What proved that Midway was the location the Japanese were calling AF?
In Midway (2019), the Japanese were using encrypted traffic which the US was codebreaking. The Japanese were planning an attack on a location they were referring to as AF.
Washington believed that AF was located in the South Pacific.
But Layton denies it:
Layton: I heard that Midway accidentally sent out an unencrypted transmission that their water plant was broken.
Nimitz: And is their water plant broken?
Layton: Not that I know of, sir. But that proves Midway is AF.
What exactly proved that Midway was the location the Japanese were calling AF?
Best Answer
As detailed on the Wikipedia page:
After meeting with Rochefort, Nimitz instructs the team to find a way to definitively prove that "AF” is Midway. After Layton instructs Midway to telegraph in the clear (unencrypted) that they are suffering a water shortage, cryptologists working for Rochefort intercept Japanese communications concerning water shortages on “AF”, confirming that "AF" is indeed Midway.
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How did the Navy determine that Midway was the target for the Japanese fleet?
Navy intelligence in Hawaii concluded that Midway was the target and they convinced Admiral Nimitz. Top Naval officers in Washington were not so sure. They could not believe that the Japanese would send a huge fleet to take a little atoll. It would be like fishing for minnows with a harpoon.Why was the location of Midway Island so significant What impact would a Japanese victory at Midway have on the war in the Pacific?
The U.S. Navy's decisive victory in the air-sea battle (June 3-6, 1942) and its successful defense of the major base located at Midway Island dashed Japan's hopes of neutralizing the United States as a naval power and effectively turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific.Where is Midway located Why was Midway an important island for Japan?
Midway Island is a fairly isolated atoll, so named because it is midway between North America and Asia in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway was an incredibly strategic location; the Imperial Japanese Navy planned to use it to secure their sphere of influence in the Pacific theater of the war.Did the Japanese land on Midway?
The Japanese shelled Midway Island on December 7, 1941, with two destroyers Sazanami and Ushio, and damaged the U.S. Marine Corps base before retiring.Layton's Prediction Of When \u0026 Where The Japanese Carriers Would Be First Spotted | bestScenes
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Answer 2
The message about the water system was a plant. The US code breakers devised a false but unambiguous message to be sent in clear from Midway, in the hopes that it would be intercepted by the Japanese radio-listening service and then sent by the Japanese to Tokyo as part of the intel on Midway. Midway does not have a significant natural fresh water source and needs a desalination system to produce said drinkable water.
The plan worked perfectly well. The US first sent their instructions to Midway in a strongly encrypted message unreadable by the Japanese. Midway station followed the instruction and broadcasted the message about the water system in clear. The US listening station then picked up a message (which they could decrypt) on the Japanese network to the effect that point AF had fresh water issues.
Since no other US base had reported such an issue, this proved that AF was Midway.
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