Battle of the Philippine Sea

Also known as “the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot“, the Battle of the Philippine Sea was a World War II naval engagement fought between US Task Force 58, under Rear Adm Marc Mitscher, and the Japanese fleet, led by Vice-Adm Jisaburo Ozawa, on June 19 and 20, 1944, in the Philippine Sea. It occurred simultaneously and as a consequence of the American invasion of the Mariana Islands, in the Western Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines.

Continuing with the Pacific Island-Hopping Campaign, the American forces had just landed on Saipan, Mariana Islands, on June 15, 1944, with the naval support of Task Force 58, which consisted mainly of 7 fleet aircraft carriers and several battleships and submarines. In an attempt to deliver a decisive blow to the strongest US fleet force in the Pacific and repel and avoid the American invasion of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian, protecting the sea lanes that led to Japan, a big Japanese fleet, which included 5 fleet carriers, sailed from the Philippine Islands and headed northeastward across the Philippine Sea, toward the Marianas.

At 10:40 AM, on June 19, around 60 US F6F Hellcat fighters, that had taken off USS Yorktown (CV-10), Belleau Wood (CVL-24), and Hornet (CV-12) carriers, intercepted approximately 70 Japanese fighters, most of them A6M Zeros. The majority of this first wave Japanese aircraft were shot down by experienced American pilots, flying superior fighters. Thus, during that day and the next day, wave after wave of enemy fighters and dive bombers were wiped out of the sky by US carrier-based fighters as most of the Japanese pilots were very young and lacked proper training and flying skills.

The ratio in favor of the Americans was so overwhelming, that one US pilot literally said: “This is like an old time turkey shoot…” At the end of the battle, 3 Japanese fleet aicraft carriers and 2 oil tanker were destroyed and sunk as several other ships were damaged; also, more than 600 Japanese aircraft were shot down. One of the carriers destroyed was the Shokaku, sunk by USS Cavalla submarine. With this terrible defeat in the Philippine Sea, the Japanese Navy was severely crippled as a fighting force.

Below, a Japanese carrier under attack as it maneuver in vain to avoid being hit by US dive bombers.

Another Japanese aircraft carrier being attacked by US aircraft