Video Provides First Clear Views of WWII Aircraft Carriers Lost in Pivotal Battle of Midway

The chrysanthemum flower crest, an honored imperial symbol of Japan, can still be seen prominently on the bow of aircraft carrier Akagi 81 years after the aircraft carrier's sinking on Sept. 10, 2023. Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA via AP

Footage from deep in the Pacific Ocean has given the first detailed look at three World War II aircraft carriers that sank in the pivotal Battle of Midway and could help solve mysteries about the days-long barrage that marked a shift in control of the Pacific theater from Japanese to U.S. forces.

Remote submersibles operating 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) below the surface conducted extensive archeological surveys in September of the Akagi and the Kaga, two of the four Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers destroyed during the June 1942 battle, as well as the U.S.S. Yorktown.