| Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat fighters landing on USS Enterprise (CV-6) after strikes on the Japanese base at Truk. Flight deck crewmen are folding planes’ wings and guiding them forward to the parking area. On February 17, 1944, USS Enterprise and the rest of Task Force 58 launched 72 Grumman F6F Hellcats as part of a concentrated strike against Truk to prevent counterattacks against the landings on Eniwetok in Operation Hailstone. 12 Hellcats of Fighting Squadron 10 (VF-10) joined the mission, led by Lieutenant Commander William R. “Killer” Kane (June 4, 1911 – February 5, 1957). As they approached, Truk Radio went silent. The element of surprise was lost; some 50 Japanese planes attempted to rise up in defense, but the combined low-level sweep of the Hellcats shot down many of the Japanese planes – Imperial Japanese Navy Nakajima A6M2-N “Rufe” floatplanes, Mitsubishi A6M2 0 “Zeke” fighters, Mitsubishi A6M3 0 “Hamp” fighters, and Imperial Japanese Army Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (“Devil Queller”) “Tojo” fighters. VF-10 lost Ensign Linton L. Cox Junior (March 17, 1922 – February 17, 1944) who was probably shot down by a Rufe. VF-10 initially claimed 29 aircraft, 2 probably destroyed, and 10 damaged. Then the General Motor TBM Avengers and Douglas SBD Dauntlesses came in dropping bombs on warships and transports. All aircraft returned to USS Enterprise by 1950 Hours. The next day, the Japanese were said to seek to “escape.” Specially trained night torpedo bombers left Enterprise at 0400 Hours and were believed to have struck 13 ships for the loss of 1 General Motors TBM Avenger piloted by Lieutenant Lloyd K. Nicholas (July 2, 1917 – February 18, 1944). Shuttle bombing and strafing commenced thereafter. The last plane landed at 1330 Hours. In 2 days of strikes on Truk Task Force 58 had inflicted severe damage, leaving the Japanese naval base practically defenseless. The Task Force’s bombers had destroyed 10 Imperial Japanese Navy vessels, including 3 light cruisers, 3 destroyers, a seaplane tender and a submarine tender, and sank 31 valuable merchant ships. The air battles over the lagoon and the attacks on the airfields had destroyed approximately 270 of 365 Japanese aircraft on the islands at the time of the attack. Not surprisingly given the intensity of the combat, fewer aircraft were actually shot down than were claimed, and conversely more were destroyed on the ground than originally estimated. Task Force 58’s squadrons claimed 127 Japanese aircraft shot down and 152 destroyed on the ground or water, while the actual losses were some 235 aircraft destroyed or severely damaged on the ground and around 50 to 70 in the air. The IJNAF air units were hard hit. The 204th Kōkūtai lost 18 of 31 pilots, while the 902nd Kōkūtai lost all 9 of its A6M2-N Rufe fighters. Critically, the attack on Truk destroyed large numbers of replacement aircraft destined for Rabaul on New Britain (now Papua New Guinea) and other important Japanese bases. In return, Task Force 58 lost 25 aircraft shot down or damaged beyond repair and 26 of its crewmen. Beyond the destruction of Japanese war materiel and the shattering of the myth of Truk’s impregnability, the United States Navy’s carrier raid on Truk and subsequent strikes on the Marianas represented a revolution in naval air warfare. Operation Hailstone had demonstrated that the Navy’s Fast Carrier Task Force had the mobility and striking power to disrupt Japanese air and naval forces and limit their ability to hamper American amphibious operations. Rather than covering the landings on Eniwetok from a short distance away, Task Force 58 used the bulk of its force to strike deep into Japanese-controlled territory in a strategic rather than tactical way, establishing a pattern for later battles around the Marianas, Philippines and Okinawa. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1853.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.18 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5003 x 3940 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 17, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Truk |
| Country | Carolines |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 80-G-59314 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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