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
Task Force 16 Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November, and covered the retreat of TF 18 after the Battle of Rennell Island. In March 1943, TG 16.6 fought the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, then bombarded Attu in April, and the whole force supported the recapture of the Aleutians in the Battle of Attu. In 1944 and 1945, the task force was a refueling unit consisting of destroyer escorts and oilers. Task Force 16 Task Force 16 (TF16) was one of the most storied task forces in the United States Navy, a major participant in a number of the most important battles of