The Marianas Turkey Shoot From the Japanese Perspective: Why Attack From 400 Miles Away?

On June 19, 1944, in the Philippine Sea, nine Japanese aircraft carriers launched their strikes against the American fleet off the Marianas. In English the day is famous as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot: inexperienced Japanese pilots flew into American fighters, radar and anti-aircraft fire. This video follows the decision behind it, in the Japanese records. The Japanese launched from about 380 nautical miles, farther than the American carrier planes could reach, and turned away to keep that distance. The official history calls the skill of its own carrier air groups "a cause for grave concern," yet says the leaders were almost all agreed that this outrange tactic was the only way to win. The records show where the idea came from, who flew it, an anchorage with no wind where the pilots could not train, the officers who doubted the plan and what became of their doubts, the two carriers lost to submarines, and an evening when the reports did not come. All times are Tokyo time, as in the Japanese records. CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction: Four Hundred Miles 2:34 The First Five Minutes 5:44 Two or Three Crews 8:49 No Wind at Tawi-Tawi 11:46 Who Said No 14:43 Turning Away 17:41 What Waited at the End 20:50 The Quiet Hit 23:44 We Did Not Think We Had Lost 26:58 So, Why 400 Miles? MAIN SOURCES Senshi Sosho (Japanese official war history), vol. 12: Mariana-oki Kaisen (The Battle of the Philippine Sea). Boeicho Boei Kenshujo Senshishitsu, 1968. Recollections, signals and battle reports as printed and quoted in that volume, including the First Mobile Fleet battle report. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, H-Gram 032, attachment 1: "Operation Forager and the Battle of Philippine Sea." Japanese text shown on screen is quoted from the records named above. English translations are by this channel. Photographs: U.S. Navy (National Archives, 80-G series; Naval History and Heritage Command, NH series; National Museum of Naval Aviation), U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army Signal Corps, the San Diego Air and Space Museum archive, and Japanese wartime photographs. Narration uses a synthetic voice.