Editing Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū (section)

===Midway===
{{main|Battle of Midway}}
[[File:Hiryu f075712.jpg|thumb|right|''Hiryū'' circling to avoid an attack of B-17's from [[Henderson Field (East Midway)|Sand Island]] on Midway on the morning of 4 June]]

Concerned by the American carrier strikes in the Marshall Islands, [[Invasion of Lae-Salamaua|Lae-Salamaua]], and the Doolittle raids, Yamamoto was determined to force the U.S. Navy into a showdown to eliminate the American carrier threat. He decided to invade and occupy [[Midway Atoll]], which he was sure would draw out the American carriers to defend it. The Japanese code-named the Midway invasion Operation ''MI''.<ref>Stille 2007, p. 22</ref> Unknown to the Japanese, the U.S. Navy had divined the Japanese plan by breaking its [[JN-25]] code and had prepared an ambush using its three available carriers, positioned northeast of Midway.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 151, 154; Stille 2007, p. 59</ref>

On 25 May 1942, ''Hiryū'' set out with the Combined Fleet's carrier striking force in the company of ''Kaga'', ''Akagi'', and ''Sōryū'', which constituted the First and Second Carrier Divisions, for the attack on Midway. Her aircraft complement consisted of 18 Zeros, 18 D3As, and 18 B5Ns. Also aboard were three A6Ms of the 6th [[Kōkūtai]] intended as the aerial garrison for Midway.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 3, 90</ref> With the fleet positioned {{convert|250|nmi|abbr=on}} northwest of Midway at dawn (04:45 local time) on 4 June 1942, ''Hiryū''{{'}}s portion of the 108-plane airstrike was an attack on the facilities on [[Henderson Field (East Midway)|Sand Island]] with 18 torpedo bombers, one of which aborted with mechanical problems, escorted by nine Zeros. The air group suffered heavily during the attack: Two B5Ns were shot down by fighters, with a third falling victim to antiaircraft fire. Heavy damage forced a fourth, flown by squadron leader Rokuro Kikuchi, to crash-land on Kure Atoll, where he and his crew were later discovered and killed by U.S. forces. A fifth B5N was forced to [[Water landing|ditch]] on its return, and five more were damaged beyond repair. In addition, two Zeros were also deemed unserviceable, although none were lost.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 112, 126, 129, 200, 204</ref>

The carrier also contributed three Zeros to the total of 11 assigned to the initial CAP over the four carriers. By 07:05, the carrier had six fighters with the CAP, which helped to defend the ''Kido Butai'' from the first U.S. attackers from Midway Island at 07:10.<ref name="Parshall & Tully, p. 500">Parshall & Tully, pp. 503–504</ref> At this time, Nagumo's carriers were attacked by six U.S. Navy [[Grumman TBF Avenger]]s and four USAAC [[Martin B-26 Marauder]]s, all carrying torpedoes. The Avengers went after ''Hiryū'' while the Marauders attacked ''Akagi''. The 30 CAP Zeros in the air at this time, including the six from ''Hiryū'', immediately attacked the American airplanes, shooting down five of the Avengers and two of the B-26s. The Avengers shot down one of ''Hiryū''{{'}}s Zeros. The surviving aircraft dropped their torpedoes, but all missed.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 151–152, 503–504; Lundstrom, p. 337</ref>

At 07:15, Nagumo ordered the B5Ns on ''Kaga'' and ''Akagi'' rearmed with bombs for another attack on Midway Island. This process was slowed by the number of ordnance carts used to handle the bombs and torpedoes and the limited number of ordnance elevators. This meant that the torpedoes could not be struck below until after all the bombs were moved up from their magazine, assembled and mounted on the aircraft. This process normally took about an hour and a half; more time would be required to bring the aircraft up to the flight deck, and to warm up and launch the strike group. Around 07:40, he reversed his order when he received a message from one of his scout aircraft that American warships had been spotted. Depleted of ammunition, two of ''Hiryū''{{'}}s CAP Zeros landed aboard the carrier at 07:40.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 156–159, 503–504</ref>

At 07:55, the next American strike from Midway arrived in the form of 16 Marine [[Douglas SBD Dauntless]] dive bombers of [[VMA-241|Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 241]] (VMSB-241) under Major [[Lofton R. Henderson]].{{refn|To this day there is much confusion about VMSB-241 at Midway. At that time the squadron was in transition from the obsolete SB2U Vindicator to the modern SBD-2 Dauntless and flew both aircraft during the battle.<ref>Condon, p. 13</ref>|group=Note}} ''Hiryū''{{'}}s three CAP fighters were among the nine still aloft that attacked Henderson's planes, shooting down six of them as they executed a fruitless glide bombing attack on ''Hiryū''. In return, the gunner of one of the Dauntlesses shot down one of ''Hiryū''{{'}}s Zeros. At roughly the same time, the Japanese carriers were attacked by 12 USAAC B-17s, bombing from {{convert|20000|ft|m}}. The high altitude of the B-17s gave the Japanese captains enough time to anticipate where the bombs would land, and they successfully maneuvered out of the impact area. Four B-17s attacked ''Hiryū'', but missed with all their bombs.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 176, 178, 180</ref>

''Hiryū'' reinforced the CAP with launches of three more Zeros at 08:25.<ref>Parshall & Tully, p. 504</ref> These fresh Zeros helped defeat the next American air strike from Midway, 11 [[Vought SB2U Vindicator]] dive bombers from VMSB-241, which attacked the battleship ''Haruna'' starting around 08:30. ''Haruna'' escaped damage and three of the Vindicators were shot down.<ref>Lundstrom, p. 338</ref> Although all the American air strikes had thus far caused negligible damage, they kept the Japanese carrier forces off-balance as Nagumo endeavored to prepare a response to news, received at 08:20, of the sighting of American carrier forces to his northeast.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 183–189</ref>

''Hiryū'' began recovering her Midway strike force at around 09:00 and finished shortly by 09:10.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 154–155</ref> The landed aircraft were quickly struck below, while the carriers' crews began preparations to spot aircraft for the strike against the American carrier forces. The preparations were interrupted at 09:18, when the first attacking American carrier aircraft were sighted. These consisted of 15 [[Douglas TBD Devastator]] torpedo bombers of VT-8, led by [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[John C. Waldron]] from the ''Hornet''. They attempted a torpedo attack on ''Soryū'', but all of the American planes were shot down by the 18 CAP fighters, leaving one [[George H. Gay, Jr.|surviving aviator]] treading water.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 205–209</ref>

Shortly afterwards, 14 Devastators from [[Torpedo Squadron 6|Torpedo Squadron 6 (VT-6)]] from ''Enterprise'', led by Lieutenant Commander [[Eugene E. Lindsey]], attacked. Lindsey's aircraft tried to sandwich ''Kaga'', but the CAP, reinforced by four additional Zeros launched by ''Hiryū'' at 09:37, shot down all but four of the Devastators, and ''Kaga'' dodged the torpedoes. ''Hiryū'' launched another trio of CAP Zeros at 10:13 after [[VA-35 (U.S. Navy)|Torpedo Squadron 3 (VT-3)]] from ''Yorktown'' was spotted. Two of her Zeros were shot down by Wildcats escorting VT-3 and another was forced to ditch.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 213–214, 221, 224, 504</ref>

[[File:USS Yorktown (CV-5) is hit by a torpedo on 4 June 1942.jpg|left|thumb|One of the two torpedo hits made by ''Hiryū''{{'}}s aircraft on {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|2}}]]
While VT-3 was still attacking ''Hiryū'', American dive bombers arrived over the Japanese carriers almost undetected and began their dives. It was at this time, around 10:20, that in the words of Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully, the "Japanese air defenses would finally and catastrophically fail."<ref>Parshall & Tully, p. 219</ref> Three American dive bomber squadrons now attacked the three other carriers and set each of them on fire.<ref>Brown 2009, p. 153</ref> ''Hiryū'' was untouched and proceeded to launch 18 D3As, escorted by six Zeros, at 10:54. ''En route'', the Zeros engaged a group of ''Enterprise'' SBDs that they had spotted. They failed to shoot down any of the dive bombers, but two of the Zeros were shot up by the bombers' rear gunners, with one Zero forced to ditch near a destroyer on its return. American [[radar]] detected the incoming Japanese dive bombers at 11:52 and vectored ''Yorktown''{{'}}s CAP of 20 Wildcats against them. The Wildcats shot down three of the remaining Zeros for the loss of one of their own and engaged the D3As. Only seven of the dive bombers survived long enough to make their attack on ''Yorktown'' and two of those were shot down by flak during their dive, but they made three direct hits and two near misses that badly damaged the carrier and set her on fire.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 262–263, 290, 292–296, 504</ref>

Confident that his men had sunk ''Yorktown'', Yamaguchi launched a second wave of ten B5Ns (including one from ''Akagi''), escorted by six Zeros (two from ''Kaga''), at 13:30, with the instruction that they attack a separate carrier than that hit by the first wave. However, the Americans had managed to extinguish the fires on ''Yorktown'' by 14:00, and the carrier was making {{convert|19|kn}} by 14:30 when the second strike group approached. As a result, the strike pilots mistook her for one of her undamaged sisters, and launched the attack. At that moment, six Wildcats were on CAP duty, and four of these were vectored toward the attacking aircraft while the other two were retained to cover the takeoff of ten Wildcats fueling on deck. The Japanese were jumped at 14:38 by two Wildcats, which shot down one torpedo bomber before they were both shot down by the escorting Zeros (two Zeros were shot down later for the loss of one Wildcat). Four more B5Ns fell during the attack, but two of the survivors managed to score hits on ''Yorktown'' that damaged three boilers and knocked out all electrical power so that she could not pump fuel oil to starboard to counteract her six-degree [[list (watercraft)|list]] to port. Seventeen minutes later, after the list increased to 23 degrees, the crew was ordered to abandon ship. Of the four Zeros and five B5Ns that returned to ''Hiryū'', only two Zeros and three bombers were still airworthy.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 311–312, 314–316, 318</ref>

[[File:Hiryu burning.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|''Hiryū'' abandoned, but still afloat, after a scuttling attempt following the [[Battle of Midway]]]]
Yamaguchi radioed his intention to Nagumo at 16:30 to launch a third strike against the American carriers at dusk (approximately 18:00), but Nagumo ordered the fleet to withdraw to the west. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, ''Enterprise'' and ''Hornet'' had already launched airstrikes well before then. ''Enterprise'' launched a total of 26 Dauntlesses at 15:25 using her own aircraft plus those from ''Yorktown'' that had been forced to recover aboard her after ''Yorktown'' was damaged, and ''Hornet'' launched 16 more of her own Dauntlesses at 16:00. At this point in the battle, ''Hiryū'' had only four airworthy dive-bombers and five torpedo-planes left. She also retained 19 of her own fighters on board, as well as a further 13 Zeros on CAP (a composite force of survivors from the other carriers). At 16:45, ''Enterprise''{{'}}s dive bombers spotted the Japanese carrier and began to maneuver for good attacking position while reducing altitude. At 16:56, just as the first Dauntlesses were beginning their dives, Nagumo ordered a change in course to 120 degrees, possibly to prepare to recover his reconnaissance floatplanes, that threw off the aim of the leading SBDs. The Japanese did not even spot the Americans until 17:01. The CAP shot down two of the American aircraft in their dives and another after it was forced to abort its dive when some of ''Yorktown''{{'}}s SBDs passed in front of it, starting their own dives. ''Hiryū'' was struck by four {{convert|1000|lb|kg|adj=on}} bombs, three on the forward flight deck and one on the forward elevator. The explosions started fires among the aircraft on the hangar deck. The forward half of the flight deck collapsed into the hangar while part of the elevator was hurled against the ship's [[bridge (nautical)|bridge]]. The fires were severe enough that the remaining American aircraft attacked the other ships escorting ''Hiryū'', albeit without effect, deeming further attacks on the carrier as a waste of time, because she was aflame from [[stem (ship)|stem]] to stern. Beginning at 17:42, two groups of B-17s attempted to attack the Japanese ships without success, although one bomber strafed ''Hiryū''{{'}}s flight deck, killing several anti-aircraft gunners.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 318–329</ref>

[[File:HiryuBurning.jpg|thumb|300px|left|The abandoned and burning ''Hiryū'' photographed by an [[Yokosuka B4Y|airplane]] from the {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Hōshō||2}}]]
Although ''Hiryū''{{'}}s propulsion was not affected, the fires could not be brought under control. At 21:23, her engines stopped, and at 23:58 a major explosion rocked the ship. The order to abandon ship was given at 03:15, and the survivors were taken off by the destroyers {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Kazagumo||2}} and {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Makigumo|1941|2}}. Yamaguchi and Kaku decided to remain on board as ''Hiryū'' was torpedoed at 05:10 by ''Makigumo'' as the ship could not be salvaged. One torpedo missed and the other struck near the bow without the typical plume of water, although the detonation was quite visible. Around 07:00, one of {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Hōshō||2}}'s [[Yokosuka B4Y]] aircraft discovered ''Hiryū'' still afloat and not in any visible danger of sinking. The aviators could also see crewmen aboard the carrier, men who had not received word to abandon ship. They finally launched some of the carrier's boats and abandoned ship around 09:00. Thirty-nine men made it into the ship's [[cutter (boat)|cutter]] only moments before ''Hiryū'' sank around 09:12, taking the bodies of 389 men with her. The cutter drifted for 14 days before being discovered by a [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|PBY Catalina]] and rescued by the seaplane tender {{USS|Ballard|DD-267|6}}. Four men died of their wounds or exposure before being picked up and a fifth died that night.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 341, 343, 349–352, 355, 357, 359</ref>

The loss of ''Hiryū'' and the three other IJN carriers at Midway, comprising two thirds of Japan's total number of fleet carriers and the experienced core of the First Air Fleet, was a strategic defeat for Japan and contributed significantly to Japan's ultimate defeat in the war. In an effort to conceal the defeat, the ship was not immediately removed from the Navy's registry of ships, instead being listed as "unmanned" before finally being struck from the registry on 25 September 1942.<ref>Parshall & Tully, pp. 387–388, 419, 421</ref>

The IJN selected a modified version of the ''Hiryū'' design for mass production to replace the carriers lost at Midway. Of a planned program of 16 ships of the {{sclass|Unryū|aircraft carrier|4}}, only six were laid down and three were commissioned before the end of the war.<ref>Lengerer, pp. 104–106</ref>