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179-773: The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19–20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy 's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions . It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War . The battle was the last of five major "carrier-versus-carrier" engagements between American and Japanese naval forces, and pitted elements of

358-684: A rocket system filled with explosive gunpowder materials and had three firing points. It was an effective weapon against ships . In the 8th century the Vikings appeared, although their usual style was to appear quickly, plunder, and disappear, preferably attacking undefended locations. The Vikings raided places along the coastline of England and France, with the greatest threats being in England. They would raid monasteries for their wealth and lack of formidable defenders. They also utilized rivers and other auxiliary waterways to work their way inland in

537-525: A French fleet of 80 ships under Eustace the Monk and an English fleet of 40 under Hubert de Burgh , is notable as the first recorded battle using sailing ship tactics. The battle of Arnemuiden (23 September 1338), which resulted in a French victory, marked the opening of the Hundred Years War and was the first battle involving artillery. However the battle of Sluys , fought two years later, saw

716-592: A Japanese bomber slip through and severely damage USS  Franklin . Although the American carrier aircraft strikes caused less destruction to enemy naval vessels than earlier battles, American submarines made up for it by sinking two of the three Japanese fleet carriers, which left Zuikaku as the only remaining operational IJN fleet carrier. The American F6F Hellcat fighter proved its worth, as its powerful engine generated superior speed, while its heavier armor and firepower made it rugged and deadly. The Japanese on

895-464: A crew of 2,150, 1,650 officers and men were lost. TF 58 sailed west during the night to attack the Japanese at dawn. Search patrols were put up at first light. Ozawa had transferred to the destroyer Wakatsuki , but the radio gear on board was incapable of sending the number of messages needed, so he transferred again, to the carrier Zuikaku , at 13:00. He then learned of the disastrous results of

1074-403: A debriefing after the first two air battles, a pilot from USS  Lexington remarked "Why, hell, it was just like an old-time turkey shoot down home!" The outcome is generally attributed to a wealth of highly trained American pilots with superior tactics and numerical superiority, and new anti-aircraft ship defensive technology (including the top-secret anti-aircraft proximity fuze ), versus

1253-432: A decisive Venetian victory, giving it almost a century to enjoy Mediterranean trade domination before other European countries began expanding into the south and west. In the north of Europe, the near-continuous conflict between England and France was characterised by raids on coastal towns and ports along the coastlines and the securing of sea lanes to protect troop–carrying transports. The Battle of Dover in 1217, between

1432-410: A decisive victory for Korea over the Japanese navy. In this battle, 47 Japanese warships were sunk and 12 other ships were captured whilst no Korean warship was lost. The defeats in the sea prevented the Japanese navy from providing their army with appropriate supply. Yi Sun-sin was later replaced with Admiral Won Gyun , whose fleets faced a defeat. The Japanese army, based near Busan , overwhelmed

1611-604: A defeat of an Ostrogothic fleet at Sena Gallica in the Adriatic Sea . During the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, Muslim fleets first appeared, raiding Sicily in 652 (see History of Islam in southern Italy and Emirate of Sicily ), and defeating the Byzantine Navy in 655. Constantinople was saved from a prolonged Arab siege in 678 by the invention of Greek fire , an early form of flamethrower that

1790-402: A few carrying torpedoes, the rest four 500-pound bombs) and 77 dive bombers (51 Helldivers and 26 Dauntlesses ). The TF 58 aircraft arrived over the Japanese fleet just before sunset. The 35 or so fighters Ozawa was able to put up were overwhelmed by the 226 incoming aircraft of Mitscher's attack. While the few Japanese aircraft were often skillfully handled and the Japanese anti-aircraft fire

1969-609: A few cruisers and destroyers. On that very same day Yamato and Musashi and their supporting ships received new orders to head north to screen aircraft carriers that were about to begin Operation A-Go. The battleships didn't take part in the Marianas operations other than anti-aircraft duty. 20°00′00″N 130°00′00″E  /  20.0000°N 130.0000°E  / 20.0000; 130.0000 Naval warfare The armed forces branch designated for naval warfare

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2148-547: A fleet (the famous "wooden walls"), using the profits of the silver mines at Laurium to finance them. The first Persian campaign, in 492 BC, was aborted because the fleet was lost in a storm, but the second, in 490 BC, captured islands in the Aegean Sea before landing on the mainland near Marathon . Attacks by the Greek armies repulsed these. The third Persian campaign in 480 BC, under Xerxes I of Persia , followed

2327-633: A further Mongol invasion . Although with only scarce information, travellers passing the region, such as Ibn Battuta and Odoric of Pordenone noted that Java had been attacked by the Mongols several times, always ending in failure. After those failed invasions, Majapahit empire quickly grew and became the dominant naval power in the 14–15th century. The usage of cannons in the Mongol invasion of Java , led to deployment of cetbang cannons by Majapahit fleet in 1300s. The main warship of Majapahit navy

2506-472: A great naval expedition that occupied parts of Myanmar , Malaya , and Sumatra . In the Nusantara archipelago, large ocean going ships of more than 50 m in length and 5.2–7.8 meters freeboard are already used at least since the 2nd century AD, contacting India to China. Srivijaya empire since the 7th century AD controlled the sea of the western part of the archipelago. The Kedukan Bukit inscription

2685-475: A hangar deck full of aircraft vulnerable to a Japanese bomb attack. The recall had been ordered after several ships in TF 58 picked up radar contacts 150 miles (240 km) to the west around 10:00. This was the first of the raids from the Japanese carrier forces, with 68 aircraft. TF 58 started launching every fighter it could; by the time they were in the air the Japanese had closed to 70 miles (110 km). However,

2864-672: A military campaign of Persian emperor Darius I over the Bosporus ). During the Han dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), the Chinese began using the stern -mounted steering rudder , and they also designed a new ship type, the junk . From the late Han dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD), large naval battles such as the Battle of Red Cliffs marked the advancement of naval warfare in

3043-417: A more aggressive posture. By failing to close on the enemy earlier and more forcefully, his critics argue, he squandered an opportunity to destroy the entire Japanese Mobile Fleet. "This is what comes of placing a non-aviator in command over carriers" was the common refrain. Admiral John Towers , a naval aviation pioneer and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet, demanded that Spruance be relieved. The request

3222-473: A mud bank in the Philippines on July 7, 1908, while under the command of Ensign Nimitz. The incident was the result of a navigational error. Nimitz had failed to check the harbor's tide tables and tried Batangas' harbor when the water level was low, leaving Decatur stuck until the tide rose again the next morning, and she was pulled free by a small steamer. Following the grounding, a naval board of inquiry

3401-535: A part of the second raid when Albacore fired the torpedo spread. Of the six torpedoes fired, four veered off-target. Japanese pilot Sakio Komatsu had recently launched and from his aircraft sighted one of the two torpedoes which were heading for Taihō . Komatsu dived into the path of the torpedo which then detonated. The sixth torpedo struck the carrier on her starboard side and ruptured two aviation fuel tanks. The carrier's escorting destroyers made depth charge attacks but caused only minor damage to Albacore . Initially,

3580-623: A platform on their ships called balai and performed boarding actions. Scattershots fired from cetbang are used to counter this type of fighting, fired at personnel. In the 12th century, China's first permanent standing navy was established by the Southern Song dynasty , the headquarters of the Admiralty stationed at Dinghai . This came about after the conquest of northern China by the Jurchen people (see Jin dynasty ) in 1127, while

3759-513: A sort of bridge or deck above the oarsmen, and some sort of ram protruding from the bow. No written mention of strategy or tactics seems to have survived. Josephus Flavius (Antiquities IX 283–287) reports a naval battle between Tyre and the king of Assyria who was aided by the other cities in Phoenicia. The battle took place off the shores of Tyre. Although the Tyrian fleet was much smaller,

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3938-707: A special assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. He worked to help restore goodwill with Japan after World War II by helping to raise funds for the restoration of the Japanese Imperial Navy battleship Mikasa , Admiral Heihachiro Togo 's flagship at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. From 1949 to 1953, Nimitz served as UN-appointed plebiscite administrator for Jammu and Kashmir . His proposed role as administrator

4117-754: A third was able to put out fires and get underway. The carrier Hiyō was attacked and hit by bombs and aerial torpedoes from four Grumman TBF Avengers from Belleau Wood . Hiyō was set afire after a tremendous blast from leaking aviation fuel. Dead in the water, she sank stern first, with the loss of 250 officers and men. The rest of her crew, about one thousand, were rescued by Japanese destroyers. The carriers Zuikaku , Junyō and Chiyoda were damaged by bombs. Returning American strike pilots generally assessed these carriers as more crippled than they actually were, mistaking for devastating direct hits what Japanese post-war records revealed to have actually been huge geysers caused by near misses. The battleship Haruna

4296-449: Is a navy . Naval operations can be broadly divided into riverine/littoral applications ( brown-water navy ), open-ocean applications ( blue-water navy ), between riverine/littoral and open-ocean applications ( green-water navy ), although these distinctions are more about strategic scope than tactical or operational division. The strategic offensive purpose of naval warfare is projection of force by water, and its strategic defensive purpose

4475-459: Is the oldest record of Indonesian military history, and noted a 7th-century Srivijayan sacred siddhayatra journey led by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa . He was said to have brought 20,000 troops, including 312 people in boats and 1,312 foot soldiers. The 10th century Arab text Ajayeb al-Hind (Marvels of India) gives an account of an invasion in Africa by people called Wakwak or Waqwaq , probably

4654-476: Is to challenge the similar projection of force by enemies. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large landmasses, transportation before the advent of extensive railways was largely dependent upon rivers , lakes , canals , and other navigable waterways . The latter were crucial in the development of the modern world in the United Kingdom, America,

4833-597: The daimyōs to dispatch troops to Joseon Korea to conquer Ming China. The Japanese army which landed at Pusan on 12 April 1502 occupied Seoul within a month. The Korean king escaped to the northern region of the Korean peninsula and Japan completed occupation of Pyongyang in June. The Korean navy then led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin defeated the Japanese navy in consecutive naval battles, namely Okpo, Sacheon, Tangpo and Tanghangpo. The Battle of Hansando on 14 August 1592 resulted in

5012-894: The Axumite Kingdom in modern-day Ethiopia , the Arab traveller Sa'd ibn Abi-Waqqas sailed from there to Tang China during the reign of Emperor Gaozong . Two decades later, he returned with a copy of the Quran , establishing the first Islamic mosque in China, the Mosque of Remembrance in Guangzhou . A rising rivalry followed between the Arabs and Chinese for control of trade in the Indian Ocean. In his book Cultural Flow Between China and

5191-570: The Battle of Midway . The Battle of the Coral Sea, while a loss in terms of total damage suffered, has been described as resulting in the strategic success of turning back an apparent Japanese invasion of Port Moresby on the island of New Guinea. Two Japanese carriers were temporarily taken out of action in the battle, which would deprive the Japanese of their use in the Midway operation that shortly followed. The Navy's intelligence team reasoned that

5370-475: The Battle off Samar , nearly resulting in a devastating attack on the landing force by Japanese heavy surface units. It was prevented only by the heroic and desperate attack of 5 small American surface ships, which put up such an intense fight that the 23-ship-strong Japanese fleet thought they were engaging a much larger force and withdrew. In addition, by focusing on defense first, the carrier forces under Spruance at Philippine Sea suffered no significant harm. This

5549-914: The Enterprise 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. A fourth Japanese raid was launched between 11:00 and 11:30, but pilots had been given an incorrect position for the U.S. fleet and could not locate it. They broke into two loose groups and turned for Guam and Rota to refuel. One group flying toward Rota stumbled upon Montgomery's task group. Eighteen aircraft joined battle with American fighters and lost half their number. A smaller group of nine Japanese dive bombers of this force evaded U.S. aircraft and attacked Wasp and Bunker Hill but scored no hits; eight were shot down. The larger group of Japanese aircraft had flown to Guam and were intercepted over Orote Field by 27 Hellcats while landing. Thirty of

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5728-531: The Low Countries and northern Germany , because they enabled the bulk movement of goods and raw material , which supported the nascent Industrial Revolution . Prior to 1750, materials largely moved by river barge or sea vessels. Thus armies, with their exorbitant needs for food, ammunition and fodder, were tied to the river valleys throughout the ages. Pre-recorded history (Homeric Legends, e.g. Troy ), and classical works such as The Odyssey emphasize

5907-578: The Marianas , convincing Admiral Soemu Toyoda that the U.S. was preparing to invade. This move came as a surprise; the Japanese had expected the next U.S. target to be farther to the south, either the Carolines or the Palaus , and had protected the Marianas with only 50 land-based aircraft. On 13–15 June, American carriers made additional airstrikes while surface forces bombarded the Marianas. On June 15,

6086-684: The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Nimitz was honored on October 17, 1964, by the University of California on Nimitz Day. Nimitz married Catherine Vance Freeman (March 22, 1892 – February 1, 1979) on April 9, 1913, in Wollaston, Massachusetts . Nimitz and his wife had four children: Catherine Vance graduated from the University of California, Berkeley , in 1934, became a music librarian with

6265-582: The New York Navy Yard , he became executive and engineer officer of Maumee at her commissioning on October 23, 1916. After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Nimitz was chief engineer of Maumee while the vessel served as a refueling ship for the first squadron of US Navy destroyers to cross the Atlantic, to take part in the war. Under his supervision, Maumee conducted

6444-738: The Nuremberg Trials in 1946, Nimitz furnished an affidavit in support of the practice of unrestricted submarine warfare , a practice that he himself had employed throughout the war in the Pacific. This evidence is widely credited as a reason why Dönitz was sentenced to only 10 years of imprisonment. Nimitz endorsed an entirely new course for the US Navy's future by way of supporting then-Captain Hyman G. Rickover 's chain-of-command-circumventing proposal in 1947 to build USS  Nautilus ,

6623-664: The Siege of Fort Zeelandia , the first time China had defeated a western power. The Chinese used cannons and ships to bombard the Dutch into surrendering. In the Sengoku period of Japan, Oda Nobunaga unified the country by military power. However, he was defeated by the Mōri clan 's navy. Nobunaga invented the Tekkosen (large Atakebune equipped with iron plates) and defeated 600 ships of

6802-729: The Silk Road and the Mediterranean in general for centuries. For three centuries, Vikings raided and pillaged far into central Russia and Ukraine , and even to distant Constantinople (both via the Black Sea tributaries, Sicily , and through the Strait of Gibraltar ). Gaining control of the sea has largely depended on a fleet's ability to wage sea battles. Throughout most of naval history, naval warfare revolved around two overarching concerns, namely boarding and anti-boarding. It

6981-859: The United States Naval Academy and that he would award it to the best-qualified candidate. Nimitz felt that this was his only opportunity for further education and spent extra time studying to earn the appointment. He was appointed to the Naval Academy by Slayden in 1901, and graduated with distinction on January 30, 1905, seventh in a class of 114. Among his classmates were several future World War II admirals including: Harold G. Bowen Sr. , Arthur B. Cook, Wilhelm L. Friedell , William R. Furlong , Stanford C. Hooper , Royal E. Ingersoll , Herbert F. Leary , Byron McCandless , John H. Newton , Harry E. Shoemaker, John M. Smeallie, John W. Wilcox Jr. and Walter B. Woodson . Nimitz joined

7160-740: The United States Navy 's Fifth Fleet against ships and aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Mobile Fleet and nearby island garrisons. This was the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history, involving 24 aircraft carriers , deploying roughly 1,350 carrier-based aircraft . The aerial part of the battle was nicknamed the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot by American aviators for the severely disproportional loss ratio inflicted upon Japanese aircraft by American pilots and anti-aircraft gunners. During

7339-433: The University of California, Berkeley , where he established one of the first Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps units and successfully advocated for the program's expansion. Nimitz lost part of a finger in an accident with a diesel engine, saving the rest of it only when the machine briefly jammed against his Annapolis ring. In June 1929, he took command of Submarine Division 20. In June 1931, he assumed command of

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7518-768: The Washington D.C. Public Library , and married US Navy Commander James Thomas Lay (1909–2001 ), from St. Clair, Missouri, in Chester and Catherine's suite at the Fairfax Hotel in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 1945. She had met Lay in the summer of 1934 while visiting her parents in Southeast Asia. Chester Nimitz Jr. graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1936 and served as a submariner in

7697-515: The battleship Ohio at San Francisco , and cruised on her to the Far East. In September 1906, he was transferred to the cruiser Baltimore ; on January 31, 1907, after the two years at sea as a warrant officer then required by law, he was commissioned as an ensign . Remaining on Asiatic Station in 1907, he successively served on the gunboat Panay , destroyer Decatur , and cruiser Denver . The destroyer Decatur ran aground on

7876-638: The destroyer tender Rigel and the destroyers out of commission at San Diego, California . In October 1933, he took command of the cruiser Augusta and deployed to the Far East , where in December, Augusta became the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet . While in command of the Augusta, his legal aide was Chesty Puller . In April 1935, Nimitz returned home for three years as assistant chief of

8055-545: The largest naval battles in history . In the 15th century, the Chinese admiral Zheng He was assigned to assemble a massive fleet for several diplomatic missions abroad , sailing throughout the waters of the South East Pacific and the Indian Ocean. During his missions, on several occasions Zheng's fleet came into conflict with pirates . Zheng's fleet also became involved in a conflict in Sri Lanka , where

8234-430: The "single decisive battle" in early 1944. On 31 March 1944 Koga was killed when his aircraft (a Kawanishi H8K ) flew into a typhoon and crashed. Koga's chief of staff, Vice Admiral Shigeru Fukudome , was flying in an accompanying plane and carrying the Z Plan documents, and also crashed. Fukudome survived, but the Z Plan briefcase did not sink with the destroyed aircraft and was recovered by Filipino guerillas who over

8413-409: The 12th century, Srivijaya is primarily land-based polity rather than maritime power, fleets are available but acted as logistical support to facilitate the projection of land power. Later, the naval strategy degenerated to raiding fleet. Their naval strategy was to coerce merchant ships to dock in their ports, which if ignored, they will send ships to destroy the ship and kill the occupants. In 1293,

8592-491: The 25,675-ton carrier Shōkaku by about noon. The submarine fired a spread of six torpedoes, three of which struck Shōkaku on her starboard side. Badly damaged, the carrier came to a halt. One torpedo had hit the forward aviation fuel tanks near the main hangar, and aircraft that had just landed and were being refueled exploded into flames. Ammunition and exploding bombs added to the conflagration, as did burning fuel spewing from shattered fuel pipes. With her bows subsiding into

8771-441: The 27 aircraft which remained, some made attacks on the picket destroyers USS Yarnall and Stockham but caused no damage. Between three and six bombers broke through to Lee's battleship group and attacked; one bomb hit the main deck of USS  South Dakota , killing or injuring over 50 men but failing to disable her. South Dakota was the only American ship damaged in this attack. No aircraft of Ozawa's first wave got through to

8950-479: The 50 aircraft stationed on Guam, and at 05:50 one of these, a Mitsubishi A6M Zero , found TF-58. After radioing his sighting of U.S. ships, the bomb-carrying Zero attacked picket destroyer Stockham but was shot down by the destroyer Yarnall . Alerted, the Japanese began launching their Guam-based aircraft for an attack. These were spotted on radar by U.S. ships. A group of thirty Grumman F6F Hellcats were dispatched from USS  Belleau Wood to deal with

9129-705: The Allies was it greatly benefited General MacArthur's invasion of Biak in Dutch New Guinea which started weeks before the Mariana Islands operations started. The Japanese military had designated Biak as its most important island of defense in the Southwest Pacific theater . 13 June was the original starting date of a massive operation, spearheaded by the battleships Yamato and Musashi , to challenge MacArthur's paltry naval forces , which had no aircraft carriers or battleships and consisted of only

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9308-494: The American carriers. At 11:07, radar detected another, larger attack. This second wave consisted of 107 aircraft. They were met while still 60 miles (97 km) out, and at least 70 of these aircraft were shot down before reaching the ships. Six attacked Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery 's group, nearly hitting two of the carriers and causing casualties on each. Four of the six were shot down. A small group of torpedo aircraft attacked Enterprise , with one torpedo exploding in

9487-546: The American government would be convinced to sue for peace and allow Japan to keep its conquests . Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto had grown wary of this strategy, but he was killed in Operation Vengeance on 18 April 1943. The following day, Admiral Mineichi Koga succeeded Yamamoto as commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet , and Koga wanted the Imperial Japanese Navy to engage the American fleet in

9666-611: The Army Navy Country Club, in Arlington, Virginia. Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Rear Admiral Nimitz was selected by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the commander-in-chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT). Nimitz immediately departed Washington for Hawaii and took command in a ceremony on the top deck of the submarine Grayling . He

9845-442: The Atlantic Submarine Flotilla from May 1912 to March 1913, he supervised the building of diesel engines for the fleet oil tanker Maumee , under construction at the New London Ship and Engine Company , Groton, Connecticut . In the summer of 1913, Nimitz (who spoke fluent German) studied engines at the Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nürnberg (M.A.N.) diesel engine plants in Nuremberg , Germany, and Ghent , Belgium. Returning to

10024-458: The Black Sea, raiding the coasts of Anatolia and Thrace, and crossing into the Aegean Sea, plundering mainland Greece (including Athens and Sparta) and going as far as Crete and Rhodes. In the twilight of the Roman Empire in the late 4th century, examples include that of Emperor Majorian , who, with the help of Constantinople, mustered a large fleet in a failed effort to expel the Germanic invaders from their recently conquered African territories, and

10203-443: The Bureau of Navigation, before becoming commander, Cruiser Division 2, Battle Force. In September 1938 he took command of Battleship Division 1, Battle Force. On June 15, 1939, he was appointed chief of the Bureau of Navigation. During this time, Nimitz conducted experiments in the underway refueling of large ships which would prove a key element in the Navy's success in the war to come. From 1940 to 1941, Nimitz served as president of

10382-453: The Chief of Naval Operations, in Washington, rejected the plan of General Douglas MacArthur to advance on Japan through New Guinea and the Philippines and Formosa. Instead, they proposed an island-hopping plan that would allow them to bypass most of the Japanese strength in the Central Pacific until they reached Okinawa. President Roosevelt compromised, giving both MacArthur and Nimitz their own theaters. The two Pacific theaters were favored, to

10561-437: The East. In the latter engagement, the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei destroyed a large fleet commanded by Cao Cao in a fire-based naval attack. In terms of seafaring abroad, arguably one of the first Chinese to sail into the Indian Ocean and to reach Sri Lanka and India by sea was the Buddhist monk Faxian in the early 5th century, although diplomatic ties and land trade to Persia and India were established during

10740-438: The Greeks commanded the Aegean, but not harmoniously. After several minor wars, tensions exploded into the Peloponnesian War (431 BC) between Athens' Delian League and the Spartan Peloponnese . Naval strategy was critical; Athens walled itself off from the rest of Greece, leaving only the port at Piraeus open, and trusting in its navy to keep supplies flowing while the Spartan army besieged it. This strategy worked, although

10919-517: The Japanese army returned to Japan by the end of December. In 1609, the Tokugawa shogunate ordered the abandonment of warships to the feudal lord . The Japanese navy stagnated until the Meiji period . In ancient China , the first known naval battles took place during the Warring States period (481–221 BC) when vassal lords battled one another. Chinese naval warfare in this period featured grapple-and-hook, as well as ramming tactics with ships called "stomach strikers" and "colliding swoopers". It

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11098-443: The Japanese began circling to regroup their formations for the attack. This 10-minute delay proved critical, and the first group of Hellcats met the raid, still at 70 miles (110 km), at 10:36. They were quickly joined by additional groups. Within minutes, 25 Japanese aircraft had been shot down, against the loss of only one U.S. aircraft. The Japanese aircraft that survived were met by other fighters, and 16 more were shot down. Of

11277-408: The Japanese homeland within range of new strategic bombers. Nimitz's forces inflicted a decisive defeat on the Japanese fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944), which allowed the capture of Saipan , Guam , and Tinian . His Fleet Forces isolated enemy-held bastions on the central and eastern Caroline Islands and secured in quick succession Peleliu , Angaur , and Ulithi . In

11456-480: The Japanese naval aviation forces by killing most of the remaining trained pilots and destroying their operational reserves of naval aircraft, a blow that effectively shattered the Japanese naval air arm, from which it never recovered. Without the time or resources to build sufficient aircraft and train new pilots, the surviving Japanese carriers were almost useless in an offensive role, a fact the Japanese acknowledged by using them as sacrificial decoys at Leyte Gulf. With

11635-644: The Japanese plans known as Plan A-Go or Operation A-Go. Operation A-go did not change much from the Z Plan, so the U.S. Navy knew exactly what was going to happen during the upcoming naval battle. The plan was adopted in early June 1944. Within weeks, an opportunity arose to engage the American fleet now detected heading for Saipan . The Japanese had some advantages they hoped would turn the battle in their favor. Though outnumbered in ships and aircraft, they planned to supplement their carrier airpower with land-based aircraft. Meanwhile, IJN aircrew losses, suffered during earlier carrier battles at Coral Sea , Midway , and

11814-418: The Japanese use of replacement pilots with not enough flight hours in training and little or no combat experience. Furthermore the Japanese defensive plans were directly obtained by the Allies from the plane wreckage of the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet , Admiral Mineichi Koga , in March 1944. During the course of the battle, American submarines torpedoed and sank two of

11993-399: The Japanese would be attacking Midway, so Nimitz moved all his available forces to the defense. The severe losses in Japanese carriers at Midway affected the balance of naval air power during the remainder of 1942 and were crucial in neutralizing Japanese offensive threats in the South Pacific. Naval engagements during the Battle of Guadalcanal left both forces severely depleted. However, with

12172-410: The Jin to the north, until the Mongols finally conquered all of China. After the Song dynasty, the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China was a powerful maritime force in the Indian Ocean. The Yuan emperor Kublai Khan attempted to invade Japan twice with large fleets (of both Mongols and Chinese), in 1274 and again in 1281, both attempts being unsuccessful (see Mongol invasions of Japan ). Building upon

12351-409: The King of Ceylon traveled back to Ming China afterwards to make a formal apology to the Yongle Emperor . The Ming imperial navy defeated a Portuguese navy led by Martim Afonso de Sousa in 1522. The Chinese destroyed one vessel by targeting its gunpowder magazine, and captured another Portuguese ship. A Ming army and navy led by Koxinga defeated a western power, the Dutch East India Company , at

12530-474: The Korean kingdom of Silla (see also Unified Silla ) and expelled the Korean kingdom of Baekje which were supported by Japanese naval forces from the Korean peninsula (see Battle of Baekgang ) and helped Silla overcome its rival Korean kingdoms, Baekje and Goguryeo , by 668. In addition, the Tang had maritime trading, tributary, and diplomatic ties as far as modern Sri Lanka , India, Islamic Iran and Arabia , as well as Somalia in East Africa . From

12709-423: The Korean navy in the Battle of Chilcheollyang on 28 August 1597 and began advancing toward China. This attempt was stopped when the reappointed Admiral Yi, won the battle of Myeongnyang . The Wanli Emperor of Ming China sent military forces to the Korean peninsula. Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin continued to successfully engage the Japanese navy with 500 Chinese warships and the strengthened Korean fleet. In 1598,

12888-620: The Malay people of Srivijaya or Javanese people of Mataram kingdom , in 945–946 CE. They arrived at the coast of Tanganyika and Mozambique with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh, though eventually failed. The reason of the attack is because that place had goods suitable for their country and for China, such as ivory, tortoise shells, panther skins, and ambergris , and also because they wanted black slaves from Bantu people (called Zeng or Zenj by Arabs, Jenggi by Javanese) who were strong and make good slaves. Before

13067-627: The Mediterranean began to wane, the Italian trading towns of Genoa , Pisa , and Venice stepped in to seize the opportunity, setting up commercial networks and building navies to protect them. At first the navies fought with the Arabs (off Bari in 1004, at Messina in 1005), but then they found themselves contending with Normans moving into Sicily, and finally with each other. The Genoese and Venetians fought four naval wars, in 1253–1284, 1293–1299, 1350–1355, and 1378–1381. The last ended with

13246-722: The Mongol Yuan dynasty launched an invasion to Java . The Yuan sent 500–1000 ships and 20,000–30,000 soldiers, but was ultimately defeated on land by surprise attack , forcing the army to fall back to the beach. In the coastal waters, Javanese junks had already attacked the Mongol ships. After all of the troops had boarded the ships on the coast, the Yuan army battled the Javanese fleet. After repelling it, they sailed back to Quanzhou . Javanese naval commander Aria Adikara intercepted

13425-540: The Mōri navy with six armored warships ( Battle of Kizugawaguchi ). The navy of Nobunaga and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi employed clever close-range tactics on land with arquebus rifles, but also relied upon close-range firing of muskets in grapple-and-board style naval engagements. When Nobunaga died in the Honnō-ji incident , Hideyoshi succeeded him and completed the unification of the whole country. In 1592, Hideyoshi ordered

13604-714: The Navy until his retirement in 1957, reaching the (post-retirement) rank of rear admiral; he served as chairman of PerkinElmer from 1969 to 1980. Anna Elizabeth ("Nancy") Nimitz was an expert on the Soviet economy at the RAND Corporation from 1952 until her retirement in the 1980s. Sister Mary Aquinas (Nimitz) joined the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael , working at the Dominican University of California . She taught biology for 16 years and

13783-598: The Outside World , Shen Fuwei notes that maritime Chinese merchants in the 9th century were landing regularly at Sufala in East Africa to cut out Arab middle-men traders. The Chola dynasty of medieval India was a dominant seapower in the Indian Ocean , an avid maritime trader and diplomatic entity with Song China. Rajaraja Chola I (reigned 985 to 1014) and his son Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–42), sent

13962-538: The Philippines, his ships destroyed much of the remaining Japanese naval power at the Battle of Leyte Gulf , October 24 to 26, 1944. With the loss of the Philippines, Japan's energy supply routes from Indonesia came under direct threat, crippling their war effort. By act of Congress, passed on December 14, 1944, the rank of fleet admiral – the highest rank in the Navy – was established. The next day President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Nimitz to that rank. Nimitz took

14141-508: The President that he was willing to serve as the CNO for one two-year term, but no longer. He tackled the difficult task of reducing the most powerful navy in the world to a fraction of its war-time strength while establishing and overseeing active and reserve fleets with the strength and readiness required to support national policy. For the postwar trial of German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz at

14320-515: The Solomons), assumed that battle line commander Willis Lee would welcome the opportunity. But Lee strongly opposed such an encounter. Having personally experienced a confused night action off Guadalcanal , Lee was not enthusiastic about a night engagement with Japanese surface forces, believing that his crews were not adequately trained for it. Shortly after learning Lee's opinion, Mitscher requested permission from Spruance to move TF 58 west during

14499-511: The Song imperial court fled south from Kaifeng to Hangzhou . Equipped with the magnetic compass and knowledge of Shen Kuo 's famous treatise (on the concept of true north ), the Chinese became proficient experts of navigation in their day. They raised their naval strength from a mere 11 squadrons of 3,000 marines to 20 squadrons of 52,000 marines in a century's time. Employing paddle wheel crafts and trebuchets throwing gunpowder bombs from

14678-692: The Texas Mounted Volunteers in 1851 and later served as captain of the Gillespie Rifles Company in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War . Originally, Nimitz applied to West Point in hopes of becoming an Army officer, but no appointments were available. James L. Slayden , US Representative for Texas's 12th congressional district , told him that he had one appointment available for

14857-581: The Tyrians defeated their enemies. The Greeks of Homer just used their ships as transport for land armies, but in 664 BC there is a mention of a battle at sea between Corinth and its colony city Corcyra . Ancient descriptions of the Persian Wars were the first to feature large-scale naval operations, not just sophisticated fleet engagements with dozens of triremes on each side, but combined land-sea operations. It seems unlikely that all this

15036-487: The U.S. fleet continued its advance in a steady progression across the islands of the central Pacific. While U.S. commanders, particularly Admiral Spruance , were concerned about the Japanese trying to attack U.S. transports and newly landed forces, the Japanese objective was actually to engage and defeat the Fast Carrier Task Force in a decisive battle. On 12 June 1944 U.S. carriers made air strikes on

15215-505: The Vikings, only two of which were not beaten back or captured. The Vikings also fought several sea battles among themselves. This was normally done by binding the ships on each side together, thus essentially fighting a land battle on the sea. However the fact that the losing side could not easily escape meant that battles tended to be hard and bloody. The Battle of Svolder is perhaps the most famous of these battles. As Muslim power in

15394-567: The allied advantage in land-based air-power, the results were sufficient to secure Guadalcanal. The US and allied forces then undertook to neutralize remaining Japanese offensive threats with the Solomon Islands campaign and the New Guinea campaign , while building capabilities for major fleet actions. In 1943, Midway became a forward submarine base, greatly enhancing US capabilities against Japanese shipping. In terms of combat, 1943

15573-643: The better part of a year (following the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands ) reconstituting their depleted carrier air groups, and the American Fast Carrier Task Force had destroyed 90% of it in two days. The Japanese had only enough pilots left to form the air group for one of their light carriers. As a consequence, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf four months later, they sent out a decoy carrier group with only 108 aircraft, across six carriers (two were hybrid-carriers ), that

15752-489: The bulk of its carrier air strength and would never recover. This battle, along with the Battle of Leyte Gulf four months later, marked the end of Japanese aircraft carrier operations. The few surviving carriers remained mostly in port thereafter. From the very start of the conflict in December 1941, the Japanese war plan had been to inflict such severe and painful losses on the US military that its public would become war weary and

15931-491: The carrier's commanding officer, Captain Hiroshi Matsubara . Destroyer Urakaze attacked the submarine, but Cavalla escaped with relatively minor damage despite near misses from depth charges. Meanwhile, Taihō was falling victim to poor damage control. Hoping to clear the explosive fumes, an inexperienced damage-control officer ordered her ventilation system to operate at full blast. This action instead spread

16110-600: The close quarters likely contributed to the plague that killed many Athenians in 429 BC. There were a number of sea battles between galleys ; at Rhium , Naupactus , Pylos , Syracuse , Cynossema , Cyzicus , Notium . But the end came for Athens in 405 BC at Aegospotami in the Hellespont , where the Athenians had drawn up their fleet on the beach, and were surprised by the Spartan fleet, who landed and burned all

16289-447: The closest carrier as his target, which happened to be Taihō , the largest and newest carrier in the Japanese fleet and Ozawa's flagship. As Albacore was about to fire, however, her fire-control computer failed, and the torpedoes had to be fired "by eye". Determined to go ahead with the attack, Blanchard ordered all six torpedoes to be fired in a single spread to increase the chances of a hit. Taihō had just launched 42 aircraft as

16468-399: The damage to Taihō seemed minor; the flooding was quickly contained and the carrier's propulsion and navigation were unaffected. Taihō quickly resumed regular operations, but gasoline vapor from the ruptured fuel tanks began to fill the hangar decks, creating an increasingly dangerous situation on board. Another submarine, USS  Cavalla , was able to maneuver to an attack position on

16647-618: The damaged South Dakota was able to remain in formation to continue her anti-aircraft duties. Throughout the day, American scout aircraft had been unable to locate the Japanese fleet. However, two American submarines had already spotted Ozawa's carriers early that morning and were about to provide important assistance to the Fast Carrier Task Force. At 08:16 the submarine USS  Albacore , which had sighted Ozawa's carrier group, had maneuvered into an ideal attack position; Lieutenant Commander James W. Blanchard selected

16826-567: The decks of their ships, the Southern Song dynasty became a formidable foe to the Jin dynasty during the 12th–13th centuries during the Jin–Song Wars . There were naval engagements at the Battle of Caishi and Battle of Tangdao . With a powerful navy, China dominated maritime trade throughout South East Asia as well. Until 1279, the Song were able to use their naval power to defend against

17005-588: The destruction of the French fleet in a decisive action which allowed the English effective control of the sea lanes and the strategic initiative for much of the war. The Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties of China were involved in several naval affairs over the triple set of polities ruling medieval Korea ( Three Kingdoms of Korea ), along with engaging naval bombardments on the peninsula from Asuka period Yamato Kingdom (Japan). The Tang dynasty aided

17184-537: The disasters was withheld. Losses on the U.S. side on the first day were 23 aircraft. The second day's airstrike against the Japanese fleet saw most of the aircraft losses for the U.S.; of the 226 aircraft launched on the strike, 115 returned; 20 were lost to enemy action in the attack, and 80 were lost when they ran out of fuel returning to their carriers and had to ditch into the sea, or crashed attempting to land at night. Spruance's conservative battle plan for TF 58, while sinking just one light carrier, severely weakened

17363-635: The disciplinary action in the aftermath of the investigation was considered a model of even-handed fairness, cementing his reputation as a solid and capable leader. Returning to the mainland in the summer of 1922, he studied at the Naval War College , Newport, Rhode Island . In June 1923, he became aide and assistant chief of staff to the Commander, Battle Fleet , and later to the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet . In August 1926, he went to

17542-399: The dismay of generals George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower , who favored a Germany-first strategy. King and Nimitz provided MacArthur with some naval forces but kept most of the carriers. However, when the time came to plan an invasion of Japan, MacArthur was given overall command. Nimitz faced superior Japanese forces at the crucial defensive actions of the Battle of the Coral Sea and

17721-496: The earlier Han dynasty. However, Chinese naval maritime influence would penetrate into the Indian Ocean until the medieval period. The late Middle Ages saw the development of the cogs , caravels and carracks ships capable of surviving the tough conditions of the open ocean, with enough backup systems and crew expertise to make long voyages routine. In addition, they grew from 100 tons to 300 tons displacement, enough to carry cannon as armament and still have space for cargo. One of

17900-462: The effective crippling of her best striking arm, Japan chose to rely increasingly on land-based kamikaze suicide aircraft in a last-ditch effort to make the war so costly that the U.S. would offer peace terms better than unconditional surrender. Spruance was heavily criticized after the battle by many officers, particularly the aviators, for his decision to fight the battle cautiously rather than exploiting his superior forces and intelligence data with

18079-517: The end, Xerxes still had a fleet stronger than the Greeks, but withdrew anyway, and after losing at Plataea in the following year, returned to Asia Minor , leaving the Greeks their freedom. Nevertheless, the Athenians and Spartans attacked and burned the laid-up Persian fleet at Mycale , and freed many of the Ionian towns. These battles involved triremes or biremes as the standard fighting platform, and

18258-706: The evening of February 20 at Quarters One on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay , four days before his 81st birthday. His funeral on February 24—what would have been his 81st birthday—was at the chapel of adjacent Naval Station Treasure Island , and Nimitz was buried with full military honors at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno . He lies alongside his wife and his lifelong friends Admiral Raymond A. Spruance , Admiral Richmond K. Turner , and Admiral Charles A. Lockwood and their wives, an arrangement made by all of them while living. Besides

18437-690: The eventual invasion of Britain. They wreaked havoc in Northumbria and Mercia and the rest of Anglia before being halted by Wessex. King Alfred the Great of England was able to stay the Viking invasions with a pivotal victory at the Battle of Edington. Alfred defeated Guthrum, establishing the boundaries of Danelaw in an 884 treaty. The effectiveness of Alfred's 'fleet' has been debated; Kenneth Harl has pointed out that as few as eleven ships were sent to combat

18616-478: The first American troops went ashore on Saipan . Since control of the Marianas would bring American strategic bombers within range of the Japanese home islands, the IJN decided it was time for the long-awaited Kantai Kessen (decisive battle). Toyoda immediately ordered a fleet-based counterattack, committing nearly all of the Japanese navy's serviceable ships. The main portions of the fleet rendezvoused on 16 June in

18795-585: The first attack group had launched, a third message arrived, indicating the Japanese fleet were 60 miles (97 km) farther out than previously indicated. The first launch would be at their limits of fuel and would have to attempt landing at night. Mitscher canceled the second launch of aircraft but chose not to recall the first launch. Of the 240 planes that were launched for the strike, 14 aborted for various reasons and returned to their ships. The 226 planes that continued consisted of 95 Hellcat fighters (some carrying 500-pound bombs), 54 Avenger torpedo bombers (only

18974-436: The first-ever underway refuelings . On August 10, 1917, Nimitz became aide to Rear Admiral Samuel S. Robison , Commander, Submarine Force, US Atlantic Fleet ( ComSubLant ). On February 6, 1918, Nimitz was appointed chief of staff and was awarded a Letter of Commendation for meritorious service as COMSUBLANT 's chief of staff. On September 16, he reported to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and on October 25

19153-401: The fleet's contact-fused bombs had been largely used up in the earlier strikes, and Mitscher was left with only the armor-piercing bombs needed to combat the Japanese fleet, so he informed Spruance he could not launch such strikes. As the morning broke, TF 58 launched search aircraft, combat air patrols (CAP) and anti-submarine patrols and then turned the fleet west to gain maneuvering room from

19332-417: The fleet. Mitscher said to Burke, "Get those fighters back from Guam." The call " Hey, Rube! " was sent out. The fleet held steady until 10:23, when Mitscher ordered TF 58 to turn into the wind on course east-southeast, and ordered all fighter aircraft aloft, deployed in several layers of CAP to await the Japanese. He then sent his bomber aircraft aloft to orbit open waters to the east rather than leaving them in

19511-402: The focus of the battle was to ram the opponent's vessel using the boat's reinforced prow. The opponent would try to maneuver and avoid contact, or alternately rush all the marines to the side about to be hit, thus tilting the boat. When the ram had withdrawn and the marines dispersed, the hole would then be above the waterline and not a critical injury to the ship. During the next fifty years,

19690-467: The forty-nine Japanese aircraft were shot down, and the rest were damaged beyond repair. Aboard the Lexington afterward, a pilot was heard to remark "Hell, this is like an old-time turkey shoot!" Including the continued aerial slaughter over Orote Field, Japanese losses exceeded 350 planes on the first day of battle. About 30 American planes were lost, and there was little damage to American ships; even

19869-643: The home waters of Japan. In addition, Nimitz also arranged for the Army Air Force to mine the Japanese ports and waterways by air with B-29 Superfortresses in a successful mission called Operation Starvation , which severely interrupted Japanese logistics. On September 2, 1945, Nimitz signed as representative of the United States when Japan formally surrendered on board USS  Missouri in Tokyo Bay . On October 5, 1945, which had been officially designated as "Nimitz Day" in Washington, D.C. , Nimitz

20048-591: The hull of the ship in order to rip into the hull of another ship while ramming, to stab enemies in the water that had fallen overboard and were swimming, or simply to clear any possible dangerous marine animals in the path of the ship (since the ancient Chinese did believe in sea monsters; see Xu Fu for more info). Qin Shi Huang , the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC), owed much of his success in unifying southern China to naval power, although an official navy

20227-410: The invasion fleet and provide air support for the landings. Shortly before midnight on 18 June Nimitz radioed Spruance that a Japanese vessel had broken radio silence. The message intercepted was an apparent dispatch from Ozawa to his land-based air forces on Guam . Radio direction-finding placed the sender approximately 355 miles (571 km) west-southwest of TF 58. Mitscher considered whether

20406-535: The islands. The U.S. Navy had developed a sophisticated air control system, which vectored CAP fighters by radar to intercept enemy bombers well before they reached the fleet. Any attackers that got through the CAP would then face a "gun line" of screening battleships and cruisers that would put up devastating barrages of VT-fuzed anti-aircraft fire before the attackers reached the aircraft carriers. The Japanese had already launched their morning search patrols, using some of

20585-428: The largest Japanese fleet carriers taking part in the battle. The American carriers launched a protracted strike, sinking one light carrier and damaging other ships, but most of the American aircraft returning to their carriers ran low on fuel as night fell. Eighty American planes were lost. Although at the time the battle appeared to be a missed opportunity to destroy the Japanese fleet, the Imperial Japanese Navy had lost

20764-557: The largest ships of the time, the Great Harry , displaced over 1,500 tons. Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz ( / ˈ n ɪ m ɪ t s / ; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy . He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet , and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II . Nimitz

20943-627: The lead ship of her class , is named after him. Nimitz, a German Texan , was born the son of Anna Josephine (Henke) and Chester Bernhard Nimitz on February 24, 1885, in Fredericksburg, Texas , where his grandfather's hotel is now the National Museum of the Pacific War . His frail, rheumatic father had died six months earlier, on August 14, 1884. In 1890 Anna married William Nimitz (1864–1943), Chester B. Nimitz's brother. He

21122-542: The long Solomon Islands campaign of 1942–43, had greatly weakened the Japanese Navy's ability to project force with its carriers. Losses suffered in the Solomons drastically reduced the number of skilled carrier pilots available to fill the carrier air groups . It took nearly a year for the Japanese to reconstitute their groups following the Solomons campaign. Japan no longer had enough oil tankers to transport

21301-460: The mid-14th century, the rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398) seized power in the south amongst many other rebel groups. His early success was due to capable officials such as Liu Bowen and Jiao Yu , and their gunpowder weapons (see Huolongjing ). Yet the decisive battle that cemented his success and his founding of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) was the Battle of Lake Poyang , considered one of

21480-986: The newly formed US-British Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. Six days later, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) divided the theater into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas , the Southwest Pacific Area (commanded by General Douglas MacArthur ), and the Southeast Pacific Area . The JCS designated Nimitz as "Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas", with operational control over all Allied units (air, land, and sea) in that area. Nimitz, in Hawaii, and his superior Admiral Ernest King ,

21659-664: The next few weeks transported the documents to General Douglas MacArthur's Military Intelligence Service (MIS) in Brisbane , Australia. MIS forwarded the translated Z Plan to Admiral Chester Nimitz in Honolulu, and the Japanese plans were quickly dispatched to the fleet commanders in the Philippine Sea in June. A new commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Soemu Toyoda , was appointed, and he finalized

21838-506: The night, despite the risk of attack from Japanese submarines and night-flying aircraft. Mitscher backed up the decision, and soon every ship in Task Force 58 was lit up, in spite of the risks involved. Picket destroyers fired starshells to help the aircraft find the task groups. Planes were given clearance to land on any available flight deck (not just their home carriers, as usual), and many did land on other carriers. Despite this, 80 of

22017-414: The night, to reach a launch position at dawn that would allow for a maximum aerial assault on the enemy force. Spruance considered for an hour, then refused Mitscher's request. Mitscher's staff was disappointed with Spruance's decision. Burke later commented: "We knew we were going to have hell slugged out of us in the morning. We knew we couldn't reach them. We knew they could reach us." Spruance's decision

22196-492: The oath of that office on December 19, 1944. In January 1945, Nimitz moved the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet forward from Pearl Harbor to Guam for the remainder of the war. Nimitz's wife remained in the continental United States for the duration of the war and did not join her husband in Hawaii or Guam. In 1945, Nimitz's forces launched successful amphibious assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa and his carriers raided

22375-534: The other hand were still flying the A6M Zero which, though highly maneuverable and revolutionary during the early stages of the Pacific War, was now underpowered, fragile and essentially obsolete by 1944. In addition, the D4Y "Judy" , though fast, was also fragile and easily set on fire. The Japanese naval airmen were also inadequately trained. The Japanese training programs could not replace the quality aviators lost during

22554-466: The past two years of the Pacific Campaign. Flying against the well-trained and often veteran U.S. aviators, it was a one-sided contest. The Americans lost fewer than two dozen Hellcats in air-to-air combat. Naval aviation and anti-aircraft fire shot down nearly 480 Japanese aircraft, 346 of those carrier aircraft on 19 June alone. A very fortunate result of the Battle of the Philippine Sea for

22733-564: The pattern of the second in marching the army via the Hellespont while the fleet paralleled them offshore. Near Artemisium , in the narrow channel between the mainland and Euboea , the Greek fleet held off multiple assaults by the Persians, the Persians breaking through a first line, but then being flanked by the second line of ships. But the defeat on land at Thermopylae forced a Greek withdrawal, and Athens evacuated its population to nearby Salamis Island . The ensuing Battle of Salamis

22912-481: The planned conquest in China was canceled by the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi , and the Japanese military retreated from the Korean Peninsula. On their way back to Japan, Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin attacked the Japanese navy at the Battle of Noryang inflicting heavy damages, but the Chinese top official Deng Zilong and the Korean commander Yi Sun-sin were killed in a Japanese army counterattack. The rest of

23091-420: The previous day and that he had about 150 aircraft left. Nevertheless, he decided to continue the attacks, thinking there were still hundreds of aircraft on Guam and Rota and started planning new raids for 21 June. The main problem for TF 58 was locating the enemy, who had been operating at a great distance. Early-morning American searches on 20 June found nothing. An extra mid-day search by Hellcat fighter pilots

23270-410: The protracted strike, it became clear that most of the aircraft returning to their carriers were running dangerously low on fuel, and to worsen matters, night had fallen. At 20:45, the first returning U.S. aircraft reached TF 58. Knowing his aviators would have difficulty finding their carriers, Admiral Joseph J. Clark of Hornet decided to illuminate his carrier, shining searchlights directly up into

23449-411: The radio messages were a Japanese deception, as the Japanese were known to send a single vessel off to break radio silence, to mislead their adversaries about the actual location of the main force. Mitscher realized that there was a chance of a night surface encounter with Ozawa's forces. Arleigh Burke , Mitscher's chief of staff (a former destroyer squadron commander who had won several night battles in

23628-399: The rank of fleet admiral is a lifetime appointment, he remained on active duty for the rest of his life, with full pay and benefits. He and his wife, Catherine, moved to Berkeley, California . After he suffered a serious fall in 1964, he and Catherine moved to US Naval quarters on Yerba Buena Island in the San Francisco Bay . In San Francisco, Nimitz served in the mostly ceremonial post as

23807-515: The required volume of petroleum from the Dutch East Indies to Japanese refineries. Without adequate supplies of refined residual fuel oil, Japanese aircraft carriers refueled with unrefined Tarakan petroleum in June 1944. This un desalted petroleum damaged boiler tubes, and the unremoved naphtha fraction volatilized the fuel to form explosive atmospheres incompatible with aircraft carrier damage control procedures. In early 1944

23986-421: The returning aircraft were lost. Some crashed on flight decks, but the majority ditched into the sea. Some pilots intentionally went down in groups to facilitate rescue, and more ditched individually either in a controlled landing with a few gallons of fuel left or in a crash after their engines ran dry. Approximately three-quarters of the crews were rescued from the sea, either that night from crash locations within

24165-422: The sea and fires out of control, the captain gave orders to abandon ship. Within minutes, there was a catastrophic explosion of aviation fuel vapor which had built up between decks, which blew the ship apart. The carrier rolled over and sank about 140 miles (230 km) north of the island of Yap . 887 crew and 376 men of the 601st Naval Air Group , 1,263 men in all, were killed. There were 570 survivors, including

24344-674: The sea. The Persian Empire – united and strong – could not prevail against the might of the Athenian fleet combined with that of lesser city states in several attempts to conquer the Greek city states. Phoenicia 's and Egypt 's power, Carthage 's and even Rome 's largely depended upon control of the seas. So too did the Venetian Republic dominate Italy's city states, thwart the Ottoman Empire , and dominate commerce on

24523-516: The second day of the battle, losses totaled three carriers, more than 350 carrier aircraft, and around 200 land-based aircraft. In the five major "carrier-on-carrier" battles, from the Battle of the Coral Sea to the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the IJN had lost nine carriers, while the USN had lost four. The aircraft and trained pilots lost at Philippine Sea were an irreplaceable blow to the already outnumbered Japanese fleet air arm. The Japanese had spent

24702-529: The ships. Athens surrendered to Sparta in the following year. Navies next played a major role in the complicated wars of the successors of Alexander the Great . The Roman Republic had never been much of a seafaring nation, but it had to learn. In the Punic Wars with Carthage , Romans developed the technique of grappling and boarding enemy ships with soldiers. The Roman Navy grew gradually as Rome became more involved in Mediterranean politics; by

24881-425: The shortage of ships, planes, and supplies. He had a significant advantage in that the United States had cracked the Japanese diplomatic naval code and had made progress on the naval code JN-25 . The Japanese had kept radio silence before the attack on Pearl Harbor, although events were then moving so rapidly they had to rely on coded radio messages they did not realize were being read in Hawaii. On March 24, 1942,

25060-464: The submarine USS  Flying Fish sighted a Japanese carrier and battleship force coming out of San Bernardino Strait . An hour later USS  Seahorse spotted a battleship and cruiser force steaming up from the south, 200 miles (320 km) east of Mindanao . The submarines were under orders to report sightings before attempting to attack, so Flying Fish waited until nightfall, then surfaced to radio in its report. Fifth Fleet commander Spruance

25239-458: The task forces, or over the next few days for those further out, as search planes and destroyers criss-crossed the ocean looking for them. That night, Toyoda ordered Ozawa to withdraw from the Philippine Sea. U.S. forces gave chase, but the battle was over. The four Japanese air strikes involved 373 carrier aircraft, of which 243 were lost and 130 returned to the carriers; many of them were subsequently lost when Taiho and Shōkaku were sunk. After

25418-528: The technological achievements of the earlier Song dynasty, the Mongols also employed early cannons upon the decks of their ships. While Song China built its naval strength, the Japanese also had considerable naval prowess. The strength of Japanese naval forces could be seen in the Genpei War , in the large-scale Battle of Dan-no-ura on 25 April 1185. The forces of Minamoto no Yoshitsune were 850 ships strong, while Taira no Munemori had 500 ships. In

25597-466: The threat. The Hellcats arrived while aircraft were still launching from Orote Field . Minutes later, additional radar contacts were seen, which were later discovered to be the additional forces being sent north from the other islands. A battle broke out in which 35 Japanese aircraft were shot down for the loss of a single Hellcat. It was a pattern that would be repeated throughout the day. At 09:57 large numbers of Japanese aircraft were picked up approaching

25776-739: The time of the Roman Civil War and the Battle of Actium (31 BC), hundreds of ships were involved, many of them quinqueremes mounting catapults and fighting towers. Following the Emperor Augustus transforming the Republic into the Roman Empire , Rome gained control of most of the Mediterranean. Without any significant maritime enemies, the Roman navy was reduced mostly to patrolling for pirates and transportation duties. It

25955-442: The vapors throughout Taihō , putting the entire vessel at risk. At approximately 14:30, a spark from an electric generator on the hangar deck ignited the accumulated fumes, triggering a series of catastrophic explosions. After the first explosions, it was clear that Taihō was doomed, and Ozawa and his staff transferred to the nearby destroyer Wakatsuki . Soon thereafter, Taihō suffered a second series of explosions and sank. From

26134-426: The wake of the ship. Three other torpedo aircraft attacked the light carrier Princeton and were shot down. In all, 97 of the 107 attacking aircraft were destroyed. A third raid, consisting of 47 aircraft, came in from the north. It was intercepted by 40 fighters at 13:00, while 50 miles (80 km) out from the task force. Seven Japanese aircraft were shot down. A few broke through and made an ineffective attack on

26313-421: The western part of the Philippine Sea and completed refueling on 17 June. Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa commanded this force from his newly commissioned flagship , Taihō . In addition to extensive command facilities, reinforced torpedo blisters and a large air group, Taihō was the first Japanese carrier with an armor-plated flight deck , designed to withstand bomb hits with minimal damage. At 18:35 on 15 June

26492-558: The world's first nuclear-powered vessel. As is noted at a display at the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas: "Nimitz's greatest legacy as CNO is arguably his support of Admiral Hyman Rickover's effort to convert the submarine fleet from diesel to nuclear propulsion." Nimitz retired from office as CNO on December 15, 1947, and received a third Gold Star in lieu of a fourth Navy Distinguished Service Medal. However, since

26671-422: Was a relatively quiet year, but it proved decisive inasmuch as Nimitz gained the materiel and manpower needed to launch major fleet offensives to destroy Japanese power in the central Pacific region. This drive opened with the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign from November 1943 to February 1944, followed by the destruction of the strategic Japanese base at Truk Lagoon , and the Marianas campaign that brought

26850-494: Was academic dean for 11 years, acting president for one year, and vice president for institutional research for 13 years before becoming the university's emergency preparedness coordinator. She held this job until her death, due to cancer, on February 27, 2006. He was also a freemason . In late 1965, Nimitz suffered a stroke, complicated by pneumonia . In January 1966, he left the US Naval Hospital (Oak Knoll) in Oakland to return home to his naval quarters. He died at home on

27029-411: Was accepted by Pakistan but rejected by India. Nimitz became a member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco. In 1948, he sponsored a Bohemian dinner in honor of US Army General Mark Clark , known for his campaigns in North Africa and Italy. Nimitz served as a regent of the University of California from 1948 to 1956, where he had formerly been a faculty member as a professor of naval science for

27208-407: Was acting appropriately to the Japanese plans that called for a diversion to draw the fleet far away so there would be a great opportunity for land-based Japanese planes to also augment the carrier aircraft to attack Spruance's fleet. Before daybreak, Spruance suggested that if the daybreak searches revealed no targets, the bombers could be sent to crater the airfields on Rota and Guam . However,

27387-416: Was also hit by two bombs, including one directly on a main battery turret. Damage was contained, and she was able to keep station because her captain promptly called to flood the turret's magazine to avoid the possibility of an explosion. Twenty American aircraft in the strike were destroyed by Japanese fighters and anti-aircraft fire that made up for a relative lack of accuracy with high volume of fire. After

27566-421: Was also unsuccessful. Finally at 15:12 a garbled message from an Enterprise search plane indicated a sighting. At 15:40 the sighting was verified, along with distance, course, and speed. The Japanese fleet was 275 miles (443 km) out, moving due west at a speed of 20 knots. The Japanese were at the limit of TF 58's strike range, and daylight was slipping away. Mitscher decided to launch an all-out strike. After

27745-430: Was convened to investigate the circumstances. The board found that Nimitz had indeed made an error in judgment, but they did not recommend any punitive measures against him. Instead, he received a letter of reprimand. Nimitz returned to the United States on board USS Ranger when that vessel was converted to a school ship , and in January 1909, began instruction in the First Submarine Flotilla. In May of that year, he

27924-470: Was convinced that a major battle was at hand. After consulting with Nimitz at Pacific Fleet Headquarters in Hawaii, he ordered Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher , commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force (Task Force 58), who had sent two carrier task groups north to intercept aircraft reinforcements from Japan, to reform and move west of Saipan into the Philippine Sea. TF 52's battleships, cruisers and escort carrier groups were ordered to remain near Saipan to protect

28103-420: Was denied by Nimitz. Moreover, Spruance was supported in his decision by Admiral Kelly Turner and Admiral Ernest King , Chief of Naval Operations. Spruance's caution (in particular, his suspicion of a diversionary force) can be compared with Admiral William Halsey's headlong pursuit of an actual diversionary force at Leyte Gulf four months later. Halsey left the American invasion fleet weakly protected during

28282-467: Was devastating to the ships in the besieging fleet. These were the first of many encounters during the Byzantine-Arab Wars . The Caliphate became the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean Sea from the 7th to 13th centuries, during what is known as the Islamic Golden Age . One of the most significant inventions in medieval naval warfare was the torpedo , invented in Syria by the Arab inventor Hasan al-Rammah in 1275. His torpedo ran on water with

28461-407: Was given additional duty as senior member, Board of Submarine Design. From May 1919 to June 1920, Nimitz served as executive officer of the battleship South Carolina . He then commanded the cruiser Chicago with additional duty in command of Submarine Division 14 , based at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii. While in command, he conducted an investigation into the R-14 sailing incident . His handling of

28640-539: Was given command of the flotilla, with additional duty in command of USS  Plunger , later renamed A-1 . He was promoted directly from ensign to lieutenant in January 1910. He commanded USS  Snapper (later renamed C-5 ) when that submarine was commissioned on February 2, 1910, and on November 18, 1910, assumed command of USS  Narwhal (later renamed D-1 ). In the latter command, he had additional duty from October 10, 1911, as Commander 3rd Submarine Division Atlantic Torpedo Fleet. In November 1911, he

28819-412: Was in contrast to Leyte Gulf when Halsey's carriers were trying to neutralize the enemy airfields and attack the enemy fleet simultaneously, such that a Japanese bomber managed to evade the Combat Air Patrols to fatally cripple the light carrier USS Princeton . Likewise, during the carrier-based air raids , U.S. carriers were in a vulnerable position, and the low visibility coupled with radar confusion let

28998-410: Was influenced by his orders from Nimitz, who had made it clear that the protection of the invasion fleet was the primary mission of TF 58. Spruance had concerns that the Japanese would attempt to draw his main fleet away from the Marianas with a diversionary force while slipping an attack force in to destroy the landing fleet. Locating and destroying the Japanese fleet was not his primary objective, and he

29177-413: Was intense, the U.S. planes were able to press in on the attack. The first ships sighted by the U.S. strike were oilers, 30 miles (48 km) before the carrier groups. The strike group from Wasp , more concerned with their low fuel levels than with finding the more important Japanese carriers and battleships, dived on the tankers. Two of these were damaged so severely that they were later scuttled, while

29356-410: Was not yet established (see Medieval Asia section below). The people of the Zhou dynasty were known to use temporary pontoon bridges for general means of transportation, but it was during the Qin and Han dynasties that large permanent pontoon bridges were assembled and used in warfare (first written account of a pontoon bridge in the West being the oversight of the Greek Mandrocles of Samos in aiding

29535-430: Was one of the decisive engagements of history. Themistocles trapped the Persians in a channel too narrow for them to bring their greater numbers to bear, and attacked them vigorously, in the end causing the loss of 200 Persian ships vs 40 Greek. Aeschylus wrote a play about the defeat, The Persians , which was performed in a Greek theatre competition a few years after the battle. It is the oldest known surviving play. At

29714-400: Was only in the late 16th century, when gunpowder technology had developed to a considerable extent, that the tactical focus at sea shifted to heavy ordnance. Many sea battles through history also provide a reliable source of shipwrecks for underwater archaeology . A major example is the exploration of the wrecks of various warships in the Pacific Ocean . The first recorded sea battle

29893-442: Was only on the fringes of the Empire, in newly gained provinces or defensive missions against barbarian invasion, that the navy still engaged in actual warfare. While the barbarian invasions of the 4th century and later mostly occurred by land, some notable examples of naval conflicts are known. In the late 3rd century, in the reign of Emperor Gallienus , a large raiding party composed by Goths, Gepids and Heruli, launched itself in

30072-416: Was ordered to the Boston Navy Yard , to assist in fitting out USS  Skipjack and assumed command of that submarine, which had been renamed E-1 , at her commissioning on February 14, 1912. On the monitor Tonopah (then employed as a submarine tender) on March 20, 1912, he rescued Fireman Second Class W. J. Walsh from drowning, receiving a Silver Lifesaving Medal for his action. After commanding

30251-475: Was personally presented a second Gold Star for the third award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by President Harry S. Truman "for exceptionally meritorious service as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, from June 1944 to August 1945." On November 26, 1945, Nimitz's nomination as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) was confirmed by the US Senate, and on December 15, 1945, he relieved Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King . He had assured

30430-412: Was promoted to the rank of admiral , effective December 31, 1941, upon assuming command. The change of command ceremony would normally have taken place aboard a battleship, however every battleship in Pearl Harbor had been either sunk or damaged during the attack. Assuming command at the most critical period of the war in the Pacific, Admiral Nimitz organized his forces to halt the Japanese advance, despite

30609-410: Was sacrificed in an attempt to draw the American fleet away from protecting the troops and supplies being landed for the Battle of Leyte . The Japanese military, which had hidden the extent of their previous losses from the Japanese public, continued this policy. Though the occurrence of the simultaneous Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Saipan were made known to the public, the extent of

30788-416: Was significantly influenced by his German-born paternal grandfather, Charles Henry Nimitz , a former seaman in the German Merchant Marine , who taught him, "the sea – like life itself – is a stern taskmaster. The best way to get along with either is to learn all you can, then do your best and don't worry – especially about things over which you have no control." His grandfather had become a Texas Ranger in

30967-489: Was the Battle of the Delta , the Ancient Egyptians defeated the Sea Peoples in a sea battle c.  1175 BC . As recorded on the temple walls of the mortuary temple of pharaoh Ramesses III at Medinet Habu , this repulsed a major sea invasion near the shores of the eastern Nile Delta using a naval ambush and archers firing from both ships and shore. Assyrian reliefs from the 8th century BC show Phoenician fighting ships, with two levels of oars, fighting men on

31146-399: Was the jong . The jongs were large transport ships which could carry 100–2000 tons of cargo and 50–1000 people, 28.99–88.56 meter in length. The exact number of jong fielded by Majapahit is unknown, but the largest number of jong deployed in an expedition is about 400 jongs, when Majapahit attacked Pasai, in 1350. In this era, even to the 17th century, the Nusantaran naval soldiers fought on

31325-435: Was the Navy's leading developer of underway replenishment techniques, the tool which during the Pacific war would allow the US fleet to operate away from port almost indefinitely. The chief of the Navy's Bureau of Navigation in 1939, Nimitz served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1945 until 1947. He was the United States' last surviving officer who served in the rank of fleet admiral. The USS  Nimitz supercarrier ,

31504-429: Was the leading US Navy authority on submarines . Qualified in submarines during his early years, he later oversaw the conversion of these vessels' propulsion from gasoline to diesel, and then later was key in acquiring approval to build the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, USS  Nautilus , whose propulsion system later completely superseded diesel-powered submarines in the US. He also, beginning in 1917,

31683-430: Was the product of a single mind or even of a generation; most likely the period of evolution and experimentation was simply not recorded by history. After some initial battles while subjugating the Greeks of the Ionian coast, the Persians determined to invade Greece proper. Themistocles of Athens estimated that the Greeks would be outnumbered by the Persians on land, but that Athens could protect itself by building

31862-431: Was unwilling to allow the main strike force of the Pacific Fleet to be drawn westward, away from the amphibious forces. Mitscher accepted the decision without comment. Spruance's decision in this matter, although subsequently criticized, was certainly justified; by this point in the war, it was well known that Japanese operational plans frequently relied on the use of decoys and diversionary forces. Spruance, as it turned out,

32041-429: Was written in the Han dynasty that the people of the Warring States era had employed chuan ge ships (dagger-axe ships, or halberd ships), thought to be a simple description of ships manned by marines carrying dagger-axe halberds as personal weapons. The 3rd-century writer Zhang Yan asserted that the people of the Warring States period named the boats this way because halberd blades were actually fixed and attached to

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