The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942; approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor; the United States Navy decisively defeated an Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) attack against Midway Atoll; inflicting irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet.

Four Japanese aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser were sunk for a cost of one American aircraft 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.