Maryana 1944 part 1

USS Lexington, flagship of the Vice Adm. Marc Mitscher, commander of the High-Speed ​​Aircraft Team (TF 58).

While the struggle for Normandy footholds flared up in Europe, on the other side of the globe, the Marian Islands became the scene of a great battle on land, air, and sea that finally ended the Japanese Empire in the Pacific.

On the evening of June 19, 1944, on the first day of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the weight of the fighting shifted to Guam, one of the islands in the southern tip of the Marian archipelago. During the day, Japanese anti-aircraft artillery knocked down several US Navy bombers there, and Curtiss SOC Seagull floats rushed to the rescue of the shot down airplanes. Ens. Wendell Twelves of the Essex Fighter Squadron and Lt. George Duncan was recalled:

As the four Hellcats approached Orote, we spotted two Japanese Zeke fighters above. Duncan sent a second pair to take care of them. The next moment we heard a call for help on the frequency we were using. Seagull's pilot, a rescue seaplane, radioed that he and another Seagull were on the water near Rota Point on Guam, 1000 yards offshore. They were shot at by two Zeke. The guy was scared. There was desperation in his voice.

At the same time, we were attacked by two Zeke. They jumped out of the clouds at us. We dodged out of the line of fire. Duncan called me over the radio to fly to the Seagulls' rescue, and he took both of Zeke's.

I was about eight miles to Rota Point, or at least two minutes of flight. I put the plane on the left wing, pushed the throttle all the way, and raced to the spot. I unconsciously leaned forward, tautening the seat belts as if that might help. If I had to do anything for these two rescue seaplanes, I had to get there quickly. Against Zeke alone, they didn't stand a chance.

While I was focused on getting to Rota Point as soon as possible, I kept looking around. I wouldn't help anyone if I got shot down now. A battle raged around. I saw a dozen maneuvering and fighting fighters. A few dragged streams of smoke behind them. The radio echoed with a buzz of excited voices.

Nothing I could see around was an immediate threat. I could see the Rota Point in the distance. Bright white parachute bowls floated on the water. There were three or four of them. They belonged to the pilots who were saved by the seaplanes. As I got closer, I saw them. They moved away from the shore as they glided along the surface of the sea. The seagull had one large float under the fuselage to keep it afloat. I saw rescued flyers sticking to these floats. I scanned the area again and saw one Zeke. He was in front of me and below. Its dark wings gleamed in the sun. He was just circling, lining up to attack the seaplanes. I felt squeezed in a dimple. I realized that before it was within my range of fire, it would have time to fire at them.

Zeke was flying just a few hundred feet above the water - me in four thousand. Our courses were carried out at the place where the seaplanes were located. I had it on my right. I pushed the nose of the plane down and dove. My machine guns were unlocked, my sight was on, and my speed was increasing rapidly. I clearly shortened the distance between us. The speedometer showed 360 knots. I quickly looked around for the other Zeke, but couldn't see him anywhere. I focused my attention on this in front of me.

Zeke opened fire on the leading Seagull. I could clearly see tracers from his 7,7mm machine guns heading towards the seaplane. The aviators who were clinging to the float dived under the water. Seagull's pilot gave the engine full power and started making a circle to make it harder to target it. The water around Seagull bubbled white from the impact of the bullets. I knew that pilot Zeke was using machine guns to fire himself before they hit the cannons in the wings, and that those 20mm rounds were going to wreak havoc. Suddenly, foaming fountains sprang up around Seagull as pilot Zeke opened fire from the cannons. I was still too far to stop him.

I focused all my attention on the Japanese fighter. His pilot stopped the fire. Both seaplanes flashed in my field of vision as it flew directly over them. Then he began gently turning to the left. Now I had it at a 45-degree angle. I was only 400 yards from him when he noticed me. Tightened the turn, but too late. At that time, I was already squeezing the trigger. I fired a solid burst, a full three seconds. Streams of glowing streaks followed him in an arched trajectory. Watching carefully, I saw that I put the fix aside perfect - the hits were clearly visible.

Our courses crossed and Zeke flopped past me. I put the plane on the left wing to get into position for the next attack. He was still below, only 200 feet high. I didn't have to shoot him anymore. It began to burn. After a few seconds, it lowered its bow and hit the sea at a flat angle. It bounced off the surface and tumbled over and over, leaving a fiery trail in the water.

Moments later, Ens. Twelves shot down the second Zeke, whose pilot was concentrated on the rescue seaplane.

Just started looking for other planes when I found myself in the middle of a cloud of tracers! They flashed past the cockpit fairing like a blizzard. Another Zeke surprised me with an attack from behind. I turned left so sharply that the overload reached six G. I had to get out of the line of fire before pilot Zeke could get his 20mm cannons at me. He took aim well. I could feel the bullets from his 7,7mm machine guns drumming all over the plane. I was in serious trouble. Zeke could easily follow me along the inside arc. My plane was shaking on the verge of a stall. I couldn't tighten the turn even more. I jerked the plane right then left with all my might. I knew that if that man could take aim, those cannons would tear me to pieces. There was nothing else I could do. I was too low to escape on a diving flight. There were no clouds anywhere to run into.

The streaks suddenly stopped. I twisted my head back to see where Zeke was. It was with indescribable relief and delight that another F6F had just grabbed him. Way to go! What a timing!

I leveled my flight and looked around to see if I was in any more danger. I let out a long gasp, only now realizing that I was holding my breath. What a relief! The Zeke who was shooting at me descended, trailing a trail of smoke behind him. The Hellcat that took it off my tail has disappeared somewhere. Except for Duncan's F6F high above, the sky was empty and still. I looked around carefully again. All of the Zeke's are gone. Maybe two minutes have passed since I got here. I checked the instrument readings and inspected the plane. There were a lot of shots in the wings, but everything was working fine. Thank you, Mr. Grumman, for that armor plate behind the seatback and for the self-sealing tanks.