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Attack on Truk
Part of World War II, Pacific War
Vought OS2U-3 "Kingfisher" is recovered by USS Baltimore after she had rescued Lieutenant George M. Blair from Truk Lagoon, 1944-02-18. Blair's F6F "Hellcat", of Fighting Squadron Nine from USS Essex, had been shot down over Truk.
Date 17 February 1944 – 18 February 1944 Location Truk, Caroline Islands Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Marc A. Mitscher	Chuichi Hara
Strength
9 carriers, 45 other warships, 10 submarines, 589 planes	3 cruisers, 8 destroyers, 5 other warships, 50 merchant ships, 350 planes
Casualties and losses
1 carrier damaged, 25 planes destroyed	3 cruisers sunk, 6 destroyers sunk, 3 other warships sunk, 32 merchant ships sunk, 250 planes destroyed

In World War II, Operation Hailstone was a massive naval air attack launched on 17 February and 18 February, 1944 against the Japanese naval and air base on Truk in the Caroline Islands, a pre-war Japanese territory. Truk was Japan's main base in the South Pacific. It was the only major Japanese airbase within range of the Marshall Islands. To ensure air and naval superiority for the invasion of Eniwetok Admiral Raymond Spruance ordered an attack on Truk.

Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher's Task Force 58 had five fleet carriers (Enterprise, Yorktown, Essex, Intrepid, and Bunker Hill) and four light carriers (Belleau Wood, Cabot, Monterey, and Cowpens), embarking more than 500 planes.

In two air strikes, American dive and torpedo bombers sank three Japanese cruisers (Agano, Katori, and Naka), six destroyers (Oite, Fumizuki, Maikaze, Hagio, Isogu, and Tachikaze), three other warships and 32 merchant ships. Over 250 aircraft were destroyed, mostly on the ground.

The attackers lost only twenty-five aircraft; Intrepid was hit by an aerial torpedo and damaged. The attack on Truk has often been compared to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The book Hailstorm Over Truk Lagoon describes the wrecks of the lagoon.

External links

• US Army Campaigns in World War II: Eastern Mandates
• WW2DB: Attack on Truk

• Naval battles of World War II
• World War II operations and battles of the Pacific Campaign
• Federated States of Micronesia