Japan's Two Fleet Carriers Died in a Day — Both to Submarines

Japan's two fleet carriers died in a day, and both died to submarines. On June 19, 1944, USS Albacore put one torpedo into the Taiho and USS Cavalla put three into the Shokaku, and by 4:28 that afternoon roughly 2,900 men were dead. The Imperial Japanese Navy would never again send a carrier fleet into battle with a trained air group. This documentary covers the Battle of the Philippine Sea from beneath the surface: the Mark 14 torpedo and the 21 months it failed, the 1943 decisions that fixed it, the contact reports from Redfin, Flying Fish, Seahorse and Cavalla, the attacks on Admiral Ozawa's flagship and on the Shokaku, the gasoline vapor that finished both ships, and the American cost, from Task Force 58 to Albacore's loss in November 1944. Built from after-action reports, loss tables and ship records, with every clock time, torpedo count and casualty figure checked against the record. Where sources disagree, the script says so. Subscribe for the definitive history of the United States in the Second World War — new documentaries every few days. #WW2 #WorldWarII #PacificWar #USNavy #WWIIHistory #USSAlbacore #USSCavalla #Taiho #Shokaku #MilitaryHistory #USAInWW2