Return to Midway

Dr Robert Ballard's challenge for this work was to discover and photograph the ships sunk in the Battle of Midway, one of the most dramatic engagements of the Pacific War. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy seemed almost unstoppable, and a final strike in Midway Island was planned by Admiral Yamamoto for June 1942. But the Americans, aware of the plan, were prepared for the attack and in a great victory sank three of the four Japanese carriers, losing only one of their own. The battle was a turning point in the Pacific War and never again would Japan take the offensive. The story of this battle is illustrated using Ballard's underwater photographs of the ships' remains, and Ken Marschall's evocative paintings.