page_title: Midway Atoll
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Midway Atoll / History / World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: Burning oil tanks on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, following the Japanese air attack delivered on the morning of 4 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway. These tanks were located near what was then the southern shore of Sand Island. This view looks inland from the vicinity of the beach. Three Laysan Albatross ("Gooney Bird") chicks are visible in the foreground.
context_page_description: Midway Atoll is a 2.4-square-mile atoll in the North Pacific Ocean at 28°12′N 177°21′W. Midway Atoll is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States.
  Roughly equidistant between North America and Asia, Midway is the only island in the Hawaiian archipelago that is not part of the state of Hawaii. Unlike the other Hawaiian islands, Midway observes Samoa Time, which is one hour behind the time in the state of Hawaii. For statistical purposes, Midway is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, encompassing 590,991.50 acres of land and water in the surrounding area, is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge and most of its surrounding area are part of the larger Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
  From 1941 until 1993, the atoll was the home of the Naval Air Facility Midway Island, which played a crucial role in The Battle of Midway, fought from June 4 until June 6, 1942.
context_section_description: The location of Midway in the Pacific became important militarily. Midway was a convenient refueling stop on transpacific flights, and was also an important stop for Navy ships. Beginning in 1940, as tensions with the Japanese rose, Midway was deemed second only to Pearl Harbor in importance to the protection of the U.S. west coast. Airstrips, gun emplacements and a seaplane base quickly materialized on the tiny atoll.
  The channel was widened, and Naval Air Station Midway was completed. Midway was also an important submarine base.
  On February 14, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8682 to create naval defense areas in the central Pacific territories. The proclamation established "Midway Island Naval Defensive Sea Area", which encompassed the territorial waters between the extreme high-water marks and the three-mile marine boundaries surrounding Midway. "Midway Island Naval Airspace Reservation" was also established to restrict access to the airspace over the naval defense sea area. Only U.S. government ships and aircraft were permitted to enter the naval defense areas at Midway Atoll unless authorized by the Secretary of the Navy.
  Midway's importance to the U.S. was brought into focus on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Midway was attacked by two destroyers on the same day, and the Japanese force was successfully repulsed in the first American victory of the war. A Japanese submarine bombarded Midway on February 10, 1942.
  Four months later, on June 4, 1942, a major naval battle near Midway resulted in the U.S. Navy inflicting a devastating defeat on the Japanese Navy. Four Japanese fleet aircraft carriers, Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and Sōryū, were sunk, along with the loss of hundreds of Japanese aircraft, losses that the Japanese would never be able to replace. The U.S. lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown, along with a number of its carrier- and land-based aircraft that were either shot down by Japanese forces or bombed on the ground at the airfields. The Battle of Midway was, by most accounts, the beginning of the end of the Japanese Navy's control of the Pacific Ocean.
  Starting in July 1942, a submarine tender was always stationed at the atoll to support submarines patrolling Japanese waters. In 1944, a floating dry dock joined the tender.
  After the Battle of Midway, a second airfield was developed, this one on Sand Island. This work necessitated enlarging the size of the island through land fill techniques, that when concluded, more than doubled the size of the island.
caption: Burning oil tanks during the Battle of Midway
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