The devastation wrought by American pilots on June 19 led one to comment "Why, hell it was just like an old-time turkey shoot down home!” This led to the aerial fight earning the name "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot."
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was fought 19-20 June 1944 in the waters west of the Mariana Islands by elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet and of the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet.
On June 19th, as the Marines continued their push through Saipan, the Battle of the Philippine Sea began.
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was fought west of the Mariana Islands, a chain of 14 islands in the north-west Pacific, about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) east of the Philippines.
Concerned about being lured away from Saipan and opening the door for the Japanese slip around his flank, Spruance denied Mitscher's request stunning his subordinate and his aviators.
During this engagement, 30 of the 42 were shot down.
Ozawa's final attack launched around 11:30 a.m. and consisted of 82 aircraft. Virtually any topic for the virtual learner. Having island-hopped across the Pacific Ocean, Allied forces advanced on the Mariana Islands in mid-1944. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.
To ease their return, Mitscher daringly ordered all of the lights in the fleet turned on despite the risk of alerting enemy submarines to their position. A third Japanese attack of 47 aircraft was met at 1:00 PM with seven aircraft being downed.
Japan lost almost 400 planes and three aircraft carriers in two days of fighting, while American losses were light.
Some Japanese pilots went into action with as little as three months of training, whereas many U.S. pilots had spent two full years in training. Commander Raymond A. Spruance was in charge of the Fifth Fleet, which had the job of protecting the ocean around Saipan, while the Marines were taking the island.
Landing over a two-hour span, the aircraft set down wherever was easiest with many landing on the wrong ship. Fighting for over an hour, the American planes were recalled when radar reports showed inbound Japanese aircraft.
His air arm effectively destroyed, Ozawa was ordered to withdraw that night by Toyoda.
The battle exacted a terrible toll from the Japanese naval air arm, costing them most of their few remaining experienced pilots. Arriving in the area, 49 failed to spot TF-58 and continued on to Guam.
Arriving over Guam, the first group was attacked by Hellcats as they attempted to land at Orote.
Having recovered from their earlier carrier losses at the These were the first wave of aircraft from Ozawa's carriers which had launched around 8:30 a.m. The Combined Fleet was no longer capable of serious offensive operations after this engagement. The Battle of the Philippine Sea was fought on June 19-20, 1944, as part of the Pacific Theater of
U.S. submarines also played an important but less publicized role in providing U.S. commanders with intelligence of enemy movements and in sinking Japanese ships.
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Japanese planes were highly maneuverable and had a longer range than U.S. planes, but they were inferior in several respects, particularly in their inadequate armour protection and lack of self-sealing fuel tanks. Known as ‘the greatest carrier battle of the war,’ it accompanied the U.S. landing on Saipan and ended in a complete U.S. victory.
Their only success was a hit on the battleship ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience and for our Fighter plane contrails mark the sky over Task Force 58, during the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" phase of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, June 29, 1944.Japanese Carrier Division Three under attack by United States Navy aircraft from Task Force 58 in the battle of the Philippine Sea, late afternoon of June 20, 1944.
The Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, was a major defeat inflicted by the United States Navy on the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.
Flying home in the darkness, the attackers began to run low on fuel and many were forced to ditch.