Editing Battle of Midway (section)

====Destruction of ''Kaga'', ''Sōryū'' and ''Akagi''====
Beginning at 10:22, the two squadrons of ''Enterprise''{{'}}s air group split up with the intention of sending one squadron each to attack ''Kaga'' and ''Akagi''. A miscommunication caused both of the squadrons to dive at ''Kaga''. Recognizing the error, Lieutenant [[Richard Halsey Best]] and his two wingmen were able to pull out of their dives and, after judging that ''Kaga'' was doomed, headed north to attack ''Akagi''. Coming under an onslaught of bombs from almost two full squadrons, ''Kaga'' sustained three to five direct hits, which caused heavy damage and started multiple fires. One of the bombs landed on or right in front of the bridge, killing Captain [[Jisaku Okada]] and most of the ship's senior officers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parshall|Tully|2005|pp=235–236}}</ref> Lieutenant Clarence E. Dickinson, part of McClusky's group, recalled:

{{blockquote|We were coming down in all directions on the port side of the carrier&nbsp;... I recognized her as the ''Kaga''; and she was enormous&nbsp;... The target was utterly satisfying&nbsp;... I saw a bomb hit just behind where I was aiming&nbsp;... I saw the deck rippling and curling back in all directions exposing a great section of the hangar below&nbsp;... I saw [my] {{cvt|500|lb|adj=on|disp=sqbr|}} bomb hit right abreast of the [carrier's] island. The two {{cvt|100|lb|adj=on|disp=sqbr|}} bombs struck in the forward area of the parked planes&nbsp;...{{Sfn|Miller|2001|p=123}}}}

Several minutes later, Best and his two wingmen dived on ''Akagi''. [[Mitsuo Fuchida]], the Japanese aviator who had led the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], was on ''Akagi'' when it was hit, and described the attack:

{{blockquote|A look-out screamed: "Hell-Divers!" I looked up to see three black enemy planes plummeting towards our ship. Some of our machineguns managed to fire a few frantic bursts at them, but it was too late. The plump silhouettes of the American Dauntless dive-bombers quickly grew larger, and then a number of black objects suddenly floated eerily from their wings.{{sfn|Beevor|2012|p=310}} }}

Although ''Akagi'' sustained only one direct hit (almost certainly dropped by Lieutenant Best), it proved to be a fatal blow: the bomb struck the edge of the mid-ship deck elevator and penetrated to the upper hangar deck, where it exploded among the armed and fueled aircraft in the vicinity. Nagumo's chief of staff, [[Ryūnosuke Kusaka]], recorded "a terrific fire&nbsp;... bodies all over the place&nbsp;... Planes stood tail up, belching livid flames and jet-black smoke, making it impossible to bring the fires under control."{{sfn|Keegan|2004|p=216}} Another bomb exploded underwater very close astern; the resulting geyser bent the flight deck upward "in grotesque configurations" and caused crucial [[rudder]] damage.<ref name="cv6.org p3" />{{sfn|Keegan|2004|p=216}}{{refn|Other sources claim a stern hit, but Parshall and Tully make a case for a near miss, because of rudder damage from a high explosive bomb.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parshall|Tully|2005|pp=253–259}}</ref>|group=nb}}

Simultaneously, ''Yorktown''{{'}}s VB-3, commanded by Lieutenant [[Max Leslie]], went for ''Sōryū'', scoring at least three hits and causing extensive damage. Gasoline ignited, creating an inferno, while stacked bombs and ammunition detonated.{{sfn|Beevor|2012|p=310}} VT-3 targeted ''Hiryū'', which was hemmed in by ''Sōryū'', ''Kaga'', and ''Akagi'', but achieved no hits.<ref name="Parshall 2005 330–353">{{Harvnb|Parshall|Tully|2005|pp=330–353}}</ref>

Within six minutes, ''Sōryū'' and ''Kaga'' were ablaze from stem to stern. ''Akagi'', having been struck by only one bomb, took longer to burn, but the resulting fires quickly expanded and proved impossible to extinguish; she too was eventually consumed by flames and had to be abandoned. Although Nagumo was reluctant to leave ''Akagi'',<ref>{{cite book |first=Winston |last=Groom |title=1942: The Year That Tried Men's Souls |year=2005 |page=238 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDVUcuAUCUwC&q=thorpe&pg=PA36 |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=9780802142504}}</ref> Kusaka was able to persuade him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lord|1967|p=183}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Parshall|Tully|2005|p=260}}</ref> At 10:46, Nagumo transferred his [[Flagship|flag]] to the light cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Nagara||2}}.<ref name="combinedfleet">{{cite web |last=Bob Hackett & Sander Kingsepp |url=http://combinedfleet.com/nagara_t.htm |title=IJN Nagara: Tabular Record of Movement |date=1997–2009 |work=Imperial Japanese Navy Page |access-date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=6 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606040639/http://www.combinedfleet.com/nagara_t.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> All three carriers remained temporarily afloat, as none had suffered damage below the waterline, other than the rudder damage to ''Akagi'' caused by the near miss close astern. Despite initial hopes that ''Akagi'' could be saved or at least towed back to Japan, all three carriers were eventually abandoned and [[scuttling|scuttled]].<ref name="Parshall 2005 330–353"/>{{refn|Parshall and Tully argue that even if ''Kaga'' had been towed back to Japan, the permanent structural damage caused by the inferno on board would likely have made the carrier unusable for anything except [[Ship breaking|scrapping]].{{sfn|Parshall|Tully|2005|p=337}} |group=nb}} While ''Kaga'' was burning, ''Nautilus'' showed up again and launched three torpedoes at her, scoring one dud hit. The ''Kaga'' was later sunk by the Japanese destroyer [[Japanese destroyer Hagikaze|''Hagikaze'']].<ref>{{Harvnb|Parshall|Tully|2005|pp=302–303, 337–338, 565 note 49}}</ref>