Station HYPO

Advanced intelligence helped the Allies turn the tables on Japan in this crucial World War II naval battle.

In May 1942, U.S. and Australian naval and air forces were facing off against the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea in the South Pacific. But in a windowless basement at Pearl Harbor, a group of U.S. Navy codebreakers had intercepted Japanese radio messages suggesting Japan was planning an entirely different—and potentially far more damaging—operation in the Pacific theater.

Naval Intelligence Essay Contest – Second Prize – Sponsored by the Naval Institute and Naval Intelligence Professionals | By James Wirtz

The story of how Naval intelligence paved the way for victory at Midway is embedded in the culture of the U.S. Navy, but the impact of this narrative extends far beyond the service. Today, scholars use the events leading up to Midway to define intelligence success—an example of a specific event prediction that was accurate, timely, and actionable, creating the basis for an effective counterambush of the Imperial Japanese Navy.1