 While the Japanese were able to launch 108 aircraft in just seven minutes , it took Enterprise and Hornet over an hour to launch 117 . Spruance judged that the need to throw something at the enemy as soon as possible was greater than the need to coordinate the attack by aircraft of different types and speeds ( fighters , bombers , and torpedo bombers ) . Accordingly , American squadrons were launched piecemeal and proceeded to the target in several different groups . It was accepted that the lack of coordination would diminish the impact of the American attacks and increase their casualties , but Spruance calculated that this was worthwhile , since keeping the Japanese under aerial attack impaired their ability to launch a counterstrike ( Japanese tactics preferred fully constituted attacks ) , and he gambled that he would find Nagumo with his flight decks at their most vulnerable . 
