Nagumo began rearming the reserve for another Midway strike before reconnaissance had finished. The 07:15 order put weapons changes in progress when reports of an American force began to arrive. Nagumo then delayed again to restore a doctrinally balanced anti-ship strike instead of launching what was available. Had the reserve remained in its original configuration, roughly a hundred or more aircraft could have launched against Task Force 16 before the American attacks arrived. Enterprise and Hornet had already begun launching, turning an avoidable deck-management problem into a lost opportunity to hit them first.
Chapter · 1:48:13-1:55:55
Nagumo's rearming cycle cost the strike window
Nagumo changed the reserve aircraft from anti-ship to land-attack weapons and back again just as scouts reported Task Force 16.