Mission Beyond Darkness: The Philippine Sea (World War 2 Pacific Theater)

[Music] Japan became a great power in 1905 that year the army conquered Manchuria and the Navy destroyed a Russian fleet at Sousou Mia four decades after the Japanese Navy was obsessed re living in this past glory on a strategic scale the Japanese believe that naval wars were decided by a decisive battle this was part of the thinking behind Pearl Harbor where Japan sought to win a major victory from the outset the Battle of Midway was based on the same thinking after the death of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in April 18th 1943 command of the combined fleet went to Admiral Minnie Ichiko --ga he wanted to fight a decisive battle in early 1944 after the Navy had time to rebuild in the wake of heavy losses in the Solomon Islands the plan was called the Z plan even though Japan managed to turn out several aircraft carriers the Americans though were rapidly expanding starting at December 1943 they began the Central Pacific offensive seizing the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in early 1944 land-based air raids particularly a truck ravaged Japan's out of defensive Network throughout these battles the main Japanese fleets stayed away the next American goal was the Marianas Islands in particular Guam Tinian and Saipan their capture would rupture Japan's inner defensive ring and give the Americans bases to start the long-range bombardment of Japan this invasion would be covered by the mass carriers of task force 58 in March 1944 Koga was killed when his aircraft flew into a typhoon and crashed Admiral so uomo Toyota replaced him Toyota had little combat experience but he was very intelligent and was given command due to his seniority he had nearly been named fleet commander in 1939 though he strongly opposed war with America he also bicker with the army leading to his removal from the supreme war council Toyota was a staff officer by experience in training he was wedded winning a decisive battle like many staff officers his plans usually called for several fleet's operating at once the intention being that this would confuse the enemy over objectives the result was complicated plans carried out by multiple fleets that could not support each other in the crucible of battle this later point undermine Japanese naval plans because they often feature a decisive engagement as the end result of operations but failed to take into account the piecemeal battles that often arose Toyota's plans usually looked good on paper but did not work in practice Toyota embraced Koga Z plan with few changes it called for the Japanese Navy to concentrate wherever the American main attack fell the Marianas seemed obvious as the target but other possibilities included Biak and Palau the Japanese had a number of advantages they hoped would turn the battle in their favor though outnumbered in ships and aircraft they plan to use land-based aircraft in droves the Japanese hope to launch carrier aircraft at distance have their aircraft attack and then land on Island airfields they could then shuttle back and attack again on the return flight to the carriers to make sure the fleet was ready in 1944 extensive wargames were held to test the variations in the plan Emperor Hirohito attended one of these games before the battle the Americans made an intelligence breakthrough the storm that killed Koga also led to an airplane crashing in the Philippines members of kogas staff were captured by guerrillas along with the Japanese plans the Americans knew the overall strategy that would be pursued and could react accordingly however plan Z relied on several fleets making flank attacks the fear of the Japanese maybe making an attack from an unexpected direction and wrecking the invasion fleet created an air of caution in the American High Command when the invasion of Biak began on May 27th Toyota thought it was the main attack and put the fleet in motion while precious land base aircraft was sent to B ACK Vice Admiral gcbro ozawa the carrier commander refused to commit his fleet it was a huge mistake the Japanese could have achieved local superiority at Biak and caused heavy losses they instead decided to wait for the main blow and fight task force 58 the most powerful naval force in the world there was another troubling sign at biack the Japanese aircraft that were committed failed to even score a hit on American ships Japanese pilots were simply not well-trained enough to score consistent victories in the end toyota's decision to fight a decisive naval battle again the most powerful fleet in the world with an air force that was in terminal decline all but dooms the Japanese to defeat the American fleets overall commander was Admiral Raymond a Spruance born July 3rd 1886 he was a veteran sailor commanding warships of various classes before World War two shortly before Pearl Harbor he was transferred to the Pacific and led cruisers that were escorting aircraft carriers he formed an unlikely friendship with Vice Admiral William Halsey they were a study in contrast Halsey was aggressive passionate and blunt Spruance was calm and cautious earning the nickname the electric brain for his ability to stain on pulsed and possibly as a nod to his early training and fascination with electronics Spruance was exacting in his staff work and able to get along with difficult men he was not charming but he was unpretentious and projected an air of calm and confidence he was not completely cold and detached though in 1945 while aboard the battleship New Mexico he manned a fire hose after a kamikaze attack on the eve of the Battle of Midway Halsey was sick with a case of the shingles he recommended Spruance for the command despite his inexperience with carrier tactics Spruance relied heavily on Halsey staff his carrier force was victorious Midway was a major victory in Spruance his reputation was greatly enhanced he serves on Admiral Chester Nimitz his staff and together they planned Pacific operations before Spruance took command of the Central Pacific offensive command of task force 58 was held by Vice Admiral mark Pete mixture he was born January 26 1887 in Wisconsin where he got his lifelong passion for fishing his time at the Naval Academy however was difficult he amassed a hundred and fifty-nine demerits in due to poor grades he was forced out his sophomore year he re-entered and graduated but was not given major assignments his rise was due to an early interest in Naval Aviation and tried to complete the first transatlantic aircraft crossing in 1919 before World War two he advanced naval aviation both in the bureaucratic battles in Washington and in command of flight groups being the first to land on the carrier Saratoga he was an expert trainer of men when world war ii began midshire was in command of the hornet a modern aircraft carrier he fought at Midway but his carrier under performed for the Guadalcanal campaign he led land-based aircraft with Halsey remarking I knew we'd probably catch hell from the Japs in the air that's why I sent Pete mixture up there Pete was a fighting fool and I knew it Mitch sure next commanded larger carrier groups there in the Central Pacific offensive as a tactician he emphasized destructive firepower and mast attacks he cared about his men and part of his belief in overwhelming firepower was because he thought it would reduce losses like Spruance he was quiet and unpretentious although he could be severe he was a perfect subordinate in that he was willing to give advice but once given a definitive order he carried it out without protest it was an important quality since Spruance and mr. had a tense relationship since Midway miss sure had under him several experienced carrier commanders many of which were naval aviators before the war two standouts were Rear Admiral Joseph Clark and Alfred Montgomery Clark was particularly aggressive and had also commanded a carrier in the Battle of the Atlantic Clark could be blunt and he once told a superior you've got the widest yellow streak up your back of any Admiral I've ever seen in my life he was domineering unforgiving humorless and suffered from painful ulcers however he was liked by the aviators because he was a pilot and cared about his men midst your favored Clark's promotion despite his taciturn ways Montgomery also took part in operations in the Atlantic he was a renowned trainer and planner but he was petulant and ambitious he suffered from headaches and was despised by Spruance nevertheless he was considered to be an aggressive and energetic officer the two other carrier commanders under midshire were real Admirals William Harrell and John Walter Reeves Harrell had previously skippered the carrier Ranger Harrell was unaggressive and disliked by Clark he became ill on June 28th and was eased out of command Reeves was named black jack and was an older officer he was considered to be calm capable and an exacting disciplinarian in September he moved out of carrier command due to his advanced age the Americans were opposed by vice admiral jessup borough ozawa born October 2nd 1886 on Yushu ozawa rose to the ranks very slowly he served on various ships mostly destroyers before serving as a staff officer from 1925 to 1933 he served as a chief of staff of the combined fleet and later as the head of the Naval Academy ozawa was popular in the Japanese Navy because he too cared about his men he was tall six feet and seven inches and considered one of the ugliest Admirals getting the nickname The Gargoyle he was a consummate professional known for good staff work he was also a pioneering carrier operations recommending the creation of carrier task force for training purposes like most senior Admirals he opposed going to war with America he was favored by issuu ruku Yamamoto for command of the Pearl Harbor strike force but to appease other factions the job went to vice admiral chichagov o ozawa instead led the invasion of the dutch east indies in october 1942 ozawa replaced Nagumo but the carriers were held back and ozawa did not fight in a carrier battle until the Marianas in the battle he showed an uncanny ability to predict the movements and strategies of his enemy Ozawa's number 2 carrier commander was Rear Admiral Tatsu Kojo Jima he had served on carrier since 1931 he commanded the show Kaku from Pearl Harbor to Coral Sea it was said about him that he could navigate a warship even on dry land and show kaku's deaf maneuvers at Coral Sea prevented its destruction during the Solomons campaign he was assigned to command seaplane tenders and destroyers he suspected Japan's naval codes have been compromised and tried to convince me moto to not leave on his inspection tour stating what a damn fool thing to do to send such a long and detailed message about the activities of the sea and sea so near the front this kind of thing must stop Yamamoto ignored the warning and was killed when Koga took command he placed Joe Jima as Ozawa's second-in-command like ozawa he was considered one of the ugliest Admirals in the service Tajima commanded land-based aircraft after the Philippine Sea part of Ozawa's carrier force and most of his heavy surface forces were led by Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita he was considered a good surface tactician for the successful October 13th 1942 bombardment of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal he was a private man modest devoutly religious and unimaginative he was close to ozawa and was increasingly depressed by the death and destruction of the war vice-admiral Kikuchi kakuta was another important commander kakuta commanded carrier forces throughout the war in particular in the philippines invasion and at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands he was considered to be aggressive and in mid 1943 was given command of all Japanese land-based naval aviation in the Central Pacific he was a large man both tall and fat but also a drunk he advocated sending pilots with less training to the carriers hoping they would learn on the job although Kakuta did well in the 1942 battles he seemed to have lost his edge by 1944 task force 58 was made up of five task groups in total the Americans had seven big carriers eight light carriers seven fast battleships twenty-one cruisers and sixty eight destroyers mixtures total carrier Air Force was 956 planes the Americans had three carrier classes most were independents class carriers they carried 31 planes and were fast but not well protected in general the war proved the limitation of light carriers and the class was retired during the Cold War most aircraft was on board the essex-class carriers they were large was lots of anti-aircraft guns able to hold 90 to 100 planes they were not well armored though the overall success of the design meant that they were in use as late as the 1970s lastly there was the enterprise last survivor of the Yorktown class the enterprise was America's most decorated warship the carrier was a good design and the essex class was itself mostly an improvement over the Yorktown class American anti-aircraft guns were numerous and deadly damage control was taught to all sailors and as such American ships often survived damage that would sink ships in other navies Americans were also good learners and they improved damage control techniques after the loss of carriers Lexington and wasp in 1942 a mayor can pilots underwent some of the most extensive training of the war most had about two years worth of stateside training with 350 flight hours their teachers were often veteran pilots most air groups had trained together and by June 1944 had months of combat experience morale was high and operational planning was very efficient indeed the US revised fleet operations with parallel developments in both a combat Information Center and in doctrine training and practices to get the most out of the new communications and sensor technologies in terms of fighter aircraft the f6f hellcat had replaced the venerable wildcat the Hellcat was rugged and can carry a respectable complement of bombs it outclassed absolutely anything the Japanese had and is still widely considered the best carrier fighter of the entire war for bombing the Americans used three kinds of airplanes the TBF Avenger was still in use is both a bomber and a torpedo plane it was rugged and adaptable remaining in use until the 1960s future President United States George HW Bush flew an Avenger in the battle aboard the carrier San Jacinto dive bombers came in two varieties one was the SBD Dauntless the best plane of its type it was tough and carried a heavy bomb load the planes greatest moment was Midway where dauntless is sank for Japanese carriers the dauntless however was being replaced with the sb2c Helldiver although it carried a heavy bomb load it was hard to handle and was nicknamed the Beast and the son-of-a-bitch second class it was supposed to be an army bomber but it was found to be unneeded Britain and Australia actually canceled orders and the project was sent to the Navy the Dauntless had better range and after the battle some voice that the Helldiver should be retired but the dauntless line had already been ended after modifications though the Helldiver turned out to be a solid plane but at the philippine sea it was still the Navy's problem child by contrast the Japanese had three big carriers to medium carriers and four light carriers escorts were five battleships thirteen cruisers and 27 destroyers the carrier air force numbered 473 but there are around 500 land-based aircraft on hand but they would need to concentrate in order to be at all effective Japan's main three carriers were the sisters choukaku and the zu e Kaku arguably the best carrier is outside of the Essex class they were large fast and robust the new tae-ho was an armored carrier and ozawa made it his flagship although it carried only 60 planes much was expected from the japan's newest carrier the twins jinyo and hyo were neither large nor light carriers each holding about 50 planes they were slower than all the other carriers and suffer from electrical troubles Japan's for light carriers were the zu hijo Chioda cheetos and Ryu ho none of them could make more than about 28 knots they were serviceable but inferior to independence class carriers tellingly all Japanese carriers saved the big three were converted from previous ships it was the only way Japan could feel the carrier for is even partially able of contesting the Americans Japan's main fighter was the a6m5 zero or also known as the Zeke it had a reduced range from earlier types but was tougher however although great against Wildcats and Corsairs it was not up to the standards of the Hellcat most Japanese torpedo planes were the b6 and tenzin are also known as the Jill it was a good torpedo plane with a wide range however production had been delayed and b5n kate' bombers were still being used although in very small numbers the Kate did well in 1941 the 1942 but by 1943 it was considered slow and it had a more limited range than the Jill the Kate was mostly used by ozawa as Scouts Japanese dive bombers were also a mix of new and old the d4 y su a se or also known as the Judy was incredibly fast and had an impressive range but it was not as robust and in combat was easily destroyed however it proved to be a great recon plane and its speed was an asset when it was used as a kamikaze however it too had been delayed and the D 3 a vowel was still in use the val was maneuverable and handled well but carried a smaller bomb load and was not as robust in 1940 - it was the scourge of the Allies by 1944 it was outclassed Japanese pilot training was poor the carriers had only months to train and due to American submarine exercises at sea were limited the air crews onboard Ozawa's fleet carriers were the best and the air crews of the Jun yo the Hyo and the Ryu ho were the worst with only 100 flight hours in late 1943 training was so poor that Koga decided not to contest the invasion of the Gilbert Islands by June 1944 the carrier groups from Assyria to be ready for battle in one regard though the Japanese were superior they had a better reconnaissance doctrine and overall training as a result ozawa usually had more knowledge about American positions anti-aircraft guns in the Japanese Navy were more numerous and heavier but aiming was inferior the hope was that volume of fire would make up for deficiencies in technology as events would show though the unsung heroes of the battle were the anti-air Gunners when confronted by a massed American air strike they held their own however Japanese ships were expected to escape destruction through fancy maneuvers fortunately the Japanese were well trained in these tactics lastly both sides deployed many submarines the Japanese had 24 in the area and the Americans had 25 the war started with Japanese submarines scoring some major wins while American submarines were hampered by bad torpedoes and bad strategy by 1944 it had reversed American crews were tough and aggressive and in the final act of the Pacific War were decisive in Japan's defeat they were also aided by Japan's poor anti-submarine techniques by contrast the Japanese submarines were taking appalling losses and their skippers began to avoid battle altogether tellingly on the night of June 20th the American fleet presented the Japanese submariners with their last chance for glory but none were nearby to take advantage of it On June 11th task force 58 appeared in the Marianas surprising Toyota On June 13th Toyota cancelled operation ko in the relief of Biak and put operation a go in place although surprise the Japanese fleet was fast to react ozawa planned to have Kakuta attack with his land-based aircraft he attacked the Americans with his long-range aircraft however American raids on the Marianas airfields as well as at Iwo Jima and chichi Jima destroyed kakuta force from June 12th to the 18th the Americans destroyed hundreds of aircraft however Kakuta insisted he was doing damage to Spruance his aircraft Kaku t'as information - Azha was consistently inaccurate and he was either outright lying or grossly misinformed by his pilots Ozawa's past the battle began ominously on June 13th a jeudi crashed on the Tejo while trying to land the crash and resulting fire led to the loss of six aircraft destroyer shiatsu u collided with a tanker and sank on June 15th submarine flying fish cited the Japanese fleet near same are near Leyte Gulf the Americans knew the Japanese were on the way On June 18th misters own Scouts managed to destroy several enemy scout aircraft but failed to find ozawa ozawa meanwhile did get a rough fix on mistress position that night ozawa split his forces moving south of his carriers while carita with three light carriers went east caritas second-in-command rear admiral obayashi soooo planned to make an evening strike without Ozawa's permission until ozawa confirmed his attention to attack on June 19th suyo then halted his premature strike ozawa then broke radio silence to order Kakuta to attack with his aircraft ozawa thought Kakuta had 500 planes instead he only had fifty Spruance was worried about Ozawa's aircraft attacking the Saipan landings his last confirm report of Ozawa's fleet was from June 17th made by the submarine Kavala mister wanted to move west towards ozawa and launch air attacks and fight a surface battle Spruance though was worried task force 58 was not fully concentrated he feared fighting ozawa with only part of his fleet Spruance chose not to close the distance with ozawa but instead stayed to protect the landings late on June 18th Mischer tried again to convince brothers to attack but with no success on the morning of June 19th one of Kakuta aircraft spotted task force 58 Kakuta then launched a series of raids which are opted by Hellcats in the ensuing battle the Japanese lost 35 aircraft Americans lost just one plane Ozawa's pilots would be on their own Izawa launched two waves of aircraft one of 69 aircraft from Korea's light carriers and a second of 128 planes from the tae-ho choukaku and the zuy Kaku to other strikes were also launched with 47 and 82 aircraft in each rating group American radar detected Ozawa's attacks some 150 miles out Mitscher ordered all fighter aircraft aloft while the bombers orbited the open waters to the east midshire figured a carrier filled with bombers was more likely to burn up if attacked as a Japanese approach there were over 200 Hellcats in the air and they were ready for a fight the Japanese were roughly 70 miles from the American fleet but they had become disorganized during their long flight just as the first wave regroup and attacked the Hellcats the first wave was decimated losing 41 aircraft the remaining 27 managed to attack mrs. Pickett's landing a bomb on the battleship South Dakota the second Japanese wave was also roughly handled with the Hellcats claiming 70 aircraft those that got through a ripped apart by anti-aircraft fire they nearly hit three carriers but failed to do any major damage out of 128 planes 97 were lost including many of the only veteran Airmen left in the carrier fleet the third wave of 47 aircraft had become lost and only a few of its planes attacked as such only seven of them were lost it was also made up of the least experienced pilots the fourth wave went to the wrong area and split up some aircraft from zuy kaku attacked Montgomery's carriers but scored no hits six were shot down by anti-aircraft gunners the rest fled for Guam and rota to rearm and refuel the air battles were a massacre with several American pilots claiming multiple kills and a few becoming aces in a single day W Webb actually flew with a formation of vowels before opening fire and claiming six kills in 13 hours of combat 315 Japanese aircraft were down by 206 pilots with six men becoming aces in single day two of them had never even shot down a plane before Ziggy Neef of the Lexington called it an old-time turkey shoot and the name stuck in time the entire battle became popularly known as the Marianas turkey shoot American tactics and training combined with the use of radar planning and superior aircraft made sure the battle was won before it was lost the Japanese with some luck might have damaged or even sunk a carrier to since they did penetrate the fighters and made several near hits yet the horrendous losses an aircraft made sure that any victory would be Pyrrhic only the South Dakota was hit and the ship was able to carry on without major problems the Japanese who returned to ozawa found that the battle was going even worse for them back in the fleet and the largest carrier battle of World War two the decisive weapon proved to be the submarine Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood commander of the American submarines ordered four submarines to join Kavala and monitoring the Japanese and attacking them if able to submarines albacore and Kavala managed to do just that the albacore came close to tae-ho and moved to attack the fire control computer malfunction and the torpedoes had to be fired by I with a spread of six going out four went off target but two were set on a course to hit Japanese pilots Akio Komatsu piloting a Judy saw a torpedo as he took off he rammed his Judy into the torpedo blowing up himself and the torpedo the other one found its mark though rupturing to aviation fuel tanks the albacore survived a depth charge attack and fled the scene Tahoe appeared fine able to make 26 knots and still launched aircraft however vapors from the fuel began to accumulate the ventilation system was operating at full blast spreading the vapours throughout the tae-ho in addition in 1944 the Japanese had been forced to use less refined and more volatile oil the tae-ho was a ticking time bomb Kavala after his June 17 sighting had lost ozawa the submarine skippered by the resolute commander HJ kossler kept at it and penetrated Ozawa's screen and 7:22 am Kavala hit the show Kaku with three torpedoes one torpedo ruptured the fuel tanks and the aircraft being refueled blew up burning fuel spewed out all over the hangar damage control fought the fire and there was hope since emergency lighting still function and counter flooding prevented choukaku from capsizing however the ship started settling forward and the fires were getting worse at 12:10 p.m. there was an explosion and soon the aircraft elevators became fiery pits choukaku's returning aircraft were ordered to tae ho and zu e Kaku captain Hiroshi Matsudaira ordered the men on deck the flag was lowered and the order was given to abandon ship meanwhile mat-su barra tried to go down with the show Kaku tying himself to the ship however the bow dipped underwater and then water poured into the number one elevator well causing the carrier to quickly sink men tumbled down the flight deck into the sea or worse into the blazing pit that was number three elevator the show Kaku was now hell on the high seas the final plunge lasted all of two minutes the ship sinking with a groaning roar the men bobbing in the sea sang the show cocoons fight song with what one man described as blood tears [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] under the sea the ship exploded the time was around 2 p.m. 1263 men died on the shukaku there were 570 survivors including mat-su barra he was washed off the deck and refused to be rescued until all of his men were safe he is the last person saved from the shukaku as for the survivors ozawa went out of his way to make sure they were not placed on the sistership zuy kaku so as not to make the men feel like they were on a ghost ship there was no revenge for sho Kaku the destroyer rákóczi which failed to detect Kavala attacked and dropped 106 depth charges but Kavala escaped earlier rákóczi had escorted the escort carrier chun yo when it was sunk months later while guarding the battleship Kongo off of Formosa the Congo was hit by a submarine but so was the aura causing the hit touched off an explosion but the seas were so rough and the explosion was so sudden that the Artic ossie's loss was not at first noticed or Ecosse was lost with all of its hands Kongo sank hours later due to poor damage control while shikaku sank aircraft continued to land on tae-ho but the vapors were getting worse at 2:32 p.m. there was an explosion that blew out the sides of the hangars the power failed and the hull was punctured below the waterline tae ho was dead in the water and ablaze by 3 p.m. the damage control teams kept the fire contained while ozawa transferred his flag to the Cruiser higer o tae ho started to settle oil spilling out and setting the ocean ablaze tae ho sank in an even keel in vice admiral matome ew gawky said it was nearly horizontal when it took the final plunge Japan's largest and most modern carrier went beneath the waves at 4:28 p.m. the ship was in action for only four months nearly 1,000 men were fished out of the water with some 660 men dying in the sinking including nearly all of the engine room personnel the loss of two of Japan's three biggest carriers within hours compounded the loss of aircraft the battle had gone from defeat to complete disaster for the American submarine force it remains their finest hour that night ozawa found out his carrier aircraft had taken severe losses 243 of the 373 planes launched had been lost total losses from Guam brought the tally to 315 total American aircraft losses were just 21 however Japanese pilots reported they had sunk four carriers and down 160 aircraft Japanese reporting during the war was often poor in part it was because of the fear of failure Japan shame-based culture meant defeats were often downplayed and success was often inflated ozawa believed his pilots and felt that he had done major damage Kakuta also stated that the Americans had taken heavy losses although Izawa had only around 100 planes left he decided to stay in the battle against Crede his belief that they should withdraw ozawa correctly figured that the Americans were unaware of his exact position and he thought he could make another attack ozawa even launched 10 aircraft on a night attack but they failed to find the Americans Ozawa's aggressiveness in the face of such crippling losses was the biggest mistake he made during the battle Spruance did not attack on June 19th in order to keep the aircraft nearby to guard the landings and in case there was another massed attack from the Japanese on June 20th American aircraft went searching for Ozawa's carriers early morning Scouts found nothing not until 312 p.m. was a sighting reported the Japanese fleet was 275 miles out at the limit of Mister strike range daylight was slipping away regardless Mishra decided to launch an all-out strike after the first attack group launched a message indicated that Japanese fleet was 60 miles farther out than had previously indicated the first launch would be at the limit and would have to attempt landing at night midshire cancelled the second wave but allowed the first to proceed the strike was later known as the mission beyond darkness while those always ships were refueling the cruiser Otago intercepted an American transmission as all WA had been found he now steamed away from battle he could put up sixty eight aircraft to guard the fleet including bombers many were among those always best pilots yet it would hardly be enough the Americans truck with 226 planes including 95 Hellcats 51 Helldivers 26 dauntless --is and 54 Avengers mostly carrying bombs the first victims of the attack were Oilers with two being so damaged they were later scuttled these were attacked by aircraft from the wasp which were running particularly low on fuel the rest attacked the fighting fleet American losses for the day were 20 aircraft eight of them being held divers right before the attack on the main fleet the helo launched aircraft and was therefore a bit out of formation the isolated carrier came under a full attack one bomb killed most of the bridge personnel another exploded in the hangar just then six Avengers from the Bello would closed in with torpedoes two were shot down and three missed one Avenger caught fire and the crew parachuted out but pilot George Brown remained he launched a torpedo that hit the starboard engine room according to the Japanese the Avenger shot past the bridge and dove into the sea on fire according to the Americans Browns Avenger survived for a time Brown waved to his comrades with a bloody arm he gradually lost control and acted in the words of Warren Oh mark like a football player who had been hit in the head Brown disappeared and was never seen again to this day it is debated whether brown or Oh mark actually hit the heel while heel was attacked the other carriers came under fire Jun yo sistership of Hyo was struck with one bomb and several near misses although forced to stop flight operations Junio went to the aid of Hyo which was soon dead in the water elsewhere Chioda was struck with one bomb but damage control managed to put out the fire nearby Chioda was being guarded by steady anti-aircraft fire from the battleship Haruna one bomb skipped out of the water and hit the stern the manual steering compartment was flooded reducing speed another bomb hit the bow and there were several near misses the nearby Cruiser Maya suffered minor damage and flooding but was otherwise fine the Rio ho came under fire and dodged four bombs earlier in the day ozawa had transferred his flag to zu e Kaku the carrier was now the last survivor of the six carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor unlike sho Kaku it was considered a lucky ship that it's so far suffered only light damage June 20th though would be the ultimate test American aircraft swarm the carrier zu e Kaku it took evasive action hurray a Gunners fired furiously in addition with night falling the Americans had trouble making out targets in the attack one light bomb penetrated the hangar and started a fire however there were six near misses an explosion caused the water main to break flooding the radio room boiler rooms and secondary battery room in the confusion the order to abandon ship was given but soon after it was rescinded the damage control teams managed to put out the fires considering the size and scale of the attack misters evening assault was disappointing only he--oh had suffered major damage although some 65 Japanese aircraft were lost on June 20th the warships mostly escaped with minor damage the Americans lacked experience in this kind of fighting they had much more experienced bombing bases and winning dogfights Japanese skippers were well trained in using maneuvers to dodge attacks and American crews were not very experienced in attacking warships in the open after the Americans left the battleship Nagato was sent to toe the heel just before sunset there was a massive explosion on heel fires compromised the ship's already shaky electronics and leaking gas caused the stern to go ablaze the ship was abandoned in orderly fashion at 7:30 to roughly one hour after the explosion heõs sank stern first her bow pointing upward almost vertical an injured captain Toshi yuki Yokoi tried to go down with the ship but was swept off and rescued 247 men died on Hyo while 1331 were saved compared to most other Japanese carrier losses in the war the men of the Hyo were lucky while Ozawa's ships fled misters Airmen were moving in the dark back to their carriers fuel tanks running empty midshire at the recommendation of captain arleigh burke turned on relight in the fleet to help guide the pilots one pilot actually called it Coney Island on the 4th of July however with all lights running Japanese submarines would have a good way to spot an attack and many pilots confuse the lights on the carrier's for the lights of the escorts in the end the Americans had little to fear Japanese submarines failed to score any victories in fact 17 were lost in the Marianas campaign in the darkness some 70 planes crashed into the sea sometimes right among the fleet throughout June 21st the destroyers worked tirelessly to rescue down crewmen of the 172 men bobbing in the ocean only 34 of them were never found toyota ordered ozawa to withdraw towards okinawa ozawa offered his resignation but it was turned down in total ozawa had lost three carriers and 433 aircraft he had only 35 with him On June 21st kokuto lost 50 during the actual carrier battle by contrast American losses were 130 planes 109 American personnel also died the Japanese lost around 3,000 sailors and airmen the Japanese had not fought the Americans in a major naval battle since 1942 before the battle hopes were low but after the Philippine Sea victory seemed now impossible the extent of American numbers and dominance in training and technology cast a gloom over the Japanese the war now seen unwinnable to all but the absolute diehards the defeat led to the fall of Hideki Tojo s government while Tojo lost his grip on power Kakuta lost his life he tried to escape Tinian after the island was invaded his rubber raft failed to reach a submarine and he committed seppuku his body was never found and assumed to be buried in secret by a staff the battle absolutely assured the fall of the Marianas Islands after months of fighting at Saipan Guam and Tinian from these islands b-29 bombers could now start to level mainland Japan this air campaign culminated in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for Japan's carrier force Philippine Sea was the last battle where they were seen as the decisive armed at the Battle of Leyte Gulf Izawa led a carrier group as decoys and he lost all four carriers Corita with a force of battleships acted as the main strike force however Leyte Gulf the largest naval battle in history and to the Japanese Navy as an effective fighting force that American planners had to consider carita was removed for failing to press an attack at Leyte Gulf Oh's all was praised and he later replaced Toyota in command of the fleet in the final months of the war of the Japanese ships damaged the Philippine Sea zoo-wee kikuchiyo de and maya all sank at Leyte Gulf Haruna was destroyed the 1945 air raid in Japan only Jun yo survived the war but it was scrapped after Leyte Gulf Japan's carriers acted more as ferries for land-based aircraft and took heavy losses from submarines after the loss of the carrier shinyo chignon oh and unreal and the near loss of Gen Y Toyota at last bowed to reality his fleet was effectively blockaded by submarines by then almost all ships were being used as mobile anti-aircraft and gun platforms among the American Admirals there was tension over how the battle was handled Spruance s caution was attacked Montgomery wrote results of the battle were extremely disappointing to all hands and then important units of the enemy fleet which came out in the open for the first time in over a year and made several air attacks in our superior force were able to escape without our coming to grips with them by contrast Admiral Ernest J King head of the Navy told Spruance you did a damn fine job back there no matter what other people tell you your decision was correct it was high praise from King who was not one to hide his displeasure the sharpest rebuke to Spruance his leadership came from Nimitz after the Philippine Sea Nimitz ordered that if the Japanese fleet came out to fight it should be destroyed something Halsey tried to do the result was a near disaster as Halsey left the transport fleet vulnerable the irony of the two battles is that of the Philippine Sea hauls ease aggression would have paid off while Leyte Gulf Spruance his crew would have worked better Spruance was still respected and given major assignments he oversaw the landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa after the war he was head of the Naval War College and resigned in 1948 Mitscher led carriers until the end of the war and was widely seen as second to none as a tactician in 1946 he was made commander of the Atlantic Fleet but died soon after Clarke led task force 77 in the Korean War Montgomery led carriers at Leyte Gulf but in 1945 was sent to trained pilots on the west coast he held several important fleet commands right after the war but ended his career in 1951 commanding land-based aircraft Spruance midshire and Clark each had ships named after them in the Cold War Navy as of 2018 the Battle of the Philippine Sea remains the largest carrier battle ever fought it was a highly studied battle after the war and the tactics used by the Americans are still the basis of overall American carrier tactics and doctrine today however it was a battle already lost by Japan the question was how heavy were the losses be the loss of trained pilots and carriers rendered that force impotent but enough ships escaped to take part at Leyte Gulf the Battle of the Philippine Sea could have been decisive in Mischer and montgomery knew it ultimately American training tactics and Technology secured a victory Spruance 'as leadership made sure the victory was not total but nor did it need to be for the real prize was not destroying a carrier force doomed to defeat but rather an island chain that placed Japan in range of heavy bombers ultimate defeat in the Marianas meant that Japan's defeat would be a disaster on a scale that the people of the Rising Sun had never dreamed of a scale that has forever scarred their psyche in history after the war Japan again built a modern fleet but one they did not deploy for offensive action until 2001 during the American invasion of Afghanistan that fleet still flies the same ensign they did at the Battle of the Philippine Sea [Music] [Applause] [Music]