World War II: Turkey Shoot in the Philippine Sea

June 19-20, 1944 - Allied forces win the Battle of the Philippine Sea (right). Seeking to go on the offensive, the Japanese Combined Fleet moved to attack Allied forces during the invasion of Saipan in the Marianas. Hoping for support from ground-based aircraft, Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa was thwarted when Allied forces hammered Japanese air power in the Marianas on June 11-12. Locating Admiral Raymond Spruance's carriers on June 18, Ozawa launched four attacks the next day. These were met by fearsome American resistance and saw the vast majority of the Japanese aircraft shot down. So easy was the defense, that American pilots began referring to it as "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." While the Japanese were losing aircraft at a startling rate, two American submarines sank a pair of Ozawa's carriers, including his flagship. The next day, American aircraft sank a Japanese carrier, as well as damaged three more. His air arm destroyed, Ozawa withdrew that night.

Photograph Courtesy of the US Navay History & Heritage Command