<P> With the Japanese CAP out of position and the carriers at their most vulnerable , SBD Dauntlesses from Enterprise and Yorktown appeared at an altitude of 10,000 feet ( 3,000 m ) and commenced their attack , quickly dealing fatal blows to three fleet carriers : Sōryū , Kaga , and Akagi . Within minutes , all three were ablaze and had to be abandoned with great loss of life . Hiryū managed to survive the wave of dive bombers and launched a counter-attack against the American carriers which caused severe damage to Yorktown ( which was later finished off by a Japanese submarine ) . However , a second attack from the US carriers a few hours later found and destroyed Hiryū , the last remaining fleet carrier available to Nagumo . With his carriers lost and the Americans withdrawn out of range of his powerful battleships , Yamamoto was forced to call off the operation , leaving Midway in American hands . The battle proved to be a decisive victory for the Allies . For the second time , Japanese expansion had been checked and its formidable Combined Fleet was significantly weakened by the loss of four fleet carriers and many highly trained , virtually irreplaceable , personnel . Japan would be largely on the defensive for the rest of the war . </P>
<P> With the Japanese CAP out of position and the carriers at their most vulnerable , SBD Dauntlesses from Enterprise and Yorktown appeared at an altitude of 10,000 feet ( 3,000 m ) and commenced their attack , quickly dealing fatal blows to three fleet carriers : Sōryū , Kaga , and Akagi . Within minutes , all three were ablaze and had to be abandoned with great loss of life . Hiryū managed to survive the wave of dive bombers and launched a counter-attack against the American carriers which caused severe damage to Yorktown ( which was later finished off by a Japanese submarine ) . However , a second attack from the US carriers a few hours later found and destroyed Hiryū , the last remaining fleet carrier available to Nagumo . With his carriers lost and the Americans withdrawn out of range of his powerful battleships , Yamamoto was forced to call off the operation , leaving Midway in American hands . The battle proved to be a decisive victory for the Allies . For the second time , Japanese expansion had been checked and its formidable Combined Fleet was significantly weakened by the loss of four fleet carriers and many highly trained , virtually irreplaceable , personnel . Japan would be largely on the defensive for the rest of the war . </P>
the united states gained naval superiority in the pacific at the battle of
the united states gained naval superiority in the pacific at the battle of
Midway
Midway