Thursday June 4, 1942. US prevails at Midway, the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

The Battle of Midway was being fought in earnest.

Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu shortly before it sank.

The Japanese launched aircraft to attack Midway Atoll at 04:30, the same time that the Yorktown launched ten aircraft to search for the Japanese fleet. AT 0534 a PBY from Midway itself sighted Japanese ships.  At 0710 aircraft launched from Midway, including six TBF's and four B-26s bombers attacked the Japanese.  Over the course of the entire day, various strikes and countries would occur, mostly from carriers.

The Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga and Soryu were all lost to the Japanese due to planes from the Enterprise and Yorktown.  The Yorktown had to be abandoned after it was hit by planes launched from the Hiryu, which itself was hit by U.S. carrier planes subsequently.  It would be scuttled the following day.

While the Japanese seemingly didn't appreciate it, the battle was the turning point in the war in the Pacific. The Japanese had been decisively defeated and would never regain the initiative nor be able to make good their losses.  The turning of the tide essentially came down to a single day.

A second day of raids occurred at Dutch Harbor.

A meeting between Hitler and Finnish general Mannerheim, effectively the Finnish head of state, results in the only known recording of Hitler speaking in a conversational manner.

Hitler at meeting that was recorded.

June 3, 1942. The High Water Mark for Japan.

On this day in 1942, at approximately 09:00, a PBY from Navy patrol squadron VP-44 spotted the Japanese Occupation Force heading towards Midway, some 580 miles distant.  Thinking, erroneously, that this was the main Japanese naval task force, he reported it as such.

At 12:30 Nine B-17s took off from Midway Island, found the occupation force, and attacked it unsuccessfully.

The Battle of Midway was on.

Part of the Japanese plans involved a diversionary attack in the Aleutians, which also served as a Japanese effort to block a possible invasion route into Japan via the northernmost portion of the Pacific..  Not surprisingly, that began on this day with carrier launched air raids on Dutch Harbor.

This day can be regarded as the high water mark of the war for the Japanese.  I.e, this is the last day of the war in which they would not be, effectively, losing the war in a strategic sense.

The British government announced it was taking over the coal and dairy industries for the balance of the war.