Task Force 58's air defense operated as a system of search aircraft, radar control, layered combat air patrols, battleship and cruiser gun lines, inner escorts, and the carriers' own weapons. By 1944, British and American air-control ideas had been combined into a mature radar-directed doctrine. Mitscher recalled fighters from Guam and divided the patrol into successive layers so controllers could vector manageable groups against each incoming raid. He also sent bomb-laden strike aircraft aloft to remove fire hazards from crowded flight decks. The Japanese carrier raids arrived piecemeal, regrouped within reach of returning Hellcats, and were repeatedly intercepted before reaching the screen. Only South Dakota was damaged in the first major attack, exposing the training and coordination gap behind the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.
Notable Point · 1:09:40-1:24:30
Layered CAP and the turkey shoot
The air-defense section explains how radar control, layered combat air patrols, Hellcats, and ship screens shattered the Japanese raids.