tically everything it needed for its defense.Along with the 121 aircraft crowding Eastern Island's runways, Midway had 11 PT-boats in the lagoon to assist the ground forces with anti-aircraft fire. A yacht and four converted tuna boats stood by for rescue operations, and 19 submarines guarded Midway's approaches. Even with those preparations, there were problems. The air station's radar, an old SC-270 set installed on Sand Island, showed many blips that were more often albatrosses than aircraft. Also, there was no plan for coordinating Midway's air operations, which were dependent on a mixture of Army Air Force, Navy and Marine pilots and crews. With that in mind, Midway's commanders believed their only chance was to attack the Japanese carriers when they were located, in the hope of catching them with their planes on deck. "This meant exquisitely precise timing, a monumental dose of luck, or both," Admiral Nimitz explained. "Balsa's [Midway's] air force must be employed to inflict prompt and early damage to Jap carrier flight decks if recurring attacks are to be stopped...." By June 2, the Pacific Fleet's three aircraft carriers--Enterprise, Hornet and Yorktown--were in position northeast of Midway, but only a few key officers were aware that they would support Midways defenders.Midway's Navy pilots were told not to "expect any help from the U.S. carriers; they're off defending Hawaii." Midway's only chance was for Nimitz's carriers to take the Japanese by surprise. Early on the morning of June 3, the PBYs of VP-44 and VP-23 took off on their 700-mile search missions, joined by B-17 Flying Fortresses on their own search and attack missions. The remaining aircraft on Midway were armed, fueled and waiting for orders to take to the air once the Japanese carriers were located. At 9:04 a.m., Ensign Charles R. Eaton, patrolling 470 miles from Midway, sighted three ships and got a burst of anti-aircraft fire for his trouble. Eaton quickly rad...
