Page 219 - Micronesia
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CHUUK LAGOON – SIDE 2 Assisting the carriers was a large fleet of seven battleships, and
numerous cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and other support
FRANKO MAPS DESCRIPTIONS – SIDE TWO BOTTOM HALF ships. The battle group was tasked to destroy Japanese opposi-
tion and establish air supremacy over Truk Lagoon. To do this
The Battle of Truk Lagoon “Operation Hailstone” February 17-18, the operation was to make the airfields in Truk Lagoon unusable
1944 by bombing runways and air installations on the islands, and to
destroy all Japanese shipping within Truk Lagoon. It was also
Truk Lagoon was a major Japanese logistics center as well as the hoped that the Japanese Combined Fleet’s battleships, carriers
operating home base for the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Com- and heavy cruisers would be confronted and destroyed. How-
bined Fleet. The atoll had been in the hands of the Japanese ever, fearing that the base was becoming too vulnerable, these
since World War I and was closed to foreigners. War planners warships had largely withdrawn from Truk Lagoon and had been
had little information to go on, so on February 4, 1944 a pair moved to Palau just a week before the attack. A large number of
of PB4Y reconnaissance aircraft gathered aerial photographic important auxiliary ships and other combat vessels critical to the
intelligence of the Japanese military installations in Truk Lagoon. Japanese war effort were still in the atoll, along with hundreds of
The recently conquered airstrips in the Marshall Islands were aircraft at the airfields. The U.S. attack involved a combination of
within range of the PB4Ys. The flyover found that Imperial Fleet airstrikes, surface ship actions, and submarine.attacks over two
warships were present, including the super battleship Musashi, days, and appeared to take the Japanese completely by surprise.
their Second Fleet’s flagship. There were also carriers, destroy-
ers, submarines and hundreds of aircraft on Truk’s airfields. It Airstrikes employed fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bomb-
appeared that Truk would be very costly to destroy, but U.S. and ers in attacks on Japanese airfields, aircraft, shore installations,
Allied Forces air superiority in the Pacific would depend on it. and ships in and around the Truk anchorage. A force of U.S. sur-
Admiral Raymond Spruance ordered the attack by Task Force 58 face ships and submarines guarded exit routes from the lagoon.
(TF58), a U.S. Fleet Carrier Force/Battle Group consisting of five Before the break of day February 17, TF58 carriers launched a
fleet carriers and four light carriers able to fly 500 aircraft. squadron of F6F Hellcats to ensure no hostile aircraft would be
in the skies.
