain is working.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Attacked by sea and by air, Britain's survival falls largely on the shoulders of one man, Winston Churchill.

[Historian/Expert]

In November 1940, Churchill is told in no uncertain terms by government officials that there are simply not enough supplies getting into Britain. Britain is not going to be able to continue the war. He said it gnawed at his bowels. He said it's the only thing that kept him up at night in the Second World War was the German threat in the Atlantic.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Desperate, Prime Minister Churchill writes to President Roosevelt.

[Historian/Expert]

Franklin Roosevelt had been Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the First World War. He understood the role of sea power.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

In early December, Roosevelt sets aside the burdens of office for a few days in the Caribbean.

[Historian/Expert]

And a seaplane brings a letter from Churchill.

And Churchill says, it's the most important letter I will ever write.

Churchill is terrified. He's coming closer to losing than he ever has. He says, I need help.

I need planes, ships, guns and money.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Roosevelt has long understood the threat Nazi Germany poses to the United States. But he's been constrained from offering direct aid to the British because of Americans anxiety over getting involved in another world war.

[Historian/Expert]

Roosevelt had read Mein Kampf in German. He understood in a way that not many Americans did what Hitler was about. But 80 or 90% of the country had no interest in being involved in any way in military conflict in the old world. FDR understands that if the United States is to take its place as a leader of the world, he's got to do it very, very carefully.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Roosevelt returns to Washington with a plan. He calls it Lend Lease.

[News Reporter/Announcer]

I ask this Congress for authority and for funds sufficient to manufacture additional munitions and war supplies of many kinds to be turned over to those nations which are now in actual war with aggressor nations.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Churchill's letter has been answered.

[Historian/Expert]

As he put it, if my neighbor's house is on fire, I lend him the hose. I don't make him pay for it. I just asked for it back.

Afterward, church had been thrown a lifeline. Lend Lease would keep Britain alive.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

President Roosevelt shepherds the Lend lease legislation designated H.R. 1776 through Congress. American weapons, including tanks and planes, are headed for Great Britain. But these convoys will move through hazardous waters. Spring 1941. American ships carrying Lend Lease supplies to Britain are threatened by Donitz's wolf packs. Roosevelt understands the risk, but because he knows what's at stake, it's a risk he believes worth taking. He writes to Prime Minister Churchill, I believe that the outcome of this struggle is going to be decided in the Atlantic. And unless Hitler can win there, he cannot win anywhere in the world. FDR extends the US maritime security zone to 26 degrees west. A significant part of the Atlantic is now patrolled by the US Navy.

[Historian/Expert]

He takes over more than half of the Atlantic and turns it into an American lake. Roosevelt is now saying, we will attack anyone who goes to war in those areas, knowing the only people who are going to make attacks in that area are Germans and submarines.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

As American and British interests align, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill agree to a summit to discuss strategy, not just for the battle in the Atlantic, but for the whole war. They will meet in a bay just off Newfoundland on the eastern edge of Canada. Roosevelt tells the Washington press that he's taking a vacation on the presidential yacht, the Potomac. But once at sea, he transfers to the heavy cruiser Augusta and sets sail to meet Churchill.

[Historian/Expert]

And events were conspiring to bring them on stage at the same hour. At a cataclysmic moment. Roosevelt wanted Churchill as close as possible.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Churchill travels to meet Roosevelt on the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, escorted by Royal Navy destroyers. But summer storms prevent the escorts from staying with the Prime Minister's ship alone. The HMS Prince of Wales travels through U boat menaced waters. The same journey that British ships continue to make every day. On August 9, the President and the Prime Minister meet.

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It's a deeply emotional and powerful moment

[Historian/Expert]

because it's their first meeting as the leaders of their respective countries.

Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were very similar men in many ways. They both believed that they were destined to play a great role in the lives of their nations and of the world. It was very important FDR to stand when he met Churchill because of the polio. This was a pure effort of will. He did not want to be seated in front of men who were fighting. You can see the beginnings of what would become arguably the most important political friendship in history. In those first moments, Churchill's boyishly happy and is so excited that the President of the United States is receiving him. It's also important to remember the intimacy of being together at sea, in the vast ocean where they're looking each other in the eye. They want to get along, they want to please the other.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The two leaders also want to map a way forward for the world. They produce the Atlantic Charter with joint war aims and a blueprint to prevent another world war.

[Historian/Expert]

They knew that history had mysteriously but unmistakably cast them in this drama. And it was a reminder, an emotional reminder of what was at stake.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

When Churchill departs for home, FDR sends two American warships to accompany him as far as Iceland. In fall 1941, Roosevelt orders the U.S. navy to escort British convoys halfway across the atlantic.

[Historian/Expert]

It puts U.S. forces now very close to Europe. Everything about that is a way to be more aggressive to Germany.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

On September 4, 1941, the USS Greer is attacked by a German U boat. The Greer strikes back. Roosevelt responds with a shoot on sight order.

[News Reporter/Announcer]

I tell you the blunt fact that the German submarine fired first upon this American destroyer Greer with deliberate design to sinker.

[Historian/Expert]

What we are seeing are tensions ratcheting up in the Atlantic. An undeclared war almost certainly at some point going to turn into a shooting one.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

On October 17, the USS Kearney is damaged by a torpedo from a German U boat. 11 sailors are killed. Two weeks later, the USS Reuben James is torpedoed and sunk. 115 sailors are killed.

[Historian/Expert]

Roosevelt again condemns German barbarism, German brutality. How can they do this?

But Roosevelt doesn't declare war. And he realizes this isn't quite Enough to base an entry into the Second

[Narrator (Tom Hanks)]

World War

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

at the end of 1941. Preserving Great Britain's Atlantic lifeline is FDR's chief naval concern. But in the Pacific, a different threat is about to launch.

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[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

December 7, 1941. Six Japanese aircraft carriers with over 300 dive bombers and torpedo planes approach America's largest naval base in the Pacific.

[News Reporter/Announcer]

We interrupt this broadcast. Bring you this important bulletin from the United Press. Flash Washington. The White House announces Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

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What is the country that finally attacks

[Historian/Expert]

America on American soil? It's Japan.

[News Reporter/Announcer]

Messages from Tokyo say that Japan has announced a formal declaration of war against both the United States and Britain.

[Historian/Expert]

Churchill learns about Pearl harbor from the BBC. Here's the broadcast announcing this he calls fdr. FDR says it's true. We're all in the same boat now.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Four days later, Germany declares war on the United States. America will fight a war across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. And FDR is now a wartime president.

[Historian/Expert]

Roosevelt comes under great pressure. He really finds the first few months of 1942 probably the most difficult in the war. But if you're Roosevelt, everyone's yelling at you. The British are yelling at you to convoy and the the North Atlantic. The Navy's yelling at you for more resources to go to the Pacific

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

to fight the war in the Pacific. FDR appoints Admiral Chester Nimitz as the new commander in chief.

[Historian/Expert]

Pacific Cinque Pac Nimitz arrives to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. While Pearl harbor is still a burning mess. It just stinks of death and fire and destruction.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Nimitz takes command of a weakened Pacific fleet. Most American battleships are destroyed or damaged at Pearl harbor, but its aircraft carriers were at sea and escaped the attack. Nimitz is relying on admirals like William Bull Halsey to press the fight against the Japanese.

[Historian/Expert]

He sees that American naval strategy based on the battleship is all gone. But we still have aircraft carriers and we still have submarines. Chester Nimitz understands. Okay, out with the old, in with the new.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Nimitz adjusts American naval strategy to rely on aircraft carriers and a series of raids.

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Because those aircraft carriers are available, he does have a tool to punch back at Japan.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The Imperial Japanese Navy is well trained and well equipped. They dominate and control the western half of the Pacific. April 1942. Four months after Pearl Harbor. Admiral Nimitz is eager to go on the offensive. But where the Navy's top cryptanalyst, Commander Joseph Rochefort, and his team decode signals that reveal the Japanese Navy's plans.

[Historian/Expert]

The intelligence that Rochefort is bringing to Nimitz is not necessarily all that clear cut. But the picture that is developing is one of continued Japanese interest in the South Pacific.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Rochefort believes the Japanese are going to invade southern New Guinea. From there, they could block the sea lanes that connect the United States and Australia and possibly strike Australia, which is the key to the American strategy in the South Pacific.

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The Japanese would control everything from Japan to Australia, that entire linkage to the Indian Ocean and, oh, by the way, a principal ally in the southern part of the hemisphere.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Nimitz dispatches two aircraft carriers, the Lexington and the Yorktown, to intercept the Japanese force. They are the only two carriers available.

[Historian/Expert]

His basic game plan is to cruise in the corner Coral Sea and wait for The Japanese moves and deliver an attack against the Japanese.

It's hard sometimes to remember because we have satellites that illuminate the whole world in real time. For most of military history, the fog of war is huge. And at sea, it's an even bigger deal. Trying to find your enemy is half the battle. A large fleet can become almost invisible, and then once you find it, you have to hit them before they find you.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Rochefort's intelligence is correct. American reconnaissance aircraft spot the Japanese fleet in the Coral Sea. Both American carriers launch their planes.

[Historian/Expert]

This attack is really the first sign that what we have here is what's called an RMA nowadays, a revolution in military affairs.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The two fleets are more than 100 miles apart.

[Historian/Expert]

They're attacking with aircraft from far away, right? They're not exchanging salvos from big guns.

The Americans have never done anything, anything like that with aircraft carriers before.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

American dive bombers strike first, finding the Japanese carrier Shoho. She's hit and sinks in less than an hour.

[Historian/Expert]

Shoho is the first Japanese carrier that's going to be sunk during this war.

When you throw a punch in boxing, you open yourself up to a counterpunch. So your choices are don't fight or fight, and open yourself up to a devastating blow.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The United States Navy has struck first. But now Nimitz's force faces the Japanese counterattack. The US Navy sinks their first Japanese aircraft carrier in the Coral Sea. But the next day, Japanese planes locate and target the USS Lexington, America's oldest carrier. Nicknamed Lady Lex, She takes four direct hits. She's still seaworthy, but a gas line ignites and she catches fire. She burns to the waterline and is scuttled to avoid capture. To protect their remaining carriers, the Japanese call off the invasion. The Battle of the Coral Sea is the first time that the United States has turned back a Japanese offensive.

[Historian/Expert]

From Nimitz standpoint, he's learned to trust his intel officers. He's also learned that the carriers are going to be the way to go. Even though this is kind of the Wild west of naval combat at this point, carriers are effective. They can sink enemy warships.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Fearing a long war with America, Admiral Isayoku Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl harbor, is always seeking a knockout blow against the U.S. navy.

[Historian/Expert]

So he says, I need to destroy these American carriers, but how do I do it? And so they cook up this plan. The Japanese naval staff is that they'll attack a vital American place. And they decide. Midway Islands, so called because it's Midway between the west coast of the United States and China.

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It is American territory. Something the Americans value. That might be enough to lure the Americans out to defend that territory. And if they do, then we can annihilate their carriers and have a free hand in the Pacific.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Yamamoto's plan is to launch a surprise attack on Midway with four of his carriers. The Japanese will take this strategic island and believe Midway will then radio Pearl harbor for help, prompting Nimitz to to send his carriers to defend the island. Once the American carriers get to Midway, Yamamoto will appear with the rest of his fleet.

[Historian/Expert]

He will trap them in jaws of iron, crush them and destroy not only the American carriers but also their battleships. At which point the Americans will have no naval forces of any worth left in the Pacific.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

This could be a decisive strike against the US naval forces in the Pacific. In late May, the Japanese task force head to Midway island. There are 250 aircraft on its carriers. But cryptanalyst Joseph Rochefort once again has intercepted the Japanese coded signals. Rochefort believes Japan is sending its fleet to attack Midway.

[Historian/Expert]

And the problem is, is the Japanese aren't referring to Midway island as Midway Island. They're saying af, we're going to attack af.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Rochefort has a plan to reveal the identity of af. Midway sends false radio messages on a channel the Japanese monitored suggesting there's a problem on the island.

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Midway is going to radio back in the clear that hey, our desalinization plant has just broken and we're running out of fresh water. And then they wait and listen. And shortly thereafter a Japanese radio station will send another message back to the Japanese fleet. That AF has just run out of fresh water. And now, for the first time, they know it's Midway.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Nimitz dispatches his three remaining aircraft carriers and a supporting fleet towards Midway. The US Navy is lying in wait to intercept the Japanese attack on MIT if they can locate the Japanese carriers. This is the first time many young pilots will go into battle.

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There are some that had never even taken off an aircraft carrier before. We do have a fascinating bit of footage that shows VT8, that torpedo squadron on the USS Hornet. When we look at that picture, what you see is a bunch of 20 something year old naval aviators. And what you see is the swagger now probably in that swagger and the smoking of the cigarettes. It's probably hiding a little bit of the fear of the unknown. But even still you see that twinkle. This is our time.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

At 6:30am, Japanese aircraft attack Midway and inflict heavy damage.

[Historian/Expert]

The battle starts off really going perfectly according to the Japanese plan,

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

But the Japanese don't know that The American fleet has moved into position to the northeast of Midway and are now ready to launch a surprise attack. Starting at 7am More than 100 aircraft launch from the Hornet and the Enterprise. Squadrons. Search for the Japanese fleet at 19,000ft.

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As an aviator in World War II, you might have a set of binoculars to help increase your vision, but otherwise you're looking at about 30 square miles worth of sea and trying to figure out where anything is.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Three squadrons fly due west but can't find the Japanese carriers. One squadron of Devastator torpedo planes, VT8, flies southwest. Just after 9am through broken clouds, they spot the Japanese fleet.

[Historian/Expert]

The torpedo planes are terrible. It's only got a single machine gun. And so these things are just lumbering slow, vulnerable targets that are going to be horribly exposed to any sort of Japanese fighter opposition if they run into it.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

As VT8 lines up to attack the carriers, they're intercepted by Japanese Zeros.

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The Japanese Zero is the most advanced Japanese aircraft that they have. It is a world class fighter. It can maneuver like crazy. It can climb like a banshee.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The Zero's fire on vta.

[Historian/Expert]

They just tear into these formations and begin very quickly sending them ones and twos barreling down into the ocean in flames. And the entire squadron is wiped out.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Squadron VT8 is destroyed. It takes less than 15 minutes.

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When we think about those guys we see in the footage of the 15 aircraft that attack, 14 of them will be shot down. They get absolutely sacrificed. Some groups sacrifice more than others, and in that case they sacrificed all.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

While Marine fighters from Midway attack the Japanese, they don't inflict real damage. Other US squadrons continue to search for the Japanese fleet.

[Historian/Expert]

At about 9:30 in the morning, things are going terribly. The Americans are losing this battle and Nimitz's battle plan is falling apart.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

If Navy pilots don't locate the Japanese carriers, Midway will fall and America's strategy in the Pacific will be dealt a crushing blow.

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[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Fighting squadron six of Dauntless dive bombers are searching for the Japanese fleet that has attacked Midway.

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This is the best aircraft in the United States Navy in 1941. 42. It carries a thousand pound bomb and it can be extremely effective.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The squadron is led by Navy Lieutenant Commander Wade McCluskey, a 15 year veteran.

[Historian/Expert]

Wade McCluskey goes out to the portion of ocean where he expects the Japanese to be located. And there's nothing but sun and sea and sky and some clouds.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The squadron is in the air for close to two hours. By 9:30am they're running low on fuel, but McCluskey continues the search.

[Historian/Expert]

This is an incredibly gutsy move on McCluskey's part. The fuel gauges are really bad. Deciding to Continue his search and continue looking for the enemy. That's really ballsy.

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Oh, by the way, everybody's barking at him, we're pretty low on fuel, we got to get back.

[Historian/Expert]

But he implements a box search and starts looking for the Japanese. Flies north for a bit, nothing. But finally, as he's about to turn for home, he sees a lone Japanese woman warship.

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And he goes, that guy looks like he's head somewhere in a hurry.

[Historian/Expert]

If I follow that ship, it's going to take me someplace. And he does.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Thirty minutes later, McCluskey spots the Japanese aircraft carriers. By chance, another squadron of American dive bombers is nearby.

[Historian/Expert]

These planes would show up out of the blue through a break in the clouds, and all of a sudden they're like a swarm of bees closing in on your fleet. And it happens insanely fast.

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What you'd want to do is come out of the sun and then you roll over and roll back out and you'd set about a 70 degree dive angle. You want to get as close as you can to that carrier, about 1,500ft.

[Historian/Expert]

If you've got a really good pilot, you really can put this bomb in a pickle barrel.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

Three carriers take multiple hits. The Akagi, Soru and Kaga.

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In the span of four minutes, United States dive bombers knock out three Japanese aircraft carriers.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

The Japanese have one remaining carrier, the Hiru. At midday, its dive bombers find and attack the American carrier Yorktown. After attempting to save her for hours, the Yorktown's captain finally orders the crew to abandon ship. But the Hiru's victory is short lived. American bombers find it and sink the fourth Japanese carrier of the day. Twelve hours after the first Japanese attack, Yamamoto's plans to deliver a decisive blow to the US Fleet has collapsed. Instead, America has delivered a devastating and decisive blow of its own. Four of Yamamoto's carriers are at the bottom of the ocean. 3,000 of his men are kill. This is a turning point.

[Historian/Expert]

It's easy to forget now the feeling of revenge that Americans felt when they were finally able to strike back at the Japanese.

[Narrator (Jeremy Reagan)]

President Roosevelt, who has been monitoring the battle, finally receives word that America has won.

[Historian/Expert]

Midway is absolutely critical. It allows Roosevelt to get out of this defensive crouch that we've been in for the first seven months of this war and begin thinking about, okay, how would we like to reshape this war? Where would we like to go on the offensive?

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The emotional outcome of Midway might be the biggest thing, right? This is the psychological blow. The idea that they come to Midway, get smacked in the face and turn around and go back home. Psychologically devastating to the Japanese. Oh, by the way, for the Americans, the idea that we can fight and win against the Japanese, that's powerful.

[Narrator (Tom Hanks)]

After Midway, the United States takes the upper hand in the Pacific. For the first time, the country wins a decisive victory against the Japanese. America is now on the offensive in the Pacific.

[Tom Hanks]

World War 2 with Tom Hanks is produced by Nootopia Ltd. A&E Factual Studios, Playtone Productions and Back Pocket Studios in association with Motion Entertainment for the History Channel. This episode was narrated by Tom Hanks and mixed by John Lloyd. Additional voicing provided by me, Jeremy Reagan from the History Channel. Our executive producers are Eli Lehrer and Liv Fiddler for Playtone. Executive producers are Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman for Back Pocket Studios. Our executive producer is Ben Dickstein.