Although February's carrier raids had removed Truk as a major threat, the Japanese had reinforced the base with a number of aircraft, so it was scheduled for another attack two months later.
TG 58.2 R Adm A.E. Montgomery
CV Bunker Hill, Yorktown II
CVL Monterey, Cabot
CA San Francisco, Wichita
DD Aylwin, MacDonough, The Sullivans, Stephen Potter, Miller, Owen, Tingey, Marshall, Hunt, Lewis Hancock, Hickox
TG 58.3 R Adm J.W. Reeves
CV Enterprise, Lexington II
CVL Princeton, Langley II
BB North Carolina, Indiana, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Alabama
CA Louisville, Portland, Canberra II
DD Charles Ausburne, Dyson, Converse, Spence, Thatcher, Clarence K. Bronson, Cotten, Dortch, Gatling, Healy, Cogswell, Caperton, Ingersoll, Knapp
By the second day, it was apparent that little of value remained to be attacked, so the operation was curtailed. Several small ships were sunk, and well over 100 Japanese aircraft were destroyed either on the ground or midair. Twenty-six US aircraft were lost.
In the course of the operation,
USS Tang (SS-306) rescued 22 downed aviators, earning the ship a Presidential Unit Citation (PUC). In terms of sinkings,
Tang was the highest-scoring submarine in the Pacific War, credited with sinking 24 Japanese ships (increased postwar to 31).
During her fifth patrol the following October,
USS Tang fired the last torpedo she was carrying but it malfunctioned, made a circular run, and struck the sub. Nine crew members survived, including the commander, Richard H. O'Kane, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his WWII service.
USS Tang had been commissioned barely a year before sinking herself.
Ships of the U.S. Pacific fleet anchored at Majuro, 25 April 1944, shortly before leaving to attack Truk. USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) is at right, with four "Essex" class carriers beyond her. Battleships at left include USS IOWA (BB-61) and NEW JERSEY (BB-62). There are three other "fast" battleships and three light carriers (CVL) present, as well as several old battleships, cruisers and auxiliaries.
Naval History and Heritage Command Catalog #: 80-G-225251
Carrier raids on Truk Island, April 1944: Smoke rising after bombing attack on Dublon I., Truk Is. In the Carolines by carrier based planes.
Naval History and Heritage Command Catalog #: 80-G-45465
Carrier raids on Ulalu Island, April 1944: Five SBD's from a Navy carrier peel off for a strafing attack on a Japanese radio station, Ulalu Island, Truk Atoll, in the strike of April 29-30, 1944.
NHHC Catalog #: 80-G-45463
U.S. Navy strike photograph from the attack on the Japanese bomber strip on Moen island, Truk, on 29 April 1944.
The photo was taken from a Grumman TBF Avenger of Torpedo Squadron 32 (VT-32), Carrier Air Group 32 (CVG-32), from the light aircraft carrier USS Langley (CVL-27).