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50 free Battle of Midway trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Battle of Midway was fought over four days in June 1942, six months after Pearl Harbor, and it turned the Pacific War. Isoroku Yamamoto meant to seize a tiny atoll and lure the surviving American carriers into a trap; instead, US code breakers read his plan in advance and Chester Nimitz laid an ambush of his own. By the afternoon of 4 June all four Japanese fleet carriers were burning. These 50 questions cover the whole story: Station HYPO's fake water-shortage message that confirmed the target, the 72-hour patch-up that got Yorktown back to sea, Nagumo's agonising re-arming decision, Torpedo Squadron 8's lone survivor, the dive bombers that followed a destroyer's wake to the carriers, and the Japanese admiral who chose to go down with Hiryu. There are questions on the Aleutians sideshow, the submarines Nautilus and Tambor, and the wrecks located decades later. Easy questions stick to commanders and carriers; the hardest ask about scout planes, codebooks and casualty counts. Every answer is cited to the page we checked, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a history night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which year was the Battle of Midway fought?
1942
It came six months after Pearl Harbor and one month after the Coral Sea.
Q 02Which admiral commanded the Japanese Combined Fleet at Midway?
Isoroku Yamamoto
Yamamoto sailed with the main body aboard the battleship Yamato, hundreds of miles behind the carriers.
Q 03Who commanded the Japanese carrier strike force, the Kido Butai, at Midway?
Chuichi Nagumo
Nagumo had also led the carriers at Pearl Harbor six months earlier.
Q 04Who was commander of the US Pacific Fleet during the battle?
Chester Nimitz
Nimitz sent his carriers to a rendezvous northeast of the atoll nicknamed Point Luck.
Q 05How many Japanese fleet carriers were sunk at Midway?
Four
Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu all went down, along with the heavy cruiser Mikuma.
Q 06Which US destroyer sank alongside Yorktown after a submarine attack?
Hammann
Her own depth charges exploded as she went down, accounting for most of the 80 dead.
Q 07Which April 1942 air attack on Tokyo helped push Yamamoto to attack Midway?
The Doolittle Raid
Sixteen B-25s launched from USS Hornet and bombed Tokyo and other cities.
Q 08Which island chain did Japan attack one day before Midway?
The Aleutians
Attu and Kiska in the Alaska Territory were occupied in Operation AL.
Q 09What was the Japanese codename for the Midway operation?
MI
Operation AL was the Aleutians attack and Operation K the flying-boat reconnaissance of Pearl Harbor.
Q 10What did the Americans call the main Japanese naval code they had partially broken?
JN-25
The Japanese introduced a new codebook on 24 May, but the key breaks had already been made.
Q 11What two-letter designation did Japanese messages use for the Midway objective?
AF
Station HYPO confirmed it by having Midway broadcast that its water system had failed.
Q 12What fake shortage did Midway broadcast in the clear to confirm it was the Japanese target?
Water
Within 24 hours code breakers read a Japanese message that AF was short of it.
Q 13Which commander led the code-breaking team at Station HYPO?
Joseph Rochefort
Captain Wilfred Holmes on his team devised the water ruse.
Q 14Which admiral replaced the ailing William Halsey in command of Task Force 16?
Q 21Which Japanese rear admiral chose to go down with Hiryu?
Tamon Yamaguchi
He had urged Nagumo to strike immediately with the dive bombers on hand.
Q 22Which US torpedo squadron lost all 15 of its Devastators at Midway?
VT-8
It was the Hornet squadron's combat debut.
Q 23Who was the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8's 30 aircrew?
George Gay
He launched his torpedo at Soryu before being shot down and watched the battle from the water.
Q 24Which US torpedo bomber proved obsolete at Midway and was replaced by the Avenger?
Raymond Spruance
Halsey was stricken with shingles and nominated his escort commander.
Q 15Who held overall tactical command at Midway from aboard Yorktown?
Frank Jack Fletcher
Fletcher ceded command to Spruance after Yorktown was crippled.
Q 16Roughly how long did Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard take to make Yorktown battle-ready?
72 hours
Estimates had said months; repair crews from USS Vestal were still aboard when she sailed.
Q 17In which battle a month earlier had Yorktown been damaged?
Coral Sea
Lexington was sunk there and the Japanese believed Yorktown had gone down too.
Q 18What was the nickname of the US carriers' rendezvous northeast of Midway?
Point Luck
A late Japanese submarine picket line let the carriers reach it undetected.
Q 19Which Japanese carrier was the flagship from which Nagumo transferred to the cruiser Nagara?
Akagi
Akagi took only one direct hit, but it exploded among fuelled, armed aircraft in the hangar.
Q 20Which was the last Japanese carrier still operating after the morning dive-bomber strikes?
Hiryu
Her two strike waves crippled Yorktown before she was hit by 24 dive bombers that afternoon.
TBD Devastator
The Avenger itself made its combat debut at Midway with six planes flying from the atoll.
Q 25Which US dive bomber delivered the decisive blows against the Japanese carriers?
SBD Dauntless
Three squadrons arrived almost simultaneously while the Japanese fighters were down low chasing torpedo planes.
Q 26Which air group commander found the Japanese fleet by following a destroyer's wake?
Wade McClusky
Nimitz said his decision to keep searching "decided the fate of our carrier task force".
Q 27Which Japanese destroyer's wake led the Enterprise dive bombers to the carriers?
Arashi
Arashi was racing back after depth-charging the US submarine Nautilus.
Q 28Which lieutenant is credited with the single bomb hit that doomed Akagi?
Richard Best
He and his two wingmen pulled out of a dive on Kaga to attack Akagi instead.
Q 29Which Japanese carrier was attacked by Yorktown's VB-3 under Max Leslie?
Soryu
At least three hits turned her into an inferno within minutes.
Q 30Hornet's dive bombers missed the Japanese fleet entirely; what was the episode later called?
The Flight to Nowhere
Commander Ring followed a heading of 265 degrees instead of 240, and ten Wildcats ditched.