How the F6F Hellcat Erased Japan's Carrier Air Arm in a Single Day

The F6F Hellcat erased Japan's carrier air arm in a single day. On 19 June 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched 373 aircraft at the American fleet in the Philippine Sea, and roughly 130 came home. Japan would never again put a trained carrier air arm to sea. This documentary covers the Battle of the Philippine Sea, remembered as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. It follows the Grumman F6F Hellcat from its origin as an upgraded Wildcat, through the recovered Akutan Zero and the Pratt and Whitney R-2800 engine, to the fight against the A6M Zero, D4Y Judy, B6N Jill, and D3A Val. It explains Admiral Ozawa's A-Go plan, the Japanese pilot-training deficit, American radar and the Combat Information Center, and Vice Admiral Mitscher's Task Force 58, including the submarine sinkings of the Taiho and Shokaku, the night recovery of 20 June, and the full cost ledger. Every figure comes from after-action reports, loss tables, and squadron records, not from legend. The result is a documented account of how a single fighter, a radar screen, and a doctrine changed the Pacific War. Subscribe for the definitive history of the United States in the Second World War — new documentaries every few days. #WW2 #WorldWarII #PacificWar #USNavy #WWIIHistory #F6FHellcat #PhilippineSea #TaskForce58 #MilitaryHistory #USAInWW2