In Midway, would it make sense for the U.S. player to save his "punch" for the arrival of the Atago on Day 2?
The drawback of such a strategy (I've tried it as the US player in the 1960s edition, and responded as the Japanese player) is that you can, in fact, prevent the Atago from being sunk - unless you happen to roll very, very poorly as the Japanese player.

All Dive Bombers have to be placed atop the target ship.

All Torpedo Bombers are placed in sectors surrounding the target ship. 

But all of any given type of aircraft in any given sector (5 possible total sectors - atop, starboard, port, aft, bow) attack as one for that attack wave.

It's not all that hard to properly space your vessels, as the Japanese player, to [nearly] guarantee the attack fails.

And if you're playing the advanced game, with the addition of Fighters and CAP, it becomes easier yet.

The only way this method can work, in my experience, is to attack pretty much everything in the board unit that holds the Atago - presuming, of course, you "know" which unit that is. That way even if you fail to sink the Atago, you may be able to inflict serious damage to the carrier groups, allowing the possibility of preventing the Japanese occupation of Midway itself.

The 60s edition, which I've played most, reflects well the relative strengths of both sides in that battle - and I've only seen the Japanese player win twice (both of which were when I was playing as the Japanese): and this is in dozens of times through the game, will various aspects of official (and occasional house) rules used, against both novice- and highly-seasoned players.