Was there much contention over Fuchida's version before this?
Yes, as many of his claims simply couldn't be verified or were refuted by other sources. He is one of the first to claim that the decks of Kido Butai were covered with aircraft during the "Miracle 5 minutes" of 10:20 to 10:25 during which SBDs attacked, thereby knocking out 3 carriers. It has been shown that the planes were still below decks when the attack came in, so the damage that was sustained was more a result of the bombs penetrating the unarmored flight deck into the hangar area then causing secondary explosions. He also faulted Nagamo for not launching a 2 tiered search pattern, something that was not even implemented in either Navy until 1943.
Some of his comments of Nagamo's actions, as well as the intelligence he had at hand have been shown to be quite off the mark. His work is a result of post-war feelings in Japan towards the war and how to express what happened. The "Miracle at Midway" in honest was far from a miracle. Was it a tough fought battle that could have been easily lost? Yes, but if you look at the details of the battle, it was actually the US that had the local advantage.
3 US carriers (25 total ships) along with the airfields on Midway actually gave the US more air strength than the Japanese. In the direct Midway theater of operations, the Japanese only had 20 ships (including 4 carriers of Kido Butai), the rest of the IJN, while at sea, was in no position to support Kido Butai. It seems from studying the MI operation that Yamamoto actually just sent ships to sea for the simple fact of giving them something to do. Many ships of the IJN had spent most of the war to that point sitting in port.
So the US with more ships and planes, along with the better position and intelligence held the upper hand as long as they maintained the element of surprise, which they certainly did as the events show. The myths that have come to surround Midway come from both sides, as the Japanese accounts did little but confirm what was being said in American circles. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that a careful examination of Japanese carrier doctrine was undertaken and it showcased the vast differences between US and Japanese carrier operations this early in the war. It is interesting to see how each side had gotten some of it right, but was still utterly lost on other aspects.
