Naval history of World War II 4–7, 1942, the United States Navy decisively defeated a Japanese naval force that had sought to lure the U.S. carrier fleet into a trap at Midway Atoll. The Japanese fleet lost four aircraft carriers to the U.S. Navy's one American carrier and a destroyer. After Midway, and the exhausting attrition of the Solomon Islands campaign, Japan's shipbuilding and pilot training programs were unable to keep pace in replacing their losses while the U.S. steadily increased its output in both areas. Military historian John Keegan called the Battle of Midway "the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval
Japanese fleet oiler Kazahaya and was sunk by submarines. Japanese fleet oiler Kazahaya The was a Japanese fleet oiler, serving during the Second World War. In 1941, the IJN wanted fleet oilers for their carrier task force, because they had only the eight old, low-speed tankers. The IJN prepared sixteen "Kawasaki"-type tankers to solve this. However, they did not have facilities for gasoline. The IJN intended to build four "Kazahaya"s (Ship # 304-307). However, all naval arsenals were crowded at the outbreak of war. The IJN bought one of the same type of merchant tanker made by Harima with the "Kazahaya" naval budget. She