At 02:15 on the night of 5/6 June, Commander John Murphy's , in the water west of Midway, made the second of the submarine force's major contributions to the battle's outcome. Sighting several ships, neither Murphy nor his executive officer, Ray Spruance, Jr., could identify them. Considering that they might be US ships, Murphy did not fire, but reported the ships to Admiral Robert English, Commander, Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC). This report was sent to Nimitz, who then sent it to Spruance. Spruance assumed this was the invasion force and moved to block it while staying northeast of Midway.