Japan's 'Gibraltar of the Pacific' Died in 2 Days — Nobody Invaded

Japan's Gibraltar of the Pacific died in two days, and nobody invaded. On 17 and 18 February 1944, about 70 Hellcats and then wave after wave of carrier aircraft hit Truk Lagoon, destroying between 250 and 275 Japanese aircraft and roughly 40 ships. The Combined Fleet would never again anchor in Truk Lagoon. This documentary covers Operation Hailstone from the Marine Liberators of 4 February 1944 to the bypass decision of 12 March. It follows the Combined Fleet's departure on 10 February, the Hellcat fighter sweep, Task Group 50.9 with the battleships Iowa and New Jersey, the sinking of the light cruisers Katori and Naka, the torpedo that struck the carrier Intrepid, and the fuel, supplies and aircraft Japan lost at its largest forward base. It is built from Naval History and Heritage Command summaries, U.S. Naval Institute accounts of the raid and wreck records from the lagoon. Where loss tables disagree, the full range is given instead of a single convenient number. Subscribe for the definitive history of the United States in the Second World War — new documentaries every few days. #WW2 #WorldWarII #PacificWar #USNavy #WWIIHistory #Hellcat #OperationHailstone #TaskForce58 #TrukLagoon #MilitaryHistory #USAInWW2