At all times strategical and tactical decision-making to a large extent was based on armament cap­abi­li­ties, and the Battle of Midway is no exception to this. Moreover, being ignorant of performance characteristics of the armament which was used in this battle renders the task of getting a clear in­sight into the logic of the opponent’s actions and the reasons under­pin­ning any decision-making next to hopeless. That is why I decided to include a brief illustrated reference guide on the ships and aircraft, which took part in this battle, into the project.

But since virtually all ship and aircraft types which were adopted by Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy (plus several aircraft models of the United States Army) were used both in the Japanese operations MI and AL and in the American counter operations, I decided to include only those ships and air­craft, which were involved in action in the area of Midway Island. That is, the reference guide covered only those ships and aircraft which were embodied in the First Mobile Force and Close Support Group on the Japanese side, and Task Force 16, Task Force 17, and NAS Midway Garrison—on the U.S. side. The exception was made for aircraft carriers which took part in the Battle of Coral Sea.

If you believe any detail of specification, marking, camouflage or configuration does not cor­res­pond to June 1942, please let the author know about it. However, do not forget to support your comments with references to the sources of information.