Halsey and the Midway flight to nowhere

If Halsey had commanded at Midway, would the Hornet air group still make its flight to nowhere?

Probably; the air group would still act on the same flawed contact information after launch.

Once the strike launched, the task-force commander had limited control over its route. The flight to nowhere followed the best position information available to the air group, not a choice uniquely caused by Spruance. Replacing him with Halsey therefore leaves the underlying information problem intact. The exchange separates command personality from the reconnaissance and communication failures that shaped the mission.