In June 1944, the Japanese Navy attempted its last major offensive operation. Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa commanded the Combined Fleet seeking to defend the Mariana Islands from American invasion. His plan was to attack American carriers with land-based aircraft, then follow with carrier strikes. The Americans anticipated this move. Admiral Raymond Spruance, commanding the U.S. Fifth Fleet, positioned his carriers for engagement. His ships were newer, faster, and better-equipped. His pilots were better trained and better protected. The battle that erupted on June 19 would be a one-sided slaughter. Japanese pilots, many of them inexperienced replacements for veterans lost at earlier battles, flew straight into American defensive formations.

The First Strike

The Japanese launched multiple waves of aircraft on June 19. American radar detected them at 150 miles. Spruance vectored F6F Hellcat fighters to intercept. The Hellcat was superior to the Japanese Zero in every meaningful way: faster, stronger, more heavily armed. Japanese pilots in aging Zeros faced experienced American aviators. The first wave of Japanese aircraft never reached the American fleet. Hellcats destroyed 42 bombers and fighters in the first engagement. The second Japanese wave fared worse: 98 aircraft destroyed. The third wave was decimated before reaching the carriers. By midday, Japanese losses approached 300 aircraft. American carrier pilots shot down aircraft after aircraft. The slaughter was so one-sided that American pilots called it the 'Marianas Turkey Shoot,' referencing the ease of hunting turkeys.

The Carrier Engagements

On June 20, the carrier battle continued. Japanese carriers launched remaining aircraft. American carriers did likewise. Ozawa's flagship, the carrier Taiho, was damaged by American submarines and sank. The Shokaku, another fleet carrier, went down from air attack. American carriers suffered damage but remained in action. Aircraft losses continued mounting. Japanese pilots, unable to match American airmanship, fell steadily. By the end of June 20, the Japanese had lost approximately 600 aircraft and over 450 pilots. American losses totaled 130 aircraft and 76 pilots. The imbalance was staggering. Many American pilots were recovered by ships after being shot down. Japanese pilots, forced to ditch in the ocean far from friendly vessels, rarely survived.

The End of Japanese Naval Aviation

The Philippine Sea battle ended Japanese naval aviation as a serious force. The carrier fleet survived but lacked aircraft and trained pilots. The Mariana Islands fell to American forces days later. American B-29 bombers based in the Marianas would eventually devastate Japanese cities. The Battle of the Philippine Sea demonstrated conclusively that carrier aviation had evolved into a maturation of American tactics and Japanese decline. Younger Japanese pilots, hastily trained, could not compensate for inferior aircraft. American pilots, veterans of previous battles, dominated the skies. The Japanese Navy never recovered from its losses. Ozawa retreated westward. The U.S. Navy, with growing carrier strength, pressed relentlessly toward Japan. The Pacific War would last another year, but Japanese defeat was now inevitable.