Wiki: "The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a decisive naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands. The battle was the last of five major "carrier-versus-carrier" engagements between American and Japanese naval forces, and involved elements of the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet as well as ships and land-based aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy's Mobile Fleet and nearby island garrisons.
The aerial theater of the battle was nicknamed the
"Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" by American aviators for the severely disproportional loss ratio inflicted upon Japanese aircraft by American pilots and anti-aircraft gunners. During a debriefing after the first two air battles a pilot from USS Lexington remarked
"Why, hell, it was just like an old-time turkey shoot down home!" The outcome is generally attributed to American improvements in pilot and crew training and tactics, war technology (including the top-secret anti-aircraft proximity fuze), and ship and aircraft design. Although at the time the battle appeared to be a missed opportunity to destroy the Japanese fleet, the Imperial Japanese Navy had lost the bulk of its carrier air strength and would never recover. During the course of the battle, American submarines torpedoed and sank two of the largest Japanese fleet carriers taking part in the battle.
This was the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of ... ippine_Sea"The battle started shortly after 1000 on 19 Jun with the first wave of 60 Japanese planes attacking the American fleet. 42 of them were shot down, scoring only one bomb hit on USS South Dakota. The second wave consisted of 128 planes, and 97 of them were lost without even making any significant damage to the American ships, although Warrant Officer Sakio Komatsu's name must be mentioned for his bravery: immediately after taking off from the Taiho, he saw a torpedo swimming straight for his home carrier. He dropped his plane and plunged into the ocean, intercepting the torpedo with his fighter. He sacrificed himself, and his carrier would be saved, for now. The third attack's 47 planes had a better casualty rate, losing only 7, but they did not make it through the American escort ships, let alone seeing the American carriers. By the time the fourth attack wave of 82 planes were sent, it was already almost 1400 in the afternoon, and 54 of them were shot down.
During the day of 19 June 1944, between Ozawa's attacks on the American fleet and the attacks on Guam and Rota, 429 Japanese planes were shot down. The Americans lost 29. This battle was commonly referred to among the US Navy men as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". Many historians agree that this event marked the end of Japanese naval air power."
A good link below:
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/gr ... -shoot.aspA couple logbooks with June 19 entries.
Kevin Shortell's Grandfather XO of VF-8
Lieutenant (junior grade) Arthur Ray Hawkins of Fighting Squadron (VF) 31 during June 1944. Note his kills during the Marianas Turkey Shoot
Lieutenant (junior grade) Arthur Ray Hawkins (right) receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross on the flight deck of the light carrier Cabot (CVL 28)
Air action over Task Force 58 on June 19, 1944
Air action over Task Force 58 on June 19, 1944
VF-1 Top Hatter F6F-3 Fighter is launched from USS Yorktown to intercept enemy forces during the Marianas Turkey Shoot, 19 June 1944
F6F-3 Hellcat of Fighting Squadron (VF) 1 Hornet (CV 12) during the Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19, 1944
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
