Eve Holmes, age 15, of Laconic, N.H., for her question:

HOW WAS THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY IMPORTANT?

The battle of Midway Island was a decisive naval engagement of World War II. It was fought in June 1942 by Japanese and United States aircraft carriers. The victory at Midway terminated a major Japanese attempt to capture the islands as a possible prelude to an invasion of Hawaii.

American naval reconnaissance planes observed at a distance of 600 miles a Japanese armada of some 185 ships advancing on the Midway Islands. On June 4 American fighters and bombers, sent from Midway airfields and three aircraft carriers attacked the Japanese fleet.

During the ensuing battle, the two fleets neither saw each other nor exchanged gunfire. All contact was made by Japanese carrier based planes and American land  and carrier based planes.

By the night of June 6 the defeat of the Japanese was accomplished. Losses for the Japanese included four aircraft carriers, two cruisers and three destroyers. The Americans lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and one destroyer.

The victory tipped the balance of sea power in the Pacific Ocean in favor of the U.S.