| USS Enterprise (CV-6) General Motors TBM Avenger torpedo bombers warming up on the after flight deck. A Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter is on the midships elevator, in the foreground. May 1944 was a period of training for USS Enterprise. After combat operations against Ponape, when battleships of Task Force 58 bombarded the island, the fleet returned to Majuro anchorage to replenish fuel and ammunition and prepare for the invasion of the Marianas in June 1944. USS Enterprise conducted air operations on May 1, 2, 3, 12, 17, 18, 19, 29, and 30, 1944. These operations were mostly simulated torpedo and bomb attacks and Combat Air Patrol. During the simulated attacks the formation would maneuver to avoid the “attacking” aircraft. Sometimes an aircraft would tow a “sleeve” target and anti-aircraft artillery would practice fire. These training maneuvers were critical to integrate replacement personnel into the ship’s crew and pass on new tactics to gunners and airmen. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1852.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.54 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5718 x 4246 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Naval Photographic Science Laboratory |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | Pacific Ocean |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 80-G-K-1590 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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