The Search for the Japanese Fleet: USS Nautilus and the Battle of Midway

by David W. Jourdan, Philip G. Renaud (Foreword)

In The Search for the Japanese Fleet , David W. Jourdan, one of the world’s experts in undersea exploration, reconstructs the critical role one submarine played in the Battle of Midway, considered to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific. In the direct line of fire during this battle was one of the oldest boats in the navy, USS Nautilus . The actions of Lt. Cdr. William Brockman and his ninety-three-man crew during an eight-hour period rank among the most important submarine contributions to the most decisive engagement in U.S. Navy history.
Fifty-seven years later, Jourdan’s team of deep-sea explorers set out to discover the history of the Battle of Midway and find the ships that the Allied fleet sank. Key to the mystery was Nautilus and its underwater exploits. Relying on logs, diaries, chronologies, manuals, sound recordings, and interviews with veterans of the battle, including men who spent most of June 4, 1942, in the submarine conning tower, the story breathes new life into the history of this epic engagement. Woven into the tale of World War II is the modern drama of deep-sea discovery, as explorers deploy new technology three miles beneath the ocean surface to uncover history and commemorate fallen heroes.

Genres: World War II

424 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2015

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just when you think they can't write another book about the battle of Midway along comes another one! This is an excellent book for two very different reasons. First, it discusses some alternate theories about how and why this pivotal WWII battle was won and how it was lost. Secondly it chronicles the efforts to locate the shipwrecks from the battle that lay some 3 1/2 miles below the surface of the ocean.
It's a shame they haven't been able to return to the area for further investigation. Maybe in time.

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is something of a grab-bag collection that I'm not sure is greater than the sum of the parts. While the author is a notable leader in the field marine archaeology, I also possibly learned more about Jourdan than I really wanted to know, and the promotion of his commercial efforts. The real point of this story is how the documentary residue of the participation of the USS "Nautilus" in the battle of Midway contributed to the discovery of the final resting place of the Japanese carrier "Kaga." Still, the parallel stories are not badly told, and Jourdan's previous service as a submarine officer in the United States Navy does give the reconstructed conversations on the "Nautilus" a bit of verisimilitude.

[Peter Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Different Look at Midway

The air and surface battle at Midway has been well documented. At least from the U.S. Side. The author provides a look at the submarine role and contribution.

I was frankly surprised at how ineffective and somewhat timid most of the sub commanders were. The captain and crew of the Nautilus being the exception. The story weaves in the search for a Japanese aircraft carrier with the patrol of the Nautilus.

It was a good tale which blended high tech, low tech and a bit of Navy politics. Clearly a different twist on the Battle of Midway.