Maps of Movies

Midway (2019)

Where Midway says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

The battle that turned the Pacific war, and a film shot in Hawaii and Montreal with no scene-by-scene location records

Scenes and places

Yamamoto's warning in Tokyo (1937)

Layton, an American naval attaché in Japan, is warned by Admiral Yamamoto that US threats to Japan's oil supply would push his country to war. The scene sets up the clash Layton spends the rest of the film trying to see coming.

Set in Tokyo — Where Layton hears Japan's case in 1937. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Capital of Japan; the film's opening is set here in December 1937.

The attack on Pearl Harbor (1941)

On December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft strike the US fleet without warning, pulling America into World War II. Sailors fight to escape burning ships while Layton later counts what the fleet has left.

Set in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii — The harbor hit by the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Natural harbor on the island of Oahu and the main US Pacific Fleet base.

Raid on the Marshall Islands (1942)

In February, Dick Best flies with raids launched from the carrier USS Enterprise against the Marshall Islands. It is the first American strike back after Pearl Harbor.

Set in Marshall Islands — Target of the February 1942 carrier raid. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Pacific island chain; the script names Roi Island as the target.

The Doolittle Raid on Tokyo (1942)

In April, Jimmy Doolittle's Army bombers lift off a carrier to strike Tokyo. The raid pushes Japan's leaders to approve Yamamoto's plan to attack Midway.

Set in Tokyo — Target of the April 1942 Doolittle raid. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Same city as the 1937 scene; this time the bombers fly toward it.

After the Battle of the Coral Sea (1942)

Japan sends carriers into the Coral Sea to cut the US lifeline to Australia. After the battle, Layton and Rochefort's team begin picking up messages about a target called AF.

Set in Coral Sea — Sea battle in the South Pacific, May 1942.

Sea off northeastern Australia.

Cracking "AF" at Pearl Harbor (1942)

At Pearl Harbor, Layton believes AF is Midway while planners in Washington place it in the South Pacific. Layton has the Midway base send an unencrypted water-shortage message, and the Japanese repeat it back, confirming AF.

Set in Pearl Harbor naval base — Where Rochefort's team and Layton work out what AF means. Google Maps · Apple Maps

US Pacific Fleet headquarters and codebreakers' base on Oahu.

The air raid on Midway (1942)

On June 4, the Japanese launch an air raid on Midway. US land-based aircraft try to hit back at the Japanese carriers, setting off the battle that decides the Pacific.

Set in Midway Atoll — The atoll Japan attacks on June 4, 1942. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Small atoll in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 1,300 miles from Honolulu.

Filmed at Honolulu, Hawaii — Principal photography (scene not specified) Google Maps · Apple Maps

Filmed at Montreal, Quebec — Additional photography (scene not specified) Google Maps · Apple Maps

Characters

• Edwin T. Layton — Naval intelligence officer who tries to read Japan's plans.
• Dick Best — Navy dive-bomber pilot flying from USS Enterprise.
• Chester W. Nimitz — Commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Fleet.