On June 19-20, 1944, American carrier-based aircraft destroyed Japan's carrier-based air power in the Battle of the Philippine Sea — an engagement American pilots nicknamed 'The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.' June 15 marks the beginning of Operation Forager, the amphibious assault on Saipan that triggered the battle.
In two days of aerial combat over the Philippine Sea, American F6F Hellcat fighters shot down approximately 600 Japanese aircraft while losing fewer than 30 in air-to-air combat. The disparity was stunning — a ratio of roughly 20:1 in America's favor.
The reasons were several: superior American aircraft (especially the Grumman F6F Hellcat), superior pilot training (American pilots had far more flight hours), superior tactics, and superior radar-guided fighter direction from the fleet. The Japanese pilots who attacked the American fleet on those days were, in many cases, flying their first combat missions.
The battle effectively ended Japan's offensive carrier air power. The four fleet carriers that had survived Midway were mostly intact, but their air groups were shattered. Japan would never again be able to mount carrier-based air offensives on the scale of Pearl Harbor or the Coral Sea.
The Marianas Turkey Shoot was the largest carrier battle in history. At Cleared4Tees, we honor the naval aviators who dominated the Pacific skies.
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Blue skies and tailwinds — The Cleared4Tees Crew ✈️
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