346 Aircraft Destroyed Before Reaching the Fleet

On June 19, 1944, American naval aviators achieved the most lopsided aerial victory in history. Lieutenant Alexander Vraciu shot down 6 Japanese aircraft in just 8 minutes using only 360 rounds of ammunition. But his incredible feat was just one small part of a much larger story.

The Japanese launched 373 carrier aircraft in four massive waves, expecting their superior range and land-based air support to deliver victory. Instead, American radar detected each wave at 150 miles out. Hellcat fighters intercepted them 70 miles from the fleet. By day's end, 346+ Japanese carrier aircraft were destroyed versus only 24 American Hellcats lost in combat—a kill ratio exceeding 15:1.

This single day's action, nicknamed "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" by the pilots themselves, permanently destroyed Japanese carrier aviation as a fighting force and changed the course of the Pacific War.

WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER:
• Lieutenant Alexander Vraciu's perfect execution—6 kills in 8 minutes with just 360 rounds
• How American radar technology created 90 minutes of warning time for incoming attacks
• The four Japanese attack waves and why each one failed catastrophically
• Commander David McCampbell's 7-kill day and his path to becoming the Navy's top ace
• Why the F6F Hellcat dominated the Zero through superior design philosophy
• The submarine attacks that sank two Japanese fleet carriers during the same battle
• How 373 attacking aircraft were reduced to fewer than 20 reaching their targets
• The permanent consequences that led directly to kamikaze tactics

This is the story of American technological superiority, superior pilot training, and the defense-in-depth that made Japanese carrier aviation obsolete. From the radar operators who detected threats over the horizon, to the fighter directors who vectored Hellcats to perfect intercept positions, to the pilots who turned the Philippine Sea into a graveyard for Japanese naval aviation.

June 19, 1944 was the day the turkey shoot ended Japanese carrier aviation forever.

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