Japan Sent 18 Carriers to Philippine Sea — Lost 3 + 600 Pilots in 48 Hours
In the pre-dawn darkness of June nineteenth, nineteen forty-four, Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa stands on the flag bridge of the carrier Taiho, the newest and most powerful flattop in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Around him in the Philippine Sea, eight more carriers steam in formation, their decks crowded with aircraft being prepared for launch. Mechanics make final adjustments to Zero fighters. Ordnance crews load bombs onto Val dive bombers and torpedoes onto Kate attack planes. never to rise again. If you're enjoying this deep dive into the story, hit the subscribe button and let us know in the comments from where in the world you are watching from today! Below decks, hundreds of young pilots sit in ready rooms, their faces a mixture of determination and barely concealed anxiety. Many have fewer than three months of flight training. Some have never fired their guns in combat. They clutch photographs of families they may never see again, tucking them into flight suits as good luck charms. They have been told this will be the decisive battle, the moment when Japan's Combined Fleet will crush American naval power in the Pacific. What they do not know is that they are about to fly into the most catastrophic defeat in the history of naval aviation.
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