Battle of the Philippine Sea
Map of the Mariana Islands
| date | June 19-20, 1944 |
|---|---|
| place |
Philippine Sea near the Mariana Islands |
| output | American victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 15 aircraft carriers 7 battleships 79 other ships 28 submarines 956 warplanes |
9 aircraft carriers 5 battleships 43 other ships 681 combat aircraft |
| losses | |
|
4 ships damaged |
3 sunken |
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The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a sea-air battle between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Pacific War in World War II . It took place on June 19 and 20, 1944 in the Mariana Islands and was the largest porter battle of the Pacific War.
Starting position
After the turning point in the Pacific War after the Battle of Midway , leading US military developed the tactic of so-called island jumping . Since the Solomon Islands and the Gilbert Islands as well as the Marshall Islands and New Guinea had already been recaptured with this tactic, it was decided to stick to this type of warfare. The next step was to bring the Mariana Islands under control, as they were about 2,400 kilometers from the Japanese mainland, a short distance in the Pacific. This distance corresponded to the range of the American B-29 bombers. Airfields on the Mariana Islands would enable effective bombing of the main Japanese islands. With bases in the Mariana Islands, a first wedge could be driven between the Japanese motherland and the important raw material areas in Indonesia . The archipelago was also of great strategic importance as the northern flank for the reconquest of the Philippines .
After the continued losses of the Japanese in the previous battles, the headquarters of the Japanese Navy under Nagano Osami decided in September 1943 to start a new offensive because new aircraft carriers and battleships laid down in the keel in previous years were ready for use. There was now a chance to change the balance of power between the Japanese and US armed forces in favor of Japan.
When the 5th US Fleet under Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance started their landing operation on the island of Saipan on June 15, 1944 , the Japanese under the command of Shimada Shigetaro started Operation A-gō ( あ 号 作 戦 , A-gō sakusen ) in force, which mobilized almost the entire available Navy . Even before the war began, high-ranking military officials had drawn up a plan for a naval war against the USA, but this had subsequently proven useless. The possibility of defeating the enemy in a single decisive battle was now discussed.
Preparations
On June 13, the Japanese fleet left the port of Tawi-Tawi, southwest of the Philippines and was discovered shortly afterwards by a US submarine . A day later, some Japanese battleships in the west of the Philippine Sea joined the fleet, but were split into three formations just four days later. The group approached Saipan Island, where US troops began their landing operation. In the meantime, the USA gained a decisive advantage: On the one hand, they were able to decipher the Japanese radio messages so that the further steps of the Japanese troops were known, and on the other hand, small parts of the US army had started to destroy the air defense on the Mariana Islands.
On June 15 and 16, a US carrier group launched with some success attacks against Japanese bases on the islands of Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima to the north . These bases were thus switched off for some time and were no longer a threat to further operations.
On the morning of June 18, the four US carrier groups joined forces to form Task Force 58 (Vice Admiral Marc Andrew Mitscher ) and headed southwest towards the Japanese. Their main task was to secure the landing operations on Saipan. So it was decided first of all to go defensive and let the Japanese take the initiative.
June 19th
On the morning of June 19, at 5:30 pm, first made bombers and fighter aircraft of the USAAF , the aircraft of the Japanese on the way, about the same time. The Japanese pilots were tasked with destroying the US Navy fleet while the US bombers tried to destroy the land airfields in the Mariana Islands; the Japanese ships were out of range due to the wind conditions and the greater range of the lightweight Japanese machines.
The Japanese Air Force then attacked the US fleet and the US Air Force in air battles over Guam and Rota . This day went down in history as the " Great Marianas Turkey Shoot " ( Great Marianas Turkey Shoot ). The Japanese experienced a debacle and lost 330 of their 430 carrier aircraft, about 450 total. Only 30 US aircraft were lost. Four US ships were slightly damaged, 27 sailors died on the battleship USS South Dakota , but it remained fully operational.
The naval battle was thus decided before it had even really begun. The Japanese in their outdated, light, and poorly armored aircraft were greeted by an almost impenetrable anti- aircraft curtain . Anyone who survived this inferno was easy prey for the heavy and fast US fighters.
On the same day the Japanese carriers Taihō and Shōkaku were sighted and attacked further south by submarines of the US Navy. The Taihō received a torpedo hit near the aviation fuel tanks, and the ensuing fire got out of control, exploding and sinking around 5:30 p.m. The Shokaku was no better: Three torpedo hits caused a fire that eventually reached the ammunition bunker and tore the ship apart. It sank at 3:00 p.m.
20th June
The Americans now wanted to take advantage of their victory and went west during the night to attack the Japanese in the morning. They didn't find the Japanese fleet until 3:40 p.m. that afternoon. Nevertheless, an air raid was ordered, knowing full well that the planes would not be able to reach the porters until it was dark. The Japanese could only bring about 35 aircraft into the air for defense, but the US Navy attacked with 216 aircraft. The carrier Hiyō was sunk, at least one other carrier ( Zuikaku ) and a battleship damaged and two tankers so heavy that they had to be abandoned later.
80 US planes were also lost, most of them trying to land on the carriers at night. Many had not even tried because of the risk of breaking on the carrier and had made an emergency landing next to the ships on the water. In total, the losses were 49 crew members.
Spruance refused to pursue the Japanese because then he would have had to split up his fleet. Protection of the Saipan landing was a priority. The battle was over and the remaining Japanese porters and their escort escaped.
Conclusion and consequences
The US Navy was outnumbered. But that does not only explain the catastrophic losses of the Japanese armed forces, especially the airmen. The decisive factors were the technical advantage that the Americans now had and their enormous industrial capacities. They equipped their ships with a very large number of anti-aircraft guns and, for the first time in the larger calibers, had the then top-secret proximity fuse . The light, barely armored Japanese aircraft were no longer able to cope with this massive defensive fire.
For its part, the US Navy exchanged all Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters for Grumman F6F Hellcat on the fleet carriers in the second half of 1943 . These were faster and better armored than the Japanese fighters. With this type, the Americans were finally able to gain control of the air. Naval operations were no longer feasible without adequate air support, and this should soon make itself felt in increasing Japanese ship losses.
Most of the Imperial Navy escaped, but the Marianas were now isolated and enclosed by the US Navy. This laid the foundation for capturing the archipelago. The remaining forces of the Japanese airborne naval aviation were no longer of decisive importance for the further course of the Pacific War, but the capture of the islands meant the beginning of the strategic bombing war against Japan.
literature
- William T. Y'Blood: Red Sun Setting: The Battle of the Philippine Sea . Naval Institute Press, 2003, ISBN 1-59114-994-0 .
- Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg : A world in arms. The global history of the Second World War . DVA, Stuttgart 1995. (English first edition: New York 1995)
- Barrett Tillman: Carrier Battle in the Philippine Sea: The Marianas Turkey Shoot . Specialty Press, 1994, ISBN 1-883809-04-5 .
- The war . Part 8: A Volunteer Base. Documentary, USA 2006.
Web links
- Battle description (English)
- Battle description (English)