Carrier aircraft mined Palau's approaches and exit routes, obstructing shipping until the channels could be cleared. Ground mines were difficult to detect, and the underwater terrain frustrated sweeping. The Avengers had to fly slowly and low to lay their mines, leaving them vulnerable to Japanese antiaircraft fire. Fighter escorts and repeated Hellcat strafing protected the Avengers during their drops. The operation combined harbour denial with the fighter work needed to get the mines into place.
Notable Point · 1:53:06-1:53:53
How Avengers mined Palau under fighter protection
Palau's harbour denial depended on difficult-to-sweep mines and coordinated fighter protection for vulnerable minelayers.