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U.S.A.: The Chicago Tribune imperils codebreaking operations by printing a report of the Battle of Midway under the headline “Navy had word of Jap plan to strike.”

Those people better be careful or they're not going to be invited to the White House correspondent's dinner.

I wonder what the source was for this scoop. This snippet doesn't specifically mention code breaking. It just implies a good intelligence source.

You know, I’m not sure if there are any studies on the source of this leak. Admittedly, I never really have looked though. Might make an interesting paper. Much like the time I wrote that one on the possible sources of the Tribune’s lead of Rainbow 5.

Hmm. Not as much as a mystery this one is. The reporter, a Mr. Stanley Johnston, who placed the story was on board the USS Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea and most likely saw this dispatch sent to the ship:

CINC PACIFIC FLEET ESTIMATE MIDWAY FORCE ORGANIZATION X STRIKING FORCE 4 CARRIERS (AKAGI KAGA HIRYU SORYU) 2 KIRISHIMAS 2 TONE CLASS CRUISERS 12 DESTROYERS SCREEN AND PLANE GUARD X SUPPORT FORCE 1 DV OR XCV2 KIRISHIMAS 4 MOGAMIS 1 ATAGO 1 ? BD SCREEN XX OCCUPATION FORCE 1 TAKAO 1-2 MYOKOS (QUESTION) 1 CHITOSE 1 CHITOYODA 2-4 KAMIKAWA MARU 4-6 AK 8-12 AP 12 DESTROYERS X APPROXIMATELY 16 SS RECONNAISANCE AND SCOUTING MISSION MID PACIFIC-HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AREA.

Here is the story he placed. Note the similarities:

The various forces were made up aqpproximately as follows, according to navy information here:
THE STRIKING FORCE: Four aircraft carriers, the Akaga and Kaga of 26,900 tons each, and the Hiryu and Soryu of 10,000 tons each; 2 battleships of the Kirishima class - 29,300 tons with 14 inch guns; 2 cruisers of the Tone class - new 8,500 ton 6.1 inch gun ships; 12 destoyers.
Support Force Listed.
THE SUPPORT FORCE: One aircraft carrier of the Ryuzyo class, 7,100 tons; 2 Kirishima class battleships; 4 new 8,500 ton cruisers of the Mogami class, including the Mogami, Mikuma, Suzuya and Kumano - with 15 guns of 6.1 inch caliber; 1 light cruiser; 10 destroyers.
THE OCCUPATION FORCE: four cruisers - the Chakas, Myoko, Hitore, and Choda, all believed of 3,500 tons with main batteries of 6.1 inch guns; 2 armored transports of the Kunikisima Maru class - converted liners; 4 to 6 troopships; 8 to 12 supply vessels; 12 destroyers; 10 submarines.

While it is clear from the detail that he was using a book detailing Japanese naval ships (probably Jane's Fighting Ships), he had to have something more than just that to compose this story with such accuracy.