On 16-17 February 1944, a violent two-day aerial assault by
carrier-borne aircraft of Task Force 58 wreaked havoc upon the
Japanese stronghold of Truk, in the South Pacific. In just two
days the US Navy flyers sank over 200,000 tons of Japanese naval
shipping and destroyed an estimated 275 enemy aircraft, totally
eliminating all effectiveness of the Japanese base. Here we see
Hellcats of VF6 as they hurtle across Truk lagoon at masthead
height with guns blazing, in the foreground is the F6F-3 of
Lt. Alex Vraciu, subsequently to become one of the Navy’s
top guns. |