David Rigby Boeken

At 10am that morning, McClusky was leading a group of 32 dive-bombers with orders to attack the Imperial Japanese Navy's aircraft carriers. The fleet, however, was not where it was expected to be. With his air group's fuel running low, McClusky spotted instead the Japanese destroyer Arashi bearing northeast. Suspecting that the Arashi must be following the main fleet, he made the calculated decision to follow her. His intuition paid off - the Arashi led the bombers straight to the Japanese carriers Kaga and Akagi, which they swiftly destroyed. At the same time, a squadron from the Yorktown arrived, bombing a further carrier, the Soryu. Within minutes, three of the Imperial Japanese Navy's major carriers were destroyed, leaving it severely weakened. The tide of the Pacific War had turned in the space of half an hour, and Wade McClusky's action was the reason. Book jacket.