.......
Ozawa's Raids
The initial Japanese raid was detected by radar aboard Lee's Battle Line at 1000 when still 150 miles distant. At 1023 Mitscher's carriers turned into the wind, and began to launch every available fighter. By this time Ozawa's first wave had approached to 70 miles. The Japanese aircraft then began circling as they regrouped and prepared to attack. This gave Task Force 58 ten minutes or more to complete its preparations to meet them.
At about 1036 the first interception was made by 11 Hellcats from the carrier Essex. As these fighters, led by Lt-Commander C.W. Brewer, were carrying out their attack they were joined by other Hellcats from Bunker Hill, Cowpens and Princeton. In this initial action at least 25 Japanese aircraft were shot down. Task Force 58 lost only one fighter. This set the pattern for the air-to-air combats of the day.
The Japanese planes which survived this interception were met by other fighters and 16 more were shot down. Of the remainder some made attacks on the destroyers Yarnall and Stockham, which were operating as pickets for the Battle Line, but the Japanese aircraft caused no damage. Three or four bombers broke through to the battleships, and one made a direct hit on South Dakota which caused many casualties but failed to disable her. Not one aircraft of Ozawa's first wave got through to the American carriers.
At 1107 radar detected another and much larger attack. This, Ozawa's second wave - consisting at this stage of 109 aircraft - was met by American fighters sixty miles out from Mitscher's flagship Lexington.
The first interception was made by 12 Hellcats, again from Essex, led by Commander David McCampbell, who was to become the highest-scoring US Navy fighter ace of the war. The Hellcats shot down approximately 70 aircraft from this raid. Most of the aircraft which broke through the combat air patrol were destroyed or driven off by the gunfire of the Battle Line.
Nonetheless, a handful of the bombers succeeded in attacking the American carriers. Six attacked Rear Admiral Montgomery's group, making near-misses which caused casualties on two of the carriers. Four of the six were shot down. A small group of torpedo aircraft attacked Reeves' group just before midday, one launching a torpedo which exploded in the wake of Reeves' flagship Enterprise. Three other torpedo-planes attacked the light carrier Princeton, but were shot down.
In all 97 aircraft of this - Ozawa's second wave - failed to return.
The third raid, consisting of 47 aircraft, came in from the north. It was intercepted at 1300, some 50 miles out from the task force, by 40 fighters. Seven Japanese planes were shot down. A few broke through and made an ineffective attack on Harrill's group. Many others did not press home their attacks. This raid therefore suffered less than the others, and 40 of its aircraft managed to return to their carriers.
After this third assault there was a brief lull in the battle. Several US carriers were able to secure from General Quarters, and Mitscher took the opportunity to launch a search mission - one which was, however, unsuccessful.
The fourth and final assault wave was launched from the Japanese carriers between 1100 and 1130. This raid was given an incorrect location for its targets. One group from this raid, failing to find anything at the reported position, headed for the island of Rota to refuel, but sighted Montgomery's task group by chance. 9 dive-bombers eluded the American fighters and made attacks on carriers Wasp and Bunker Hill, but failed to make any hits, and all but one of the attackers were shot down. Another group, of 18 aircraft from the Japanese carrier Zuikaku, lost half its number to the American fighters.
The largest group from this the fourth of Ozawa's raids - 49 aircraft - failed to locate any US ships and made for Guam. It was picked up on radar, and the last Combat Air Patrol of the day - consisting of 12 Hellcats from light carrier Cowpens - was sent to intercept. The US fighters came upon the Japanese planes as they were circling Orote Field ready to land.
As the Cowpens aircraft went in to attack they were joined by seven Hellcats from Essex, again led by McCampbell, and eight from Hornet. These 27 US fighters shot down 30 of the 49 Japanese planes, and the 19 survivors which landed received heavy and irreparable damage.
While Ozawa's air groups were being devastated in this massacre his carriers had come under attack from American submarines.
The US Submarine Attacks
A few days before the battle Admiral Lockwood, commander of Task Force 17 - the patrol submarines of the Central Pacific Force - had positioned four of his boats to intercept the Japanese fleet. Two of these located and attacked Ozawa's force on 19 June.
IJN Shokaku sinking
At 0816 Albacore sighted Ozawa's own carrier division, and soon began an attack on the carrier most suitably placed, which by chance was the Taiho, Ozawa's flagship - the Japanese Navy's most modern and most strongly-constructed carrier. As Albacore was about to fire a salvo of six torpedoes at Taiho her fire-control computer failed, and her commanding officer, Commander J.W. Blanchard, was forced to aim the salvo by visual judgment alone.
Taiho was than steaming at 27 knots. She had just launched 42 aircraft, her component of the Japanese second wave against Task Force 58. Four of Albacore's torpedoes were off-target. The pilot of one of the recently-launched aircraft - Sakio Komatsu - sighted one of the two which were heading for Taiho and heroically crashed his aircraft on it, destroying the torpedo and losing his life in the process. But the other torpedo struck the carrier on her starboard side near her aviation-fuel tanks. Nonetheless the damage to Taiho at first appeared not to be very serious.
Ozawa's Carrier Division also fell foul of the American submarine Cavalla. Shokaku, one of the six carriers which had carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor, was hit shortly before noon by three torpedoes of a salvo of six which Cavalla had fired from the close range of 1,000 yards. Fuel tanks on the carrier were ruptured by the explosions, fires spread through the ship, and at about 1500 a bomb magazine exploded, destroying her.
Meanwhile the flagship Taiho was falling victim to poor damage-control. On the orders of an inexperienced damage-control officer her ventilation system had been operated full-blast in an attempt to clear explosive fumes from the ship. This instead this had the disastrous effect of spreading the vapours throughout Taiho, and at 1532, approximately half an hour after the explosion which sank Shokaku, Taiho was herself wrecked by a huge explosion, and sank shortly after.
Albacore and Cavalla were both subjected to heavy depth-charge attacks, but the submarines escaped without serious damage.
Japanese and American Losses
Ozawa had committed 373 aircraft to his attacks and searches. Only 130 of these returned to their carriers, and about 50 of the Guam-based planes were shot down by Task Force 58. Other Japanese aircraft were lost operationally, and yet more went down with the two carriers sunk by the US submarines. In all the Japanese forces lost around 315 aircraft on 19 June.
Of the hundreds of US aircraft engaged in this great battle only 23 were shot down, and 6 more lost operationally. Task Force 58 lost 29 aircrew and suffered 31 fatal casualties on the ships which were hit or near-missed. In very few battles since medieval times, whether on land or at sea, have losses been so one-sided.
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on June 17:
1239 Edward I(Longshanks) king of England (1272-1307)
1703 John Wesley cofounded Methodist movement/author
1742 William Hooper signed Decl of Ind
1811 Jon Sigurdsson Iceland, leader/collects Icelandic legends
1817 Thomas Maley Harris, Bvt Mjr General (Union volunteers), died in 1906
1818 Charles Gounod Paris, France, opera composer (Faust)
1832 Sir William Crookes chemist/physicist; discovered thallium
1867 John Robert Gregg Ireland, inventor (shorthand)
1870 George Cormack created "Wheaties" cereal
1871 James Weldon Johnson lawyer, 1st black admitted to Florida Bar
1882 Igor Stravinsky Oranienbaum, Russia, composer (The Rite of Spring)
1904 Ralph Bellamy Chicago, actor (Air Mail, Dive Bomber, Trading Places)
1910 Red Foley Blue Lick Ky, country singer (Mr Smith Goes to Washington)
1914 John Hersey author (Hiroshima, A Bell for Adano)
1915 Stringbean [David Akeman], Ky, banjoist/comedian (Hee Haw)
1917 Dean Martin, Steubenville Ohio, singer/actor (with Jerry Lewis)
1919 Kingman Brewster college president (Yale)
1923 Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch AAFC, NFL halfback, end (LA Rams)
1928 James Brown godfather of soul (I Feeeel Good))
1929 Tigran Petrosyan USSR, world chess champion (1963-69)
1940 Bobby Bell NFL linebacker (KC Chiefs)
1943 - Newt[on] L Gingrich, (Rep-R-G, 1979- /Speaker of House 1995-97)
1945 Eddy (The Badger) Merckx Belguim, cyclist (5 time winner of Tour de France)
1946 Barry Manilow NYC, singer(?) (Mandy)
1948 Phylicia Allen Ayers Rashad Houston Tx, actress (Cosby)
1951 Joe Piscopo Passaic NJ, comedian(?) (SNL, Miller Lite commercials)
1965 Kami Cotler Long Beach Calif, actress (Elizabeth-The Waltons)
1980 Venus Williams, Lynwood Calif, tennis star
Deaths which occurred on June 17:
0656 Osman ibn Affan, 3rd kalief of Islam (644-56) murdered
0676 Adeodatus II, Italian Pope (672-76), dies
0855 Leo IV, Italian Pope (847-55), dies
1501 Jan I Olbracht, King of Poland, dies
1672 Orazio Benevoli, Italian composer, dies at 67
1797 Aga Mohammed Khan, cruel ruler of Persia, castrated and killed
1815 Hammida, Algerian admiral, dies in battle
1862 Charles J Canning, English 1st viceroy of British-Indies, dies at 49
1863 Isham W Garrott, US attorney/Confederate brig-general, dies in battle
1885 Gen Edwin H K Freiherr von Manteuffel, mayor (Elzas-Lothar'n), dies
1939 Eugene Weldman last guillotined in France
1961 Jeff Chandler actor, dies at 40
1974 Pamela Britton actress (Blondie, My Favorite Martian), dies at 50
1979 Lou Frizzel actor (Dusty Rhoades-Bonanza), dies at 58
1984 Swale Kentucky Derby winner, collapses & dies
1986 Kate Smith singer (God Bless America), dies in Raleigh NC at 78
1987 Dick Howser NY Yankee & KC Royal mgr, dies at 51 of brain cancer
1989 David S Griggs astronaut, dies in crash of WW II vintage plane
1989 John Matusek Oakland Raider/actor, dies at 38 of a heart attack
1992 Dewey Balfa, bayou fiddler, dies at 65
2004 Nabil Sahraoui (also known as Abu Ibrahim Mustapha), killed by Algerian troops (North Africa's most-wanted terrorist leaders)
GWOT Casualties
Iraq
16-Jun-2003 2 | US: 2 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Specialist Joseph D. Suell Taji Non-hostile - not reported
US Private Shawn D. Pahnke Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - sniper
16-Jun-2004 3 | US: 3 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Major Paul R. Syverson III Balad (Camp Anaconda) Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US Sergeant Arthur S. (Stacey) Mastrapa Balad (Camp Anaconda) Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US Specialist Jeremy M. Dimaranan Balad (Camp Anaconda) Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
Afghanistan
A Good Day
http://icasualties.org/oif/ Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
On this day...
0362 Emperor Julian issues a edict banning Christians from teaching in Syria
0653 St Martin I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0676 Deusdedit III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1291 Akko reconquered after 200 years by French crusaders, and destroyed
1397 Union of Kalmar established between Denmark, Sweden & Norway
1579 Anti-English uprising in Ireland
1579 Sir Francis Drake lands on the coast of Calif
1700 Mass. orders priests to leave the colony
1745 American colonials capture Louisburg, Cape Breton I from French
1775 The Battle at Bunkers Hill was actually fought on Breeds Hill near Boston. It lasted less than 2 hours and was the deadliest of the Revolutionary War. The British captured the hill on their third attempt but suffered over 1,000 casualties vs. about 400-600 for the Americans. Patriotic Joseph Warren died in the battle. Patriot General William Prescott allegedly told his men, "Don't one of you fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" British casualties were estimated at 226 dead and 828 wounded, while American casualties were estimated at 140 dead and 301 wounded.
1789 3rd Estate in France declared itself a national assembly
1815 Stephen Decatur captures Algerian frigate Mashouda
1837 Charles Goodyear obtains his 1st rubber patent
1856 Republican Party opens its 1st national convention in Philadelphia
1861 Battle of Boonville, MI-Brig General Lyon defeats Confederate forces
1863 Battle of Aldie, Confederates fail to drive back the Union in Virginia
1863 Travelers Insurance Co of Hartford chartered (1st accident insurer)
1864 General John B Hood replaces General Johnston
1872 Dodge City founded. George Hoover hauled in a wagon load of whiskey and set up a tent shop called Hoovers Bar
1880 John Ward, Providence, pitches perfect game vs Buffalo
1882 Tornado kills 130 in Iowa
1885 Statue of Liberty arrived in NYC aboard French ship `Isere'
1894 1st US poliomyelitis epidemic breaks out, Rutland, Vermont
1897 William Frank Powell, NJ educator, named minister to Haiti
1909 A Kopff discovers asteroid #682 Hagar
1916 American troops under the command of Gen. Jack Pershing march into Mexico.
1919 "Barney Google" cartoon strip, by Billy De Beck, premiers
1930 Chuck Klein sets Phillies hitting streak at 26 straight games
1930 The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Bill became law, placing the highest tariff on imports to the U.S.
1937 Marx Brothers' "A Day At The Races" opens in NY
1940 France asks Germany for terms of surrender in WW II
1942 1st WW II American expeditionary force lands in Africa (Gold Coast)
1942 "Yank" a weekly magazine for the U.S. armed services, began publication. Hartzell Spence (d.2001 at 93), executive editor of Yank, a new US Army publication, soon introduced the term pinup for the photo inserts of beautiful women and added the Sad Sack cartoon strip.
1944 Republic of Iceland proclaimed at Thingvallir, Iceland
1945 Day of Unity in West Germany (National Day)
1946 SW Bell innaugurates mobile telephone commercial service, St Louis
1947 1st round-the-world civil air service leaves NYC
1948 Joe Cronin pinch hit HRs in both ends of a doubleheader
1950 Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria sign security pact
1950 1st kidney transplant (Chicago)
1953 Riots in East Germany for reunification
1953 Sup Court Justice Wm O Douglas stays executions of spies Julius & Ethel Rosenberg scheduled for the next day their 14th anniversary
1954 Rocky Marciano beats Ezzard Charles in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1954 Televised Senate Army McCarthy hearings ends
1957 Tuskegee boycott begins (Blacks boycotted city stores)
1960 Ted Williams hit his 500th home run
1963 Supreme Court rules against Bible reading/prayer in public schools
1965 28.14 cm (11.08") of rainfall, Holly, Colorado (state 24-hour record)
1965 1st bombing by B-52 (50 km north of Saigon)
1966 Peter Green joins John Mayall's Bluebreakers
1967 China becomes world's 4th thermonuclear (H-bomb) power
1969 "Oh! Calcutta!" opens in NYC (almost entirely in the nude)
1970 Edwin Land patents Polaroid camera
1971 C U Cesco discovers asteroid #2399 Terradas
1972 5 arrested for burglarizing Democratic Party HQ at Watergate (3rd rate burglary)
1974 Felix Aguilar Observatory discovers asteroids #2997 & #3083
1975 Voters in Northern Mariana Is approve commonwealth status with US
1978 Ron Guidry sets Yankee record with 18 strike-outs
1982 Pres Reagan 1st UN Gen Assembly address ("evil empire" speech) (Correct....again)
1982 President Galtieri resigns after leading Argentina to defeat
1986 Chief Justice Warren Earl Burger resigns Antonin Scalia nominated
1988 Microsoft releases MS DOS 4.0
1988 Women sentenced to 90 years in 1st product tampering murder case
1991 Country entertainer Minnie Pearl suffers a stroke at 78
1991 South Africa abolishes last of its apartheid laws
1999 The Republican-controlled House narrowly voted to loosen restrictions on sales at gun shows, marking a victory for the NRA(and the American people).
2002 US Supreme Court strikes down an Ohio village's law and ruled that groups have a constitutional right to go door-to-door to promote their causes without getting permission from local officials.
2002 Australian scientists said they had successfully "teleported" a laser beam encoded with data, breaking it up and reconstructing an exact replica a yard away.
2004 In Peru the 400-year-old Lima Roman Catholic cathedral celebrated its restoration.
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Germany : Day of German Unity/Rememberance Day (1953)- Date changed 1990 to Oct 3rd
Iceland : Republic Day (1944)
Japan : Lily Festival
Mass : Bunker Hill Day (1775)
Paraguay : Chaco Peace Day (1935) (Sunday)
US : Father's Day (Sunday)
US : Flag Week (Day 6)
National Hollerin' Contest Day
International Violin Day
National Rose Month
Religious Observances
Ang : St Alban's Day [0622]
Feast of St. Botolph.
Feast of St. Avitus, priest and confessor.
Religious History
1703 Birth of John Wesley, English founder of Methodism. The systematic disciplines of the 'Holy Club,' which John and his brother Charles founded, elicited the nickname 'Methodies' from their critics.
1822 In New York City, the first elders of the newly founded African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church were ordained.
1846 Iowa College was chartered in Davenport under the joint sponsorship of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches. The school changed location in 1859 and was later renamed Grinnell College.
1859 Birth of J. Wilbur Chapman, Presbyterian pastor and evangelist who authored a number of hymns, including 'One Day When Heaven Was Filled with His Praises.'
1963 English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.'
Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Oregon Cat Born With Two Faces
The Associated Press
ROSEBURG, Ore. - A newborn kitten recently entered the world with two faces and, hopefully, at least nine lives. Gemini was born Sunday with two mouths, two tongues, two noses and four eyes.
"I kind of feel sorry for her, because I can't know for a fact if she's going to live or die," its owner, Lee Bluetear of Glide, told the (Roseburg) News-Review. "If she makes it, she should be a perfectly normal and healthy cat. Other than having two faces."
Roseburg veterinarian Alan Ross, who examined the kitten on Tuesday, said he can't estimate the kitten's life span. He said when he first saw the kitten, he wouldn't have given her more than a 10 percent chance of survival.
"With the three of our veterinarians here, we have a combined total of 50 years of experience," Ross said. "We have never seen anything like this."
Bluetear, 40, said Gemini is much stronger and drinking more milk than in its first few days. Ross said that if the kitten does survive, it might need surgery to remove the extra tissue in between its two mouths.
Bluetear has been breeding different kinds of animals, starting with dogs, since 1980. Roughly three years ago, she discovered a litter of smaller than normal kittens she calls "miniature cats."
She now has plans to market the miniature cats, which grow to about 4 pounds, on the Internet.
Gemini was born to a miniature mother and a full-size father.
"Everybody is totally amazed that this thing exists," Bluetear said.
Thought for the day :
"Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can"